Circuit weights enough?

GrettaB

Cathlete
Can I get all the resistance training I need through circuit workouts? I love cardio, but find straight weight lifting extremely boring. My main concern is muscle imbalance that may lead to injury.
 
I would say, no.

The point about weight segments in circuit workouts is to keep testing your stamina. It's not the best way to build strength in the muscles and it isn't as thorough as Cathe's weight training workouts.

For example, Cathe usually does only 1 or maybe 2 exercises per muscle group in circuit workouts, versus the 4 or 5 or 6 she might do in strength training sessions such as 4DS where she is really exhausting the muscle and recruiting maximum muscle fibres.

Clare
 
circuit training only

I agree with clare,

It depend on your goal.

If you want to gain strength, you will need more than circuit.

I have tried all scenarios :D Cardio only not cathe then I got bored, discovered cathe and started circuit, stopped circuit to just do weight lifting light weight/ moderate, then heavy. It has been two years since i have been doing various rotations and it has worked the best in terms of what i want to achieve.

xxx
 
Can I get all the resistance training I need through circuit workouts? I love cardio, but find straight weight lifting extremely boring. My main concern is muscle imbalance that may lead to injury.

It depends on your goal.

If you want to gain muscle mass- no. If you want to train with weights for the benefits including higher bone density, edurance, and some added strength- yes.

When you do circuits and there are various ways to do them, you burn energy a lot faster and therefore cannot maximize your lift. Basically, you can't life as heavy as you could with doing straight-forward strength-only routines. The Firm is one that is a circuit-based/interval program even back to the 80s. You can with time lift heavier going from something as light as 3-5s into the 20s. I've seen that happen with several people, myself included. Your endurance with shoot through the roof and you can lean out/loose body fat as well as reap the benefits that resistance training has to offer. Circuits tend to focus on working the slow-twitch fibers which are the fibers that can keep you going for longer peroids of time. Think runners of marathons for example.

However, if you want to gain muscle mass, gain size, no, circuits are not the way to go for you. To build this kind of muscle requires you to work the fast-twitch fibers (these are responsible for explosive, short bursts of power and strength- think running sprints and explosive olympic lifts). By focusing on these fibers you add both strength and size to the muscles, you get the growth that gives you the popping guns. With the circuits, again you will get stronger you just won't add as much strength as you would with lifting alone. Circuits tend to be focused on 12-50 reps while lifting for strength and gains are no more than 12 reps per set.

In the optimal world, we would do both. It's best to train the muscles in a variety of ways to develop all fibers equally. This also helps to avoid muscle imbalances and over training injuries. But the question you asked is if you can reap the benefits of resistance training with circuits alone. The answer is of course, yes. It depends on your physique goals, your time schedule, and personal interests as to what type of strength based workout you choose. Circuits will give you both the endurance and general strength for daily life and then some. If you don't care about mass and gains, then circuits are all you need.
 
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