Pass the Plateau with Circuit Training

How to get the most out of your workouts if you:

• Don’t have a lot of time
• Get bored
• Have hit a plateau
• Want to lose weight
• Need to improve strength and cardiovascular system

I find circuit training is one of the best forms of overall exercise anyone can do.  I like to mix 3-4 different exercises together and move from station to station for 30-45 minutes.
What I do is a mixture of stationary biking, light weights, step training, and jogging/walking on grass, and stretching.

I’ll pick some upbeat music and do 5 minutes on each station.  Here is a basic workout you might want to try and if you don’t have stationary bike use another piece of equipment. 

• 5 minutes easy on Step going up and down and changing lead legs every minute. 

       At the same time do some arm circles etc. to warm up.

• 5 minutes on bike with first minute easy then pick up pace next minute, then easy minute then quick minute then easier pace.
• After that I walk fast or jog easy around my backyard for 5 minutes.
• Then I come back to where I keep weights and lift 2 sets 10 bench press, 2 sets 15 leg extension for thigh muscles and 2 sets 20 abdominal crunches.

That is 20 minutes worth and you can repeat it or go as you feel to different stations.
I stretch out at the end or sometimes after weight section before I move onto next station.

You might want to try something like this with a friend and have you start on different stations and both have stop watch to know when to switch.   This is good workout to do once or twice a week, and another form of variety in a workout is Covenant Health's 50 Plus classes that combine aerobic work, with strength, and range of motion.