I have gone through phases at different times of my life in terms of physical exercises to stay in shape. Often times I have gone to the extreme between weight training and aerobic activities to where I would do one type of exercise, but not the other. As I have gotten older I realize that you really need a balance between weight training and aerobic activity. They shouldn’t be mutually exclusive activities, but rather should be done is some type of combination.
The perfect medium for getting a weight workout and at the same time having an aerobic component to the workout is a super circuit training program. By super circuit I am referring to weight training on machines where end-users rotate through a series of weight lifting machines in timely intervals. Super circuit training stations have been around for ever, but often times they lack any type of aerobic component. One of my high-school coaches who was a body builder always emphasized that the heart is a muscle too and needs to be exercised.
I am fortunate that the gym where I workout has a super circuit weight and aerobic exercise room where you can rotate through a series of weight machines and do some type of aerobic activity in between weightlifting stations. Typically, you lift for thirty seconds, rest fifteen seconds, go to an aerobic activity for another thirty seconds, rest and then onto another weight station. The aerobic activities include walking on step-up boxes or riding an exercise bike.
Another important component of the super circuit where I workout is the sequence of weightlifting stations. I am fortunate that in my workouts I hit most all of the major muscle groups including legs and have an aerobic component. When I first started doing the circuit I never really considered the sequence of how the weight training stations were ordered, but after looking at the configuration there definitely is some logic in how the stations are put into a progression.
The particular super circuit that I exercise on tends to have weight training stations alternate between lifting with your upper body and lifting with your legs. Oh yes, don’t forget the aerobic activity in between. I may go from bench presses to riding the bike and then to leg presses.
Also, the super circuit where I workout also tends to “stack” exercises. What I mean by stacking is that you exercise similar body parts in a row. For instance, I may have just done a bicep curl machine and instead of moving onto another body part like the back for example, I would next do a tricep extension machine. My progression would look something like this: arm curls, bike, leg presses, walking steps, tricep extensions. By doing this I am taxing these muscle groups.
I have also found the more that I push myself in between the weightlifting stations with the aerobic component not only do I get a good aerobic workout it also helps with my strength training. After doing an aerobic activity my legs are tired, which must makes muscles work harder while lifting weights.
Having the super circuit at my gym has been such a great thing. Not only do I get a great strength workout, I also get an aerobic component too. Gone are the days, where I viewed these types of exercise as being mutually exclusive. I am really getting two workouts in one.
I really encourage you to find some type of circuit training program and incorporate an aerobic exercise in between your strength training exercises. If you do, you will come out with twice the workout.
