Introduction

What is ‘Circuit Training’?

Circuit training is a method of training. A circuit usually contains 8 to 15 stations. At each station a different exercise is carried out for a certain amount of time. Circuit training can improve a number of different things including muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, aerobic fitness, muscular strength, speed and agility.

A circuit-training program can be designed for a certain sport. This is a  very common thing to do. Circuit training programs that are specific for a certain sport will include exercises to improve all the muscles and skills associated with the chosen sport. For example a circuit training program for basketball would contain stations where the participant would have to work on skills such as, jumping, catching and throwing.

Principles of Training

There are a number of key principles that we need to be aware of when training, so that we can improve the quality of our various body systems.

These key principles can be easily remembered using the acronym S.P.O.R.T.

S – principle of specificity

Training must be specific to the activity you are training for. You may want to choose one particular type of training but also concentrate upon one area. You must consider these points:

1)individuals are different

2)each activity has specific demands

P – principle of progression

The demand you put upon your body must be steadily increased. If you stay at the same level you will not improve, but if you do too much too soon you will be likely to injure yourself. A factor to be aware of is ‘plateauing.’ This is when you stay at the same level and don’t seem to be able to move on to the next level. You must have mental strength to get through this.

O – principle of overload

This is when you make your body work more than your workload capacity. This can be achieved in 3 ways:

1)you can increase the frequency of your training. For example you could start by training twice a week and then build it up to 3 times a week and then 4 times a week and so on.

2)the intensity of your training can be increased. You can do this by simply pushing yourself harder whilst training.

3)duration should be increased. This may be the length of each session or how many repetitions of an exercise you do each time, or by increasing the amount of time spent on each activity.

R – principle of reversibility

This is the opposite of progression. If you stop or decrease training you will lose all the effects of your training. It will take a lot less time to lose the effects of your training than it did to gain them. This can happen when you are injured or ill. For example if you break your leg. It is put in a cast to immobilize it. This means you can’t exercise. The muscles in your leg will atrophy, so the strength of your leg will be lost.

T – principle of tedium

Training sessions must consist of  different activities to avoid tedium and boredom. We must vary our training to heighten our enthusiasm and motivation.

When thinking about how to set up my circuit I must consider all of the above points, to make sure I get the best possible results for me out of my circuit.

About Me and My Circuit

I am 15 years old. I do a lot of sport outside of school and inside school. The main sport that I do is football. I am currently playing for Alsager High School, Cheshire Schools, and Eccleshall U-16’s and Reserves.

As football is the main sport that I participate in, I thought that I would design my circuit for football and the position of goalkeeper, as this is my position when I play.

My circuit-training program is based over a six-week period. The 10 stations are specifically suited to what is needed to play football. The circuit is specified for a goalkeeper as there are goalkeeping skills involved in the skills section of the circuit.

My circuit is aimed to improve the following over a six-week period: muscular endurance, muscular strength, speed, agility, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and goalkeeping skills. These are all needed for a goalkeeper in football.

For example:

·        Muscular Endurance – To keep the muscles contracting for the full length of the match without them becoming tired or weak.

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·        Muscular Strength – the force your muscles exert when they contract. This is an important part of football as it is a contact sport and it is also very physical, goalkeepers need to be able to protect themselves and make sure they can’t get hurt by any of the other players when they are challenging for the ball. Also muscular strength is useful when throwing the ball out to a member of your team, good muscular strength in the abdominal muscles is required to throw the ball higher and further to reach a player that is a long distance ...

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