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Hit the Circuit

Circuit training cuts your rest time even more so than supersets and combo lifts.

During circuit training, you move through a series of five exercises, one after another, without taking a break. Complete one set of each lift before moving on to the next exercise. While you’re working one muscle group, you’re resting the muscle you just worked, so you’re saving time.

A good way to do circuit training is to alternate between exercises that target a different body part than the one you just worked — for example, side raises, chest presses, triceps extensions, overhead shoulder presses, biceps curls. Remember to move quickly from one exercise to the next without resting.

Even when you’re not supersetting, combo lifting or circuit training, you can still make good use of your rest time between resistance sets by doing ab exercises, suggests exercise physiologist and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)–certified trainer Tom Holland, author of The 12-Week Triathlete (Fair Winds Press, 2005). For tips on the most effective ab exercises, see “Abs, Simplified” in the November 2005 archives.