Circuit Training

We did ten different excersises in a circut with a partner, with 45 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest for each of the excerises.


1. Wall Bar Climb

The first excerise we did was the wall-bar climb, we climbed up and down the wall bar as fast as possible. When doing this we were mainly working our legs.

Components of fitness trained: Speed



2. Burpies

On an agility mat, we did as many burpies as we could in 45 seconds, when doing this we were working our whole bodies.

Components of fitness trained: Speed

3. Step-Ups

We jumped off and on a bench as fast as we could at maximum intesity in the 45 seconds, this worked our leg muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Speed


4. Sitting Pull-Ups

Whilst sitting up straight, we pulled ourselves above a wooden bar. This tested our arm muscles rather then our leg muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Explosive Power, Strength


5. Press-Ups

On an agility mat we did press-ups for the 45 seconds, rather then focusing on the amount of press-ups we were doing we focused on the quality of press-ups to make sure we got the most out of the session. This tested our arm muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Explosive Power, Strength

6. Squat Thrust

We changed from a press-up position into a squat position and back for 45 seconds. This worked our leg muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Speed



7. Bench Lift

We lifted a bench up to a vertical position and then lifted it over our heads for 45 seconds. This worked our arm muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Explosive Power, Strength



8. Step-Ups

We stepped up and off a platform as fast as we could. This worked our leg muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Speed


9. Sit-Ups

We put our feet under a wall bar and did as many sit-ups as we could for the 45 seconds. This worked our abdomanal muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Speed

10. Squats

In the last excerise, we did as many squats as we could for 45 seconds. This worked our leg muscles.

Components of fitness trained: Speed

Advantages of this training method

• Trains more then one component of fitness
• Trains the whole body
• Not a boring training session

Disadvantages of this training method

• You fatigue during the session
• DOMS after the session

Speed Interval Training

We ran 8x10m, 6x20m, 4x40m and 2x60m. Because we ran shorter distances, we ran at a higher intensity which was close to maximum intensity. This helped to improve our technique, aswell as training our speed. Doing this sort of training will help you to run and to sprint faster.

Components of fitness trained: Speed

Advantages of this training method

• No demonstration needed
• No equipment needed
• You don't fatigue during the training

Disadvantages of this training method

• Only trains one component of fitness

PNF Stretching

In PNF Stretching, we worked with a partner to try and reach a higher range of stretching with our legs and our arms.

First we used an agility mat, and the first partner layed with his back on the floor. The partner then lifted up one leg, to as high up as he could without feeling sharp pains in his hamstring. When the height of the leg was decided, the partner on the floor pushed down his leg into his partner trying to push his leg to the floor for 8 seconds. Then the leg was lifted higher, and the partner pushed down once again for eight seconds, this then happened a third time and three times on the opposite leg. The partners then switched and did the opposite job they did previously.

An example of partner assisted hamstring stretching

Hamstring Stretch, Partner Assisted Hamstring Stretch Video, Hamstring Stretching Exercises from Brad Walker on Vimeo.

We then did a second excerise of PNF stretching, this time stretching our arms. The first partner sat up straight on the agility mat, whilst the second partner held there wrists and held the arms behind the first partners aswell as holding the the arms upwards. The second partner puts his knee into the second persons back to straighten up the back and the stretch was held for eight seconds, the arms were then lifted up higher and further back a second time and then a third time. The partners then switched roles, and did the opposite job to the one they did previously.

PNF stretching helps you jump higher and run faster, as doing it a lot will give you more flexibility in your joints. In this session, we developed our shoulder and hamstring joints.

Components of Fitness Trained: Flexibility

Chest Stretches, Partner Assisted Chest Stretch Video, Chest Stretching Exercises from Brad Walker on Vimeo.

Advantages of PNF Stretching

- Not a lot of equipment needed to start the session (agility mat needed only)
- No fatigue or DOMS after the session

Disadvantages of PNF Stretching

- Only trains flexibility
- Guidance needed to start the session

- Could be boring, if your more of an active person and want to be moving about

Plyometric Training

We did two circuits of five exercises, in the first circuit we did 90 seconds of work on each exercise and in the second circuit we did 60 seconds of work on each excerise. The five exercies were:




Excerise 1) In a square we jumped over small hurdles, into the square then back out of the square, then towards the left, then to the right and then out of the square.



Tests: Dynamic Balance, Speed, Explosive Power, Co-ordination, Agility

Excerise 2) We took a short run up to a spring board and jumped on to a tall box, we then jumped off and then jumped over a box half the size and then jumped over a smaller box. We did this without pausing inbetween each jump, so the time between landing and jumping again was short.



Tests: Explosive Power, Speed

Plyometric Jumps from Judson Sickler on Vimeo.

Excerise 3) We jumped over four benches, jumping at a high speed. The time between landing and jumping was short, as we didn't pause after landing.


Tests: Explosive Power, Speed, Co-ordination

Exercise 4) Two springs were placed on an agility mat, with a gap between the two springs. We did a press-ups on the springs, and then dropped into the gap between the springs and did a press-up and we pushed up hard so that we could do a press-up on the springs, we did this for 4-6 press-ups before switching over.



Tests: Explosive power, strength





Exercise 5) We carried a 3kg medicine ball on our chest, below our elbows, we then jumped as far as we then got into a lumbar curve position and jumped as far as we could along a long agility mat, we did this untill we reached the end of the mat.



Tests: Explosive Strength

Plyometric Squat from V4 Fitness by Balanced Strength, on Vimeo.

Advantages of Plyometric Training

- Develops more then one componet if fitness

- You wouldn't get bored of doing the excerise in a routine

- Your not fatigued during the session, so you can work harder during the intervals of work

Disadvantages of Plymoteric Training

- A lot of equipment is needed to do the session

- Guidence is needed on some of the excerises

- DOMS occur afterwards



An example of a more basic Plyometric training circuit, which focuses on speed and explosive power

Plyometric Circuit from OneResult on Vimeo.