Circuits When Pressed for Time

Craig Edwards Leave a comment

A lot of times when it comes to training I find myself not having a heck of a lot of time to get things done, which I would assume is something that most people can probably relate to. In times like this, we have a couple options; one, call it a day and move on, or two, make the best of things and do something productive.

I’d recommend option two.

Enter a circuit. These circuits keep you moving at a decent pace and also allow you to get a decent amount of work done in a very short time frame. You get all aspects of a quality and well rounded training program, from activation through strength training and even some aerobic conditioning due to the continuous movement.

Here’s what a typical circuit day would look like;

General Warm Up
• Diaphragmatic Breathing x2 minutes
• Total Body Foam Roll
• Total Body Stretch

Activation Circuit
• Cook Hip Lift w/ breathe x5 each
• Floor Slides w/ breathe x10
• Leg Lowers w/ breathe x5 each
• Dead Bug w/ breathe x5 each
• Supine Band Hip Flexor 2×10 second hold each
• Mini Band Overhead Squat x10
• Lateral Band Walks x10 each way
• Band Pull Apart x15

Mobility Circuit
• V-Stance T-Spine Rotation x10 each
• Wall Ankle Mobs x10 each
• Split Squat x5 each
• Lateral Squat x5 each
• Rotational Squat x5 each
• Reaching 1-Leg RDL x8 each

Core
• Front Plank x30 seconds
• Side Plank x20 seconds each
• Body Saw x8
• Tall Kneeling Anti-Rotation Press x8 each

Bodyweight Strength Circuit (3 sets of each exercise)
• Push Up x20
• 1-Leg Squat x5 each
• Chin Up x10
• 1-Leg Shoulder Elevated Hip Bridge x15 each leg

Conditioning
• :10:20×8 Air Assault (2 sets, 4 minutes of rest between sets)

Simple and effective. A full program, from top to bottom, that will take you all of 30-45 minutes. This allows you to get something done even when you are in a crunch for time. Doing something like this on a daily basis won’t get you looking like The Rock or put you on the cover of Men’s Health anytime soon, but sometimes our busy lives require us to get in and out of the weight room quickly. Punch the clock and move on.

Leave a Reply