Circuits

All too often I hear people say that “I don’t have enough time to exercise” or “I am too busy to find time to train”. After asking people why this is, they often assume that you need to spend hours in the gym slogging away, for instance, on a cross trainer or treadmill. I then enquire about the type of training they do in the gym and the intensity they train at. The regular response is often something similar to “I spend 45 minutes on the cross trainer and then 30 minutes on the rowing machine and am sweating at the end”.

This image shows me doing some boxercise training. Boxing provides a fantastic whole body workout. It will work your arms, shoulders and chest and your core muscles (at the front, side and back) and is great for toning and helping to define them. Crucially, which many people do not realise, Boxing will give your legs a great workout especially when you move around and use your legs to transfer force to your upper body. Boxing is excellent for fat/weight loss, burns lots of calories and gives you a fantastic Cardiovascular workout for your heart and lungs.

This image shows me Lunging whilst raising my arms to the side. Lunges provide a fantastic workout for the legs, hips and glutes and also for the core muscles. You can vary the lunge in so many ways, for instance, you can do them with your arms at your side, with your arms raised to the side (as in the image), with your arms above your head etc. Raising your arms whilst performing lunges challenges your core muscles to stabilise your body and provides a great workout for your Cardiovascular System. It also helps to develop your co-ordination and balance.

This image shows me doing press ups whilst having one of my legs raised. This is a great progession from a 'normal' press up. This type of press up provides a fantastic workout for the arms, shoulders and chest and also for the core muscles (especially front abdominals and lower back). Raising one leg whilst performing press ups challenges your core muscles to stabilise your body and provides a good workout for your Cardiovascular System. It also helps to develop your co-ordination and balance. As a starter aim to do 4-6 reps with either leg raised.

Today the weather was wet and windy outside, so we trained in a client’s garage instead - using step ladder, skipping rope, boxing equipment and 8kg dumbbells. We did a fantastic workout circuit that my client said pushed him really hard and gave him a great whole body workout. The main workout consisted of the following: