Important! Link to Supplemental Video Library with demonstrations of various exercises.
Circuit training will be 2-3 sets of 12 exercises of your choice. Each exercise should be executed for 45 seconds with a 15 second break. This means you should be starting a different exercise every minute.
If you choose an exercise which is difficult to maintain for the full 45 seconds (i.e. pullups) then simply do as much as you can within the 45 seconds.
When choosing exercises for your circuit, try to have an even mix of core, lower and upper body exercises. If you wish to target certain areas more than others, then go ahead and have an upper or lower body focus, but still make sure to get a bit of everything within your circuit.
The recommended timing and reps in the tables below is for doing shorter core circuits at the end of another workout. The idea for this is to pick 3-5 exercises for 2-3 sets and execute the exercise for the timing/reps recommended.
If an exercise is easy, add more reps or more time. For shorter core workouts, try to stick to a higher proportion of core exercises than lower or upper body exercises. If you wish, you can do 3-5 different exercises for each set.
View video demonstrations of most (but not all) of these exercises in the Supplemental Video Library.
No Equipment #
| Modifications | ||||
| Exercise | Timing/reps | Easy | Hard | |
| Core | Front plank | 30sec | From knees | From feet From elbows |
| Core | Side plank | 30 sec/side | From knee From hand | From feet From elbow Lateral hip raises |
| Core | Dead Bug | 30sec | Lower one leg at a time | Lower both legs same time Lower arms in time with legs Hold light weights |
| Core | Crunches | 20 reps | Feet on ground, knees bent | Feet elevated, knees at 90 degrees |
| Core | Mountain Climbers | 30sec | Feet on towel or sliding disc | |
| Core | Inch worms | 10 reps | Lower to extended plank position | Lower to push up position |
| Core | Bear crawls | 30sec | ||
| Core | Back extensions | 30sec | Hold weight in hands | |
| Core | Leg raises | 30sec | Knees bent Half range of motion | Legs straight Full range of motion |
| Core | Hip Raises | 15 reps | Elastic band around knees | One foot elevated (single leg raises) |
| Core | Clamshells | 15 reps | Elastic band around knees | |
| Core | V-hold | 30sec | Feet lightly touch ground with knees bent | Hold weight Progression to hollow body hold or Russian Twists |
| Core | Rows/V-Ups | 15 reps | Rows (knees are bent) | V-Ups straight legs and arms |
| Core | Bird Dogs | 30 sec/side | ||
| Core | Heel Taps | 30 sec | ||
| Core | Bicycle Crunches | |||
| Lower Body | Single-leg split squats | 15 reps/leg | Holding some form of weight | |
| Lower Body | Lateral lunges | 15 reps/leg | Holding some form of weight | |
| Lower Body | Lateral Jumps | 30sec | ||
| Lower Body | Pistol squats | 5 reps/leg | From chair From step or balance beam | No assists/full range of motion |
| Lower Body | Step-Ups | 15 reps/leg | Holding weights | |
| Lower Body | Hamstring Curls Towel | 5-10 reps/leg | One leg elevated | |
| Upper Body | Pull Ups | 6-10 repsOr whatever you can do | Use elastic to assist pulling up Start at top and slowly lower yourself down (eccentric) | Body weight Weighted pull ups |
| Upper Body | Push-ups | 30sec | From knees | From feet |
| Upper Body | Dips | 15-30 reps | Feet on ground bent knees Feet on ground straight legs | Feet elevated |
With Equipment #
| Exercise Ball/ KettleBells/ Dumbbells/ Elastics | Modifications | |||
| Exercise | Timing/reps | Easy | Hard | |
| Core | Front plank with feet on exercise ball | 30sec | Hold front plank | Knees to chest with feet on ball Knees to chest and rotate side to side feet on ball |
| Core | Stir-the-pot (exercise ball) | 30sec | Knees on ground | Feet on ground |
| Core | Russian Twist (weights) | 30 reps | Feet on ground | Feet elevated |
| Core | Crunches (exercise ball) | |||
| Core | Cross-band lateral walks (elastics) | 15/side | ||
| Core | Pallof press (elastics) | 15/side | Raise straightened arms above head | |
| Core | Front Plank on hands (weight) | 30sec | Move weight from one side to another, ensure hips are stable | |
| Upper Body | Bicep curls (weights) | 10-15 reps/arm | ||
| Upper Body | Bent over rows (weights) | 10-15 reps/arm | ||
| Upper Body | Skull Crushers (weights) | 10-15 reps/arm | Legs elevated to 90 degrees | |
| Upper Body | Kettlebell press (kettlebell) | 10-15 reps/arm | ||
| Lower Body | Single leg romanian deadlifts (weights) | 8-10 reps/leg | ||
| Lower Body | Split squats (weights) | 8-10 reps/leg | ||
| Lower Body | Kettlebell swings (kettlebell) | 20 reps | Swing kettlebell between legs | Add rotation by swinging kettlebell to left and right side |
| Lower Body | Goblet squats (kettlebell) | 10-15 reps | ||
| Lower Body | Step-ups (weights) | 10-15 reps/leg | ||
