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TRAINING PROGRAM QUESTIONS
Should I pick CIRCUIT Style Training or the Default Sets Style?
Should I pick CIRCUIT Style Training or the Default Sets Style?
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Written by Movement Athlete
Updated over a week ago

In The Movement Athlete App, one of the settings is WORKOUT TYPE. It enables you to make a decision between Strenght Sets & Circuit Sets Types of Workouts.

By default, Strength Sets will appear, but you can change them to the circuit.

This article will explain how to decide between the two and why Strength Sets are the default setting.

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The decision of whether or not to employ circuits in training depends on several factors, including:

  • What is the goal of the training session? Movement mastery, cardiovascular training, muscular endurance, speed, and power, etc.?

  • How specific is this training meant to be? Specificity here refers to how well the training matches the actual sport (in this case, calisthenics).

  • What stage of the over-arching training cycle or career are we in? Off-season, competition/exhibition preparation, no particular season?

The Movement Athlete is a training platform that is primarily concerned with the learning, training, and mastery of calisthenics movements.

Many of the movements themselves are adaptations of gymnastics movements. The most effective and sensible way to learn and get used to the motor patterns, muscle activation, and techniques required for these movements is to give each movement enough time, space, and attention. In this way, the athlete can compare repetitions of a movement, tweak technique and immerse themselves in that movement without the distraction of other movements. In some cases, doing two movements back to back can even be dangerous, as the technique cues from one movement can interfere with the other.

In terms of muscle building and endurance training, circuits (here defined as a series of more than two exercises; supersets or antagonist sets involving two exercises done back to back are not considered a circuit) are possible. However, even here, separating the movements has its benefits.

Muscle building can be safer when the joints and muscles for a particular movement are warmed up, kept warm, and used while warm before moving on to another exercise. As with training movements, exercise quality and technique are also important in building muscle. Performing all of the sets of a particular movement together allows the athlete to engage better the muscles involved.

Circuit training has its place and can be a useful tool:

  • In sport-specific training, for example, specific circuits for basketball players mimic a part of the game.

  • To save time, commonly used in martial arts schools or gymnastics classes, where a bunch of conditioning exercises is done in rapid succession for 10-15 minutes after the class.

  • When low-impact, low-complexity movements are involved, or when the athlete is advanced or proficient enough, the movements are effortless and second nature.

To sum up, circuit training may have its uses, but for the vast majority of cases in The Movement Athlete training system, we suggest using default Sets Style training. At the same type, if you are a person who prefers circuit style and it will make it easier for you to stay consistent, you can simply change it in the settings.

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