Circuit Training with Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton explains three ways to do a circuit training workout, one of his favorite ways to train in the gym.

Depending on how hard you want to go and how much time you have, you can choose how many rounds you want to do and how many reps you’ll do in each round.

1- The Basic Circuit: Three rounds: First round is 25 reps; second round is 15; third round is 5. Increase weight on each round.

2- The One-Round Endurance Circuit: One round: Do 40 to 60reps (as many as you can do, keeping good form) of each exercise with light weights

3-The Grind: Six Rounds: first round is 30 reps; second round is 20; third round is 10; fourth round is 5 (as heavy as you can go); fifth round is 15, sixth round is 25.

Here’s an example of a few exercises. All 15 exercises plus demonstrating photos can be seen in Laird’s book “Force of Nature”.

Laird Circuit 11- Crunch: Works your abdominal muscles and obliques (the muscles along your sides that enable you to bend and twist)

2- Plank: Arms are bent at 90-degree angle with elbows directly under your shoulders and palms flat on the ground directly under shoulders. Hold for 1 minute.

3- Cable Pulldown: Use an overhand grip with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart, and pull the cables (or bar) down. Keep your body stationary; make sure you’re not rocking backward and using that momentum to move the weight.

4- Chest Press: There are all kinds of ways to do a chest press, both on a machine and with free weights on a bench. If you use the latter, you can vary the movement by changing the position of your body: flat, decline, or incline. Each angle works your chest slightly differently.

5- Leg Extension: Sitting with your back flat and your feet hooked behind the pads, straighten your legs (being careful not to lock or hyperextend your knees.) Slowly lower legs to starting position.