The majority of the time I do my Dopamineo Circuit Training, I do my best to complete 10 rounds of that circuit in the shortest time I can. With little to no rest other than marking off a set, I would cruise through it and focus mainly on technique and breathing. Rarely would ever go past 10 rounds like 12-15 just to add some zest or to test my conditioning. Why do I pick only ten rounds, why not go for 20 or 15 a lot of the time for that matter? When I used to do circuit work with bodyweight training, I worked into the system of Darebee's protocol to test myself. The idea is to reach 7 rounds and your rest between sets was 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Because some of those workouts were fairly easy to get through with little rest like under 30 seconds, I wanted to push myself a little further and do an extra 3 rounds to feel satisfied. It became my thing.
The total reps of my Dopa Workouts or Circuits comes out to 500 Reps these days. Why did I choose 500 specifically? It mainly has to do with the rep standard from doing Squats and Step Ups (which in most cases with the Step Ups). I figured, why do 500 of one exercise when you can add variety to multiple exercises and total it up? I'll still do 500 Step Ups within 20-25 minutes when I'm in the mood for it and ever since I healed up, I've done it a few times in succession. On a few occasions with the Dopa Band, I've gone up to 1000 total reps doing 5 Exercises for 20 reps each and do the 10 rounds that way. Those times are when I'm really ambitious and want to crank up my cardio.
I enjoy these types of workouts because they don't take very long, they're effective in getting in solid conditioning and when you use the same equipment as some of the best wrestlers in the world from MMA to the Olympics, it gives you goosebumps. They're fun, you get to be creative and do the same drills or at least in a modified way that world class athletes do is feeling like you're a part of something and enjoying benefits that are pretty damn incredible. I know I can't do the same exact same style of training that these men and women do and it's not something I wish to pursue but it's inspiring and learning some of the exercises done in Freestyle & Greco-Roman along with amplifying your fitness to a level where you get to do other great things in life.
I don't go as fast as I did before, this time around with the Band, I focus a lot more on technique and my breathing that I didn't do before because it was one of the factors of me getting hurt and not paying attention. It happens and it's my own damn fault. I was good and can really go but my awareness wasn't where it should've been and I focused too much on the timing and didn't pay attention to my body the way I needed to. It was a tough lesson and I paid a hefty price for it. My speed is still there but I stopped forcing it and although my cardio was good before, I find it's way better now because I pay attention to my breathing and relax more into the movements themselves. The more I let myself relax, the better it got and my movements are far more efficient then in previous workouts. The speed comes naturally and my technique is far better especially in certain exercises where you work with the hips and working movements that flow with you.
I love doing my 10 Round & 500 Rep protocol type workouts, they work for me and I keep the exercises to a more basic level and work with variations that have me flowing throughout. The time I go through circuits is never the same and I don't worry about how fast I'm going anymore. The length of a workout ranges from 10-20 min in most cases, if I want to do more rounds on a certain day, it might go up to 25-30 minutes but I'm happy regardless. The goal is to consistently get 10 Rounds and 500 Reps total. 5 Exercises, 10 reps each and work with it. If I want to double the reps and go for 1000 total that day, cool but it's not a priority. The idea is to move with efficiency and working with technique, your coordination and what can be done with intensity in a good amount of time.
Get yourself some bands and get a discount on top of your order on the house. Enter the code POWERANDMIGHT and get 10% OFF. Be amazingly awesome and have fun with these. Get the kids one so you all can train together.
