Stage Circuit Training
Working a specific set of muscles intensively by repeating one exercise multiple times before moving on to the next.
This form of circuit training is similar to a standard weights session in that each exercise is completed before moving on to the next. This means that the relevant muscle groups are worked intensively in a short period of time, rather than at intervals separated by other exercises (as is the case with both ‘Normal Circuits’ and ‘Total Exercise’ sessions).
So, in stage circuits one exercise type will always make up one set. For example, the first set might be press ups, where the athlete might be given a subset of 10 press ups first - followed by 15, then maybe 20, 15 and 10. After these are completed they move on to the next exercise set, possibly abdominal curls where a different set of numbers could be prescribed.
A direct example would be:
| Exercise | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Press Ups | 10 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Abdominal Curls | 15 | 20 | 25 | 20 |
| Hip Raises | 10 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
A stage circuit training is not intended to have a strong cardiovascular (or aerobic) element, the recovery before each subset of any given exercise is dependant on how long the last subset took. The recovery will be a multiple of the time the exercise took (e.g. 3:1 or 3 times the length of time the exercise subset took).
This ratio is always in relation to the previous set and counts even when moving between exercises. Therefore, if it took 15 seconds to complete one of the subsets, then the recovery after it would be 45 seconds for our example.