FITNESS: GET FIT! DO THE CIRCUIT!

Has the gym become your last resort to fitness simply because it has bored you to exhaustion after a few weeks? Or have you quit going to your favorite fitness hub due to your demanding work schedule; leaving lesser and lesser time for you to sweat it out? Perhaps, circuit training might be perfect for you!

A combination of aerobics and resistance exercises, circuit training is specifically designed to initiate and target muscle development, fat loss, and over all fitness. Brainchild of G.T. Anderson and R.E. Morgan, circuit training was developed at the University of Leeds, England in 1953.

Circuit training employs a little over 30 minutes of a gym-goer’s time and usually has quick intervals between routines and exercises. The training, originally composed of up to 12 various exercise stations and themed circuits, uses the aid of dumbbells and weights, exercise machines, calisthenics, and resistance equipments. And because it is time efficient, there’s no space for boredom or the feeling of being burnt out

Studies have shown that this particular training aids people, more specifically women, in achieving their much coveted goal of having a fit and svelte physique, and maintaining it longer in the process with lesser time needed. Thus, this has become a group of college friends’ inspiration for their newest baby, the 360 Fitness Club.

360 degrees and more

Joana Pinon, managing director, has been working out for 10 years until her work got in the way, she stopped, and gained weight.

“At an average I stay around two to three hours in the gym. But when I got so busy with work, I stopped and I gained weight,” Pinon said. “So that’s where the idea came up. What if there’s an express fitness center that you can workout in?”

In 360 Fitness Club a group circuit training is more than just an exercise program. It consists of 20 exercise stations that combine cardiovascular and strengthening exercises – a total body workout that will make you burn up to 500 calories in just 30 minutes, tone and shape up with the use of free weights and exercise accessories.

“We're all about making fitness a way of life, a habit, and it's easy to do just that if exercising will be fast, efficient and fun—30 minutes and you get a total body workout. Of course, it should be effective especially if you complete the circuit at least 30 minutes for three times a week,” Chappy Callanta, a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Nebraska, USA said.

In the Philippines, 360 Fitness Club is by far the first co-ed express circuit training club and is the first to offer group TRX suspension training.

“The club will also offer 45-minute group exercise classes such as power yoga, hip-hop dance off, latin dance, and cardio combat, and these classes will be taught by the best group exercise instructors. The group exercise coaches, however, will not just instruct - they will teach, motivate, and inspire. 360 Fitness advocates fitness as a way of life, so there will also be a health bar that will offer low calorie, healthy dishes to encourage proper nutrition to its members,” Piñon added.

Get started! Visit 360 Fitness Club at Strata 100 bldg., Ortigas Ave, Ortigas Center in Pasig City.