Circuit training in the gym for girls: recommendations and examples of ligaments

There are many options for exercising at home, but one of the most popular regimens for losing weight and burning fat is circuit training. We offer you a ready-made exercise scheme for circuit training at home for men and women, which will help you lose weight, burn excess fat, strengthen the muscles of the whole body, and improve the quality of the body.

We offer you 6 options for circuit training:

1. Circuit training for the whole body without equipment (for women)
2. Full body circuit training without equipment (for men)
3. Full body circuit training with dumbbells (for women)
4. Full body circuit training with dumbbells (for men)
5. Circuit training for belly fat loss (for women and men)
6. Circuit training for buttocks and abdomen on the floor (for women)

Circuit training: pros and cons

The training program for girls often includes circular elements. Circuit training is a system of performing exercises in which several elements are done one after another at a pace, followed by a minute or even longer break. The Tabata protocol and CrossFit are examples of circuit training.

The goal of such exercises is to bring the body to the anaerobic threshold, start fat burning processes, and activate metabolism in favor of burning fat after training.

Circuit training for women is certainly beneficial, but it can also cause harm if a number of factors are not taken into account.

Pros:

1. Effective weight loss.
2. Muscle relief.
3. Increased strength and endurance.
4. Powerful cardio load.
5. Saving time - many different exercises and high energy costs in a short period of time.

Minuses:

1. Increased load on the heart.
2. Not suitable for persons suffering from hypertension, cardiovascular insufficiency, arrhythmias, and increased intracranial pressure.
3. Not always all the necessary equipment in the gym is free, so sometimes it is not possible to complete the planned circuit without breaks.

Circuit training for women requires the following conditions:

1. Good knowledge of the technique of the exercises performed.
2. Basic physical training based on a general program.
3. Mandatory intensive warm-up if we are talking about heavy exercises. Some exercises can replace a warm-up, for example, when working with the abs, you can start approaches with small amplitudes and speeds in order to warm up the necessary muscles. In 1 approach, your abs will warm up, and you will be able to fully train.
4. Empty stomach and feeling good.

Circular training for burning fat for older women has a number of limitations. Due to the health characteristics of older people, it is necessary to individually reduce the intensity and very carefully select working weights.

About the program

This training program is suitable for those women who have never been to the gym before, have not run in the morning, and are not aware of the names of the exercise machines and how to use them. In general, it is suitable only for a beginner who is not yet fully confident in his abilities and does not know how to correctly perform various exercises.

The first recommended training program for beginner girls is circuit training. This program affects all muscle groups at once, but at the same time it is quite simple and well suited for the female body. So for starters, you should master circuit training, understand the technique and practice for 1-2 months. During this time, the muscle frame will come into a suitable shape for moving on to more serious loads.

Number of classes

Beginners who have just come to the gym are usually full of enthusiasm and are ready to practice even every day. This is the wrong approach - very intense training will only exhaust the body, since the muscles simply will not have time to recover. In the best case, at your next training session you will physically not be able to perform all the necessary exercises, and the most unpleasant scenario is an injury received during training.

So the ideal training schedule is considered to be 3 visits to the gym per week. Thanks to pauses of 1-2 days between classes, the muscles will recover sufficiently so that they can continue to be “pumped.”

Training program

Each session is designed to work all muscle groups, but the exercises themselves will vary. The workout begins with a warm-up, which should last 5 minutes or more. The purpose of the warm-up is to warm up the whole body, and in particular the joints and muscles. As a rule, the muscle corset of beginners is weak, so special attention should be paid to preparing the back. The best way for beginners is hyperextension. If your gym does not have such a machine, you can replace training with it by working with a fitball.

At the end of the workout, do not forget about the cool-down - for example, cardio. Run on a treadmill or elliptical for 10-15 minutes, gradually reducing your speed until your heart rate returns to normal. It is also worth doing a few simple exercises from the cool-down program to avoid unpleasant (including painful) sensations in the muscles in the following days.

The workout itself should last longer than about 70 minutes - if you don't fit within this limit, then you're spending too much time resting between sets.

Features of circuit training

Circuit training for burning fat should contain 4-6 exercises, which are done one approach after another without a break. In each approach there are at least 10 repetitions, which are done at a tempo. In fact, between exercises within a set there is a break equal to the time during which the girl moves from one exercise to another.

Circular training in the gym for girls should cover all muscle groups. You can divide the load on different parts of the body on different days, but a circuit training program in this case changes the end goal.

When you want to lose weight, you should load all the muscles in every session.

Loads must not fail. Then the body will have time to recover within 24–48 hours with proper nutrition, the right amount of vitamins, macro and microelements, proteins and fats.

Hip extension while standing on your elbows

Photo: Anton Ukhanov, “Championship”

Photo: Anton Ukhanov, “Championship”

Dumbbells or other weights held at the knee increase the effectiveness of the exercise and at the same time determine the correct range of motion. The exercise is aimed at working the gluteal muscle.

Circuit Training Options

Circular training for fat burning can be general, or maybe local. It is worth saying that fat is still burned evenly throughout the body. Only the load on the muscles varies. For example, there are workouts for the abs, legs, and shoulders.

For people who want to develop endurance and strength at the same time, the best option is CrossFit, where, as a rule, different muscle groups are worked on different days.

For weight loss, a general workout 3 times a week is enough. It should contain exercises for the legs, arms, and abs. If it is difficult to perform such an array of exercises in a day, you should divide the program into several days.

Circuit training for fat burning for women is a program of 3-4 circles of 4-5 exercises. The class starts with cardio and ends with cardio.

If you have set a goal to lose weight, the path will not be easy. Be prepared for this and go through it to the end.

Training for girls in the gym is best done under the supervision of an experienced trainer. It is not advisable to come up with a program for yourself. Even if you came up with it, compliance with the exercise technique will be in doubt. And if you do something wrong, you risk damaging something. Of course, calories will be burned in any case. But you need to burn fat and stay healthy at the same time.

What should cardio workouts be like?

Cardio on machines

If your body mass index is higher than normal, you should not run on a treadmill: this will put too much stress on your joints. Instead, choose a brisk uphill walk (you can adjust the incline on the treadmill), exercise bike, elliptical, stepper or airbike.

Perform cardio at a moderate intensity so that you can last without slowing down. The main thing is to increase your heart rate and keep it at this level for the right time.

If long, monotonous cardio makes you sad, try doing it with headphones. If this doesn't help, choose intense circuit training with your own weight. They are also suitable for those who cannot go to the gym five times a week.

Circuit training

Circuit training is when you perform several exercises in a row on different muscle groups, usually with little or no rest, and then start over. Circular training is good because it allows you to reduce rest time: some muscles have time to recover while others are working, and your heart rate remains elevated, as does calorie expenditure.

Here's an example of a bodyweight circuit workout. You need to do 5 laps without a break. If you feel out of breath, rest for 30 seconds to one minute and continue exercising.

And another circular one. This time it’s interval, that is, with a clear time frame. You work for 30 seconds and then rest for the same amount. In total you need to complete 6 laps.

Exercises for circuit training

Full body circuit training

If you decide to do a full body workout, you will need to follow this pattern three times a week. For example, the program might look like this.

We do cardio for 15–20 minutes. You need to warm up your muscles, raise your heart rate and prepare your body to burn fat (use up muscle glycogen).

Let's start training.

1. Squats with an empty bar 12-15 times.
2. Extension of the arms in the block 12–15 times.
3. Lunges with dumbbells 12-15 times.
4. Seated dumbbell press 12–15 times.

Break 60–90 seconds.

1. Leg extension in the simulator.
2. "Hammer" with dumbbells while standing.
3. Leg bending in the simulator.
4. Breeding legs in the simulator.

Break 60–90 seconds.

1. Plie squats.
2. Breeding legs in the simulator.
3. Leg abduction with weights.
4. Lying dumbbell flyes.

Break 90 seconds.

1. Squats without weight 20 times.
2. Hyperextension 30 times.
3. Pull the lower block to the lower back.
4. Hanging leg raises 15 times.

Last break 60 seconds and abdominal exercises:

1. Roman chair crunches 15 times.
2. Raising legs from a lying position.
3. "Fold."

If the number of repetitions is not indicated, then their number is 12–15. The weight in the exercises is selected individually.

Next, rest for 1-3 minutes and do a cardio cool-down for 10 minutes at an easy pace.

This program can be performed three times a week. The lesson will take 60–70 minutes, and you will give 101 percent.

Abdominal cords

The word “bundle” refers to the sequence of exercises that will be included in the circuit training. The lesson does not necessarily consist of the same approaches. It is important that several exercises are done in conjunction. For abs it might look like this:

Approach 1

1. Lifting the body while lying down, knees bent.
2. Lying crunches with knees bent.
3. "Fold."

Each exercise is done from 15 to 30 times, after which you rest for 60 seconds lying down, restoring strength and breathing.

Approach 2

1. Lying leg raises.
2. Raising the knee at the same time and twisting towards it (the movement occurs crosswise, the left knee tends to the right elbow and vice versa).
3. Raising the body, lying with your legs raised up, your legs relative to the floor are at an angle of 30–40 degrees. You can work with weights.

Approach 3

1. Lying crunches.
2. Lifting the body while lying down.
3. Alternately raising your legs from a lying position.

Thus, a circuit ab workout consists of three sets, with a minute of rest in between. In total, you need to perform 9 exercises 15–30 times.

If you are a beginner, start with 10 repetitions or even 5. With each session, increase the number of repetitions by 1. Circuit training for the abs can be done daily, and it takes a maximum of 10 minutes.

Other examples of circuit training

Example of circuit training for triceps and chest:

1. Bench press 15 reps.
2. Bench press at a 30 degree angle for 15 reps.
3. Bench press at a 45 degree angle for 10 reps.
4. Dumbbell flyes lying on a horizontal bench 15 times.

Rest 60 seconds.

1. Press dumbbells upside down (15 times).
2. Crossover to the lower chest (15 times).
3. Close-grip press for 15 reps.
4. Dumbbell flyes lying at an angle of 45 degrees.

When working to lose weight, it is better not to use a large number of chest exercises. For girls, it makes sense to train their pectoral muscles in mass-gain mode. This set of exercises can be done twice a week. More often it is dangerous for the tendons, especially the shoulder.

Overhead Forearm Extension Press

Photo: Anton Ukhanov, “Championship”

Photo: Anton Ukhanov, “Championship”

From the starting position, you need to do a dumbbell press, then bend your arms, lowering the dumbbells behind your head, straighten your arms and return to the standing position, slightly bending your legs to relieve the load from your lower back. The deltoids and triceps work.

Some recommendations regarding circuit training for girls

Important to remember:

1. It is not recommended to exercise in the first 3 days of the menstrual cycle. This is dangerous for your health, especially when it comes to circuit training.
2. Try not to drink liquids during your workout. If you really want to, wet your throat and take 1-2 small sips. Have a drink afterwards.
3. Do not drink or eat immediately before class. Circuit training is intense and can result in nausea and vomiting. In addition, by eating before class, you will burn the calories you get from food.
4. If you have a cold, don't go to training. You will feel heavier than usual, and your body will take longer to cope with the disease. Especially if you have a fever. Better reschedule your trip to the gym.