Yourself a Functional Workout

With functional circuit training, you can dash in and out of the gym within 45 minutes flat, no kidding! And you don’t have to wait in line for any gym equipment!

Also, if increasing your heart rate and burning fat are your goals, functional circuit training is what you need. Now, have we gotten you excited? Read on for more exciting information on this made-for-measure fitness regimen.

The works

Functional circuit training is called such because the circuit of exercises follows your daily activities quite closely. This kind of training gets you moving in different directions while combining moves that involve your whole body.

The best part of functional circuit training is it can be done for as long as you want while being adjusted to your fitness level. You need to do exercises that use different muscles and joints at the same time during each session.

In addition to making your workout a challenging, effective and fun experience, you also can tone your body to handle daily activities with ease. With regular sessions, you can soon see improvement in your muscular endurance, overall strength, co-ordination, balance, posture and agility.“Functional circuit training involves doing different exercises in up to 9 exercise stations with readily available equipment within 45 minutes,” says Chris.

“Some movements are done with very basic equipment while others do not need any equipment at all. It is an interesting form of exercise for our participants,” he adds.

How to train

Chris points out that the proper way of doing functional circuit training is to be guided by an instructor to ensure one does the right movement to avoid injury to the muscles.

Functional circuit training is for both men and women aged 16 to 65. The training regimen depends on the personal capacity of the person.

“It’s not about a competition; it’s whatever they can do. They should not force themselves,” says Chris.

In functional circuit training, you can exercise at your own pace with the help of a timer. You need to exercise for 40 seconds and rest for 20 seconds between each of the 9 stations. After completing the nine stations, you need to rest for 1 minute and repeat the circuit four times and then cool down for 5 minutes. And you’re done for the day!

“Most of the movements are the same for both men and women. However, some of the movements are made easier for women,” explains Chris.

Benefits

He says diet and lifestyle are both important if you want to gain the most health benefits from functional circuit training.

“Participants have seen improvement in their fitness levels within 30 days of starting functional circuit training,” says Chris.

The targets of functional circuit training are various depending on one’s personal wishes and may include weight loss as well.

“If they want to lose weight, we can guide them to do so. If they don’t want to lose weight, we can guide them to just lose the body fat and tone their muscles. It depends on the targets that they have,” says Chris.

He points out that functional circuit training will ensure people won’t be bored doing the same exercises. There are different exercises they can do.

“The number of times per week that one does functional circuit training depends on their personal capacity and stamina,” says Chris.

You can exercise every day, 3 days a week or 2 days a week. But, Chris advises, “If you really want to see the change, I suggest you exercise every day. Just 45 minutes each session.”

References:

1. Men’s Fitness. Available at www.mensfitness.com

2. Men’s Journal. Available at www.mensjournal.com

3. Sheknows. Available at www.sheknows.com

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