When I first started personal training I always regarded classes as the easier way of working out. Step aerobics? I made fun of it. circuit classes? They were silly. If you realy wanted to workout you needed to man up and lift some weights. Right? Wrong!!! The concept behind the circuit class is pretty simple. Take several exercises, different body parts, varying weights, and string them together in a "circuit" to optomize the overall burn. These circuits can be done so many different ways. Bodyweight workouts:

20 pushups

20 squats

20 crunches

20 jumping jax

20 supermans

with dumbells:

20 dumbell shoulder press

20 dumbell squats

20 dumbells curls

20 dumbell stiff legged dead lifts

20 dumbell chest flies

or even machines:

20 chest press

20 lat pull down

20 leg press

20 tricep extension

20 cable bicep curls

Of course you can mix and match all of these and even throw in some 5 minute spint intervals on the bike and/or treadmill to realy spice it up. For many of my clients I start with a simple circuit of 3 exercises (1minute each exercise) and then add an exercise at the start of each new set. By the end I have strung together 7 to 10 exercises performed back to back with varying intensity. These exercises can be anything from the above to heavy bench press, dead lifts, and /or kettlebells. Crossfit has become the flavor of the month lately, and for all points and purposes all Crossfit is, is circuit training. No more, no less. Just because you lift sandbags, kettlebells, medicne balls, and heavy ropes doesn't mean you are doing anything other than circuit training. I do suggest that you get some guidance on kettlebells before you start throwing them around. Jackie is shown demonstrating a very basic circuit.