You’ve always heard things along the lines of “circuit training is the best kind of workout”, “intervals will change your body”, that kind of thing right? Circuit training and intervals can be a great addition to your workout but let’s be honest, if we’re headed to the gym and left to our own devices (and struggles with being relatively lazy) we’re not going to be adding those much-needed cardio blasts. With no proper timing on equipment and no proper coach pushing you to hustle your ass, it’s likely circuit training just ain’t gonna happen. There’s a studio in LA completely dedicated to you maximum calorie burning needs, a studio that has perfected and patented THE perfect circuit training workout where newbies, fit regulars, and celebrities alike go to get their perfectly sculpted buns kicked… and that studio is Circuit Works in Brentwood and Venice.
When I first moved to LA I was feeling the pressure and struggle to find “my workout”, my gym, or my studio, as most of us transplants can understand in LA you feel like you have this overwhelming desire to keep up with the locals and look good. I was bored with my yoga classes and decided instead of continuing on the path of unexcitingness or signing up for a gym membership, why not try a cool “only in LA” kinda workout class? I’d passed Circuit Works in Brentwood regularly on my morning walks to Coral Tree Cafe or Starbucks and always admired the classes fast paced nature and the ability of its attendees to move so damn quickly and gracefully while being barked at relentlessly (all inspirational barks of course) by a very enthusiastic and upbeat instructor. Admittedly I was a little frightened of the whole thing, I seriously doubted my abilities to keep up, act coordinated, and take direction properly, but instead of letting my fear and worries take over I decided to suck it up and try it out. There was one thing I knew before my first class and that was that I was going to get one seriously good workout. One worthy of walking right over to Coral Tree right after to get a big ol well deserved waffle and chai tea latte.
So here’s the run down on the Circuit Works workout, as semi explained before, the core of the philosophy is to combine a few aerobic exercises (cardio) with a balanced amount of anaerobic exercises (fast paced resistance). You enter the class to find 10 resistance training stations – they are always changing and could vary from activities involving free weights, resistance tubing, weight equipment, bosu balls, and more. You will also find a row of treadmills behind a row of stationary bikes – there’s a lot goin on in this little space but don’t worry you’ll have plenty of room to do work without smacking or kicking your classmates. The classes are always packed so I’d recommend signing up ahead of time, and because they’re usually busy the class is always split into two groups to smoothly run through the routine. The routine is tricky to get a grasp on to at first if you are a beginner, but I assure you, you catch on quicker than you think. There’s 10 stations, that we’ve got down, but between each station you get some cardio in on a bike or a treadmill; you’re moving and switching just about every minute between lifting, squatting, jumping to biking or running your butt off. The good news is there is an instructor there to regulate and cheer you on; and if you take owner Raphael’s class prepare for plenty of “commercial breaks”. You will hate him but love him for these one minute maximum intensity exercises. I can hear him now shouting “SWITCH! SWITCH! SWITCH! SWITCH!” when he makes the class do switch jump lunges.
It’s a tough one to explain, this Circuit Works workout, it’s one you’ll have to go try for yourself to get a full understanding of its incredibleness and effectiveness. They proudly say “you will burn more calories in a Circuit Work session than any other fitness program today” and I have to say that’s probably true. The great thing about getting an hour-long fast paced circuit workout with Circuit Works is, as tough and daunting as the workout seems, it’s all over before you know it – then you get to wake up and do it again the next day and see results a whole lot quicker than you thought was possible. It’s a perfect, well-rounded, fun, and entertaining workout, if you’re on the Westside go check it out! If you are curious and want even further explanation visit the Circuit Works website where Raphael has a few videos to offer for your viewing pleasure.
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