October Rotation Question-Day of Rest Between Lifting?

iluvstartrek!

iluvstartrek!

Active Member
Hi:
I was looking at the October rotation-I love your rotations and thank you for doing them for us-and I saw where several times this month you have a circuit workout one day and a Weight workout the next day scheduled. For example: Body Max 2 Monday Oct. 3 and Pure Strength Back and Biceps Tuesday October 4. I like the idea of doing that because I love the Circuit DVD's (they're fun) but they don't workout my muscles very hard so I usually add on another DVD onto the day that I do the circuit dvd or do additional weight lifting at the gym but it makes for a long day of exercising. I didn't know you could do a circuit on one day and then lift weights on the next day because the circuit DVD's works the whole body. I was always told that you shouldn't work the same muscle with weights two day in a row. I really like the idea of doing a circuit workout on one day and the very next day doing a weight lifting routine that works out one or two muscles-like Back and Biceps. I will be doing the circuit DVD's more often.

I was just wondering if you could tell me why this is ok. It seems to go against what I've had trainers tell me and what I've read about. I just want to know so I don't train the wrong way-I don't just follow your rotations but make my own up too, or add to yours. I'm just hoping to understand why it is ok for me to do a circuit training on one day and a weight one on another. I'm figuring it is because the weight part of the circuit is not really challenging on the muscles-they're not being fatigued at all.

Thank you for your help.
 
Last edited:
bump

Good question, I didn't think that you could do a circuit one day and a weight workout the next. Maybe it depends on how heavy you go on your circuit??
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering. I know Cathe is very busy. I hope to find out pretty soon though. I like the circuit workouts because they're fun, but I don't do them very often because I like to do a much harder weight workout. I don't like having to skip a day after doing a circuit workout before I can do weights again. However, if I don't have to skip a day, I'll do them more often. I just want to understand the why so I don't train incorrectly.
 
Just bumping...I know Cathe is probably super busy with shipping the new series (yay!!), but just want to keep the thread near the top. :)
 
I was wondering the same thing about that rotation. I usually do cardio or rest in between weight training days whether it's circuit or all weights.
 
Not Cathe - but since so many people have been wondering about this question I thought I would throw in an answer here. I don't think circuit training actually "counts" as lifting. For instance you can do circuit training on consecutive days (think Jillian Michael's 30 day shred) so I think that is why Cathe put in circuit training and lifting on back to back days - the circuit training is actually your "day off" from lifting.

Hopefully Cathe will answer your question as well, but since we all know how crazy uber busy she is right now I thought I would try to answer your question - I hope that is okay. Feel free to ignore me though!
 
Macbeanur -

I am grateful for you response, and I'm sure others are, too! An excellent question, and I'm glad to be getting closer to understanding the answer!
 
I am tending to agree with you, macbeanur. I know when I do a circuit workout it doesn't feel like I weight workout to me. It doesn't even come close to fatiguing my muscles. It is more cardio. When I've done a circuit workout before, I always follow it up by a weight workout. I don't do them much though because of the time involved. I don't usually do a full body workout in one day. Instead of using the 60-90 minutes for the whole body, I prefer to use the 60-90 for one or two muscle groups-ie chest and back. That way I can really work them out.
I know Cathe is really busy with the Low Impact Series (they got her fast. Mine were here Monday or Tuesday!!) but I'm really hoping that I get an answer. In the meantime, I'm going to go with how I feel and figure that a circuit workout is a cardio workout. I can always lighten up on my weight amount. They offer a couple of circuit classes at the gym that I might start taking now.
Thank you everyone for your answers.
 
This is a great question, and I would really be interested in a response as well. I love circuit training - a) I am time-crunched w/a toddler and often think of circuit as two birds/one stone kind of deal and b)the fun factor of the cardio reps sandwiched in between the weight reps ups the fan factor for me.

I think it depends on the circuits and what your goals are (maybe). So for Cathe's Circuit Blast, say, I would consider that a weight day. My main goals for weight are bone strength and functional training. So maybe for me that would be a weight day? But of course it is not going to hit weights nearly as hard as, say, Cathe's STS Total Body Workout. So that is where it gets confusing. I wouldn't do Circuit Blast the day after Total Body but after that it gets kind of fuzzy for me. Athletic Training the day after Circuit Blast? TurboBarre the day after Athletic Training? Confusing!
 
it is confusing

I thought it was simple, don't work the same muscle two days in a row-they need 48 hours to repair. But I guess it isn't that simple. Even the new Low Impact Series suggests doing a little weights two days in a row is ok. The After Burn workout and the Cardio Workout both use dumbbells in it. In this rotation, the first week you're doing AB one day and CSS the next day. The dumbbells are used mainly to get your heart rate up-as a cardio workout. They aren't used really to build up/work your muscle to failure. Maybe some of the circuit workouts are kind of in that category. I'm going to keep bumping this in hopes that Cathe answers me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top