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Jon Whitehouse

Winter Circuit training – all you need to know

Our circuit training sessions on Thursday evenings during the winter season will help make you a better runner and support your overall fitness. Expect a varied, running-orientated mixture of strength and conditioning activity designed to improve your strength, mobility and co-ordination and improve your running technique.

People in a sports hall performing core strength exercises

Strength and conditioning is especially helpful for older athletes as we lose muscle mass and our tendons become less elastic. It’s also something on which elite athletes and coaches place enormous importance.


So what actually happens?

Every session is slightly different but a typical evening looks like this:

7pm

Warm-up

Arrive, sign-in, start jogging round hall to warm-up. Coach leads warm-up to prepare our bodies for the work ahead.

c7.10pm

Super 10

10 dynamic exercises (20 secs work with 10 secs rest) to get our heart rate up and body mobilised. Sometimes preceded or followed by a focus on a particular exercise or technique targeting one part of the body

c7.15pm

Circuits

We split into groups of two and three and go twice round a circuit of ten exercises aimed at improving our core strength and targeting the muscles used in running. Most weeks these include squats, lunges, glute bridges and plank variations plus the use of benches and medicine balls. We encourage a focus on technique, not just volume.

c7.35pm

Shuttles or drills

Varied relays up and down the length of the hall to improve running technique, balance and co-ordination

c7.50pm

Cool down and stretching

Gentle exercises to bring down the heart rate and improve our flexibility and range of movement

 

Am I fit enough?

The sessions are designed for people who want to improve their fitness, regardless of their starting point. Anyone who runs with Loughton AC is fit enough. We can explain how to vary exercises to make them easier or more challenging depending on what you can manage. Current participants are aged between 12 and 60+.


Please ask if you are unsure and seek professional advice if you are concerned about an injury.


How is it different to classes at my gym or sports centre?

Some of the content, especially the super 10 and circuit exercises will be similar. Key difference are the focus on running technique and mobility. As runners we use running to build our aerobic base and cardiovascular fitness. Therefore indoor Thursday sessions concentrate on strength and conditioning more than cardio.


No fancy lights or sound systems but we’re super-friendly and very good value at £3 a session!


What you need to know

Venue

Sports Hall, Roding Valley High School, Alderton Hill, Loughton, IG10 3JA.The hall is on the ground floor of the big Sports Hall building next to the Astroturf over the road from the main school. Go in the main entrance and through two sets of double doors

Parking

Car parking is available in Brook Road and on the school premises to the front and to the rear of the school buildings. Under no circumstances should cars be parked on the road or adjacent to the Sports Hall and 3G Pitch. We recommend jogging or cycling to the venue as part of your warm-up, where this is feasible.

Time

Circuit training runs from 7pm until 8pm. Each session starts with a warm-up and end with a cool-down

Payments

Please bring £3 in cash to each session to cover the cost of hall hire and put it in the bucket as you arrive. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque, card or BACS transfer for the whole term (10 sessions = £30) in one lump sum. Fees paid for sessions not attended will be carried over into the Spring Term.

Account name: Loughton Athletic Club Account No: 70545147 Sort Code: 40-30-25 Reference:  <Your name>

Changing facilities

Our hire of the gymnasium includes access access to changing facilities although most people come dressed in sports kit. Neither LAC or the school can guarantee the safety of anything left in the changing rooms or elsewhere on the premises

Equipment

No equipment is required but you may like to bring along a towel to rest your hands or back on when doing floor exercises.

Insurance

We have public liability insurance. Sessions are led by England Athletics qualified coaches.

Injuries

We seek to provide range of exercises to suit everyone’s experience and ability but please advise those running the session of any injuries or constraints so exercises can be varied if necessary. Seek professional advice if unsure.

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