I did not manage to reach my aim as I decreased in most areas. However I made a significant increase in skipping and also improved my step ups and stomach crunches.
Session 3
In this circuit my aim was to improve the amount of skipping I could do in 30 seconds. So when it came to doing them I put all my energy into it. However, when I came to doing my circuit I felt ill so I feel I put all my energy into one area of my circuit and the rest suffered because of this.
I was happier with my heart rate on this circuit as it nearly got back down to my resting heart rate in 5 minutes which shows that my cardiovascular system must be improving.
During my dance lesson, on the night I performed my circuit, I noticed that my legs were not getting as tired as they were before and I was not having to have as many breaks as before to keep me going.
Session 4
In my last circuit my pull ups decreased a considerable amount compared to what I have been doing in my previous circuits so my aim for session 4 will be to improve my pull ups by as much as I can. This will be beneficial as even though improving my upper body is not part of my aim it will still be helpful when ballroom dancing.
I completed my aim but not as much as I would have hoped. I am still not up to the standard as I was in my first and second circuit however I still improved and will work my hardest to keep improving them.
I had a general increase in all areas of my circuit today accept in squat thrusts. But the decrease was not dramatic and I will aim to make up for it in my next session.
I feel that having both stomach crunches and sit ups in my circuit is not beneficial. They work the same muscles and these muscles are not the ones I am particularly trying to work on. So I will change stomach crunches to shuttle runs. This will hopefully help my quadriceps and hamstrings and therefore increase my agility.
Session 5
In this session my aim is to increase the amount of squat thrusts I can do. Squat thrusts really are vital to my circuit as they work on the quadriceps, a muscle that is important for agility.
I did not complete my aim as I did not increase the amount of squat thrusts performed compared to my last circuit however I did not decrease either so it was not a total failure.
In this session I started to feel that doing my shuttle runs for 30 seconds is not beneficial as it does not thoroughly work the cardiac system, which will increase my stamina, so I will be increasing the time I take to do them to one minute.
I have noticed the significant increase in skipping I have been able to do since the start of my programme and I feel like my training programme is making a difference in my performance.
Session 6
My aim for this session is to get my recovery heart rate down to my resting heart rate after I perform my circuit. If I manage to do this, it will prove that my circuit is having a positive impact on my cardiovascular system and therefore increase my stamina.
I feel increasing the amount of time allowed for shuttle runs has benefitted me. I worked me cardiovascular system to the max for a whole minute, which is showed by my heart rate which was the highest it has been since I started my circuit. However I still managed to get it below my resting heart rate in 5 minutes. This proves my cardiovascular system is improving.
Session 7
In this session I will aim to complete and average of 20 repetitions in each area of my circuit other than ladder run. If I manage to do this it will show that I have the stamina to keep going until my aim is complete.
I feel that I moderately completed my aim. I managed to do 20 repetitions in all areas of my circuit other than shuttle run, pull ups and sit ups. However sit ups and shuttle run were not to far from 20 the only failure I had was in pull ups. Pull ups are not my strong point as I do not have much upper body strength; however it is not a requirement for ballroom dancing as the arms are not used much. However you do need to be able to hold them in position for the duration of the dance which does require a certain extent of muscle.
Session 8
This is the last circuit I will be completing so my aim is just to do as best I can in all areas of my circuit. As this is my last circuit I should be able to determine whether my circuit has improved my performance by seeing if I have been able to improve the number of repetitions performed in all areas of my circuit.
I feel like I completed my aim successfully. I did better in this circuit than I did in any other I have performed. This is because I put all my energy into this circuit as it was my last to perform. I completed a warm up and cool down successfully and needed no longer than 30 second breaks in between each station.
My heart rate has been good over the past couple of sessions as it has come below my resting heart rate after exercise which shows my cardiovascular system has improved. Also because my resting heart rate has decreased from 80 to 66 over the past couple of weeks shows that my stroke volume has increased as I have become more trained.
