Bodybuilding & Muscle Building Techniques
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Is circuit training good for muscle growth?
Is circuit training good for muscle growth?
Question. I've been circuit training using the weight machines in my gym. I do 12-15 repetitions of 10 or 12 exercises. I haven't really seen results after training for 2-3 months. How do I start making progress and gaining muscle again?
Answer. Circuit training is a good way for beginners to train. But it's not the best way to build a lot of muscle. The normal way to do circuits is to start with an exercise for one area of your body (such as the chest press), then move to an exercise for another area (such as the leg press). Once you've gone through all the exercises, you start again at the beginning and go through the circuit two or three times.
The problem is that each muscle group gets too much rest between sets (usually 10-15 minutes). So, your first change is to ditch the circuit. Instead, do three sets of each exercise before moving to the next one. Make sure to keep the rest you take between sets down to 60-90 seconds. You'll also need to reduce the number of repetitions you're doing. To build muscle, 6-12 repetitions are about right.
Instead of using machines, most of your programme should be based on free weights. With free weights, you can move the weight in a way that puts the maximum amount of stress on your muscles,
whereas machines lock you into a fixed movement pattern that isn't right for everyone.
Question. I've been circuit training using the weight machines in my gym. I do 12-15 repetitions of 10 or 12 exercises. I haven't really seen results after training for 2-3 months. How do I start making progress and gaining muscle again?
Answer. Circuit training is a good way for beginners to train. But it's not the best way to build a lot of muscle. The normal way to do circuits is to start with an exercise for one area of your body (such as the chest press), then move to an exercise for another area (such as the leg press). Once you've gone through all the exercises, you start again at the beginning and go through the circuit two or three times.
The problem is that each muscle group gets too much rest between sets (usually 10-15 minutes). So, your first change is to ditch the circuit. Instead, do three sets of each exercise before moving to the next one. Make sure to keep the rest you take between sets down to 60-90 seconds. You'll also need to reduce the number of repetitions you're doing. To build muscle, 6-12 repetitions are about right.
Instead of using machines, most of your programme should be based on free weights. With free weights, you can move the weight in a way that puts the maximum amount of stress on your muscles,
whereas machines lock you into a fixed movement pattern that isn't right for everyone.
