Milo and the Bull Staff Portal
Module 5: Circuit
“Circuit is a high-energy, high-intensity class designed to test the body and its energy systems. This class has you working on your cardiovascular fitness, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, as well as testing your endurance. Expect a variation of movements and teamwork.”
Programmed for the middle of the week, Circuit is fast paced and sweaty. You can expect to see a balance of nearly every movement pattern in these classes and for the programme to change completely week-on-week. In addition to this, Circuit aims to challenge the body’s energy systems in a broad fashion: some sessions can be far more geared towards aerobic conditioning, whilst others feature shorter working blocks that are far more focussed on power and maximum effort. As the weekly structure can be vastly different, it’s extremely important coaches are comfortable with directing the class as there can be lots of different structures within one class. Circuit, in a similar way to Coar, requires a respectfully authoritative approach to ensure everyone knows what they’re doing and that the class runs to schedule. In a similar fashion to Regatta, when teaching Circuit on the weekend it is up to whoever is coaching to programme for that day.
A wide variety of exercises can be programmed into one session, and if you are unfamiliar with any of them it’s important to ask questions or to further research the movement yourself. Teamwork is often a feature of these classes, so coaches will need to be comfortable with a little bit of quick maths. An example of a Circuit class can be found below:
Circuit classes are capped at 18 people, except for Peckham studio which has a capacity of 20. If we imagine a full class at our London Bridge studio, we will have to divide everyone across each of the 3 blocks and put them into teams of 3. 18/3 is 6, so there will need to be x2 pieces of the kit that is listed throughout the room so x2 teams of 3 can work in each block.
In their teams of 3, one person works continuously to score calories on an Erg, one person completes a set number of reps (timer) whilst the last teammate rests. When the timer exercise is complete, all teammates can rotate stations. It is up to whoever is on the timer exercise how quickly they move around the stations during the 12 minute block.
If we had a full class in Peckham (20), this means the extra 2 people could work by themselves (with rest managed between them) or they can form a team of 5 and work next to the team of 3; that way they get the same blocks of rest like everyone else.
The example here is one of the simplest formats for Circuit.
Hyrox
“Hyrox classes are designed for all fitness levels. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced athlete, this class focuses on building strength, endurance and functional fitness. Our Hyrox classes are accessible to everyone and will challenge you to improve your fitness in a supportive, high-energy environment.”
Currently one of the most popular and accessible sporting events in the world, we cater to Hyrox newbies and seasoned racers every week across our London Bridge and Clapham studios. Classes are either 45 minutes or 1 hour long (depending on the day) and are built around 3 main training goals: Strength, Compromised Running, and Engine Building. All Hyrox classes are programmed ahead of time and can be viewed in a seperate tab on the programme document. An example of a weekend class can be found below:
Hyrox classes are capped at 16 people at London Bridge and Clapham. Running is always included in Hyrox sessions, so a prior knowledge of the outdoor routes is mandatory before being able to take one of these classes (another reason to attend classes and join Workout Wednesday!).
The total working time for this example is 45 minutes, but as the warm-up includes a 1km run and mobility, the total time for the class is 1 hour.
Every 9 minutes, every pair needs to stop what they’re doing and run a 400m loop outside and pick up from where they left of when they return to the studio. Every time they complete a full round of the floor exercises, they add 20 reps/cals for their next round.
In order for the number of people and kit to work, you will need x3 of each Erg on the floor (x3 rowers, x3 ski’s and x3 air bikes). If there was a full class, this would leave on machine free which is completely fine. On their next lap, every pair needs to move to a different machine, so the extra one actually helps prevent backlogs if people are completing the workout at a similar speed.
Considerations for Introductions, Music Selection, Warm-ups and Cool-downs
Throughout the class introduction and following warm-up you need to hold people’s attention. Deliver your information in a concise way and build an energetic atmosphere - get them excited to work hard! As each weekday class is given a 45 minute slot, the longest a timer will be is 42 minutes long. This means you only have 3 minutes to talk about the whole session - you cannot afford to give unclear and lengthy introductions or risk starting/finishing late and losing the attention of the room. All rowing classes have a total of 4 minutes split between the floor and the rower, as you know by now. Circuit, Hyrox and Strength warm-ups are capped at 3 minutes, and so this is all the time you have to ensure everyone is moving well and energised for the session. As a Milo coach, you will need a thoughtful and engaging introduction and warm-up to start the session. Exercise demonstrations need, at maximum, 3 key points. No matter what class is being taught, we typically find that getting the whole room moving together as a starting point with global, accessible movement the best jumping off point for your warm-up. Movements like bodyweight squats or lunges to get everyone moving and keep the momentum up - then you can get the timer rolling and turn then music up!
Coar, Crew and Regatta: 2 minutes on the floor with specific mobility drills. 2 minutes on the rowing machine focussing on technique and building heart-rate. When addressing the rowers, draw their attention to proper movement sequencing (LEGS, BODY, ARMS - ARMS, BODY, LEGS), how their stroke rate is affecting their split. Get them exploring different speeds and intensities. An easy enough example is to spend 30s on 4 different stroke rates (30s @ 22/30s @ 26/30s @ 30+/30s @ 24 (power focus)).
Strength: These warm-ups can afford to be slower in tempo and more mobility/activation focussed. Think clearly about the exercises that are programmed for the day. Whilst it’s important to warm-up the global body, if there are BB Bent Over Rows in the session, what’s a great drill for getting the upper back and lats really switched on? Nevertheless, the class need to be anticipating the first block of work, so try and finish the 3 minutes with something thats gonna get the heart-rate up and everyone breathing a little harder.
Circuit & Hyrox: From the very start of the warm-up, this class needs high energy. Nothing kills the vibe before a high-intensity class like a cat-cow, where you’re looking at the ground. Get them moving and exploring joint range. Air squats, jumping lunges, worlds greatest stretch, inchworms with a push up, burpees. These are the kind of things you want to consider using. Again, consider the programme and what is being focussed on, but as these classes will nearly always visit all movement patterns, it’s hard to go wrong…unless everyone starts in cat-cow. Hyrox classes include an outdoor, conversational pace lap (programme dependant) and as running is always featured, think about some foot and ankle drills and/or plyometrics to use in the following 3 minute warm-up.
Music: We really like the fact that our coaches are given the chance to curate their own playlists (if they want) and inject more of their personality into their classes. This can be a really big draw for members to come to your classes, if they not only enjoy your coaching style but connect with the music you play. That being said, certain genres work best in different situations. Typically, classes with high energy and lots of dynamic movement are complimented with higher BPM’s, whilst slower paced classes pair well with slower, steadier beats . Techno, Garage and D&B are great and obvious choices for Circuit, whilst genres like Hip-Hop, Indie Rock and R&B probably work better in slower paced, tempo driven Strength classes. These are not hard and fast rules, but we feel there should be a clear distinction in how our classes feel as well as sound. We all love Earth, Wind and Fire (I love Earth, Wind and Fire) - maybe don’t play their greatest hits in you circuit class. We all love The Prodigy (I love The Prodigy) - maybe don’t play it during your Strength class. We all love Enya (I love Enya)…but please, never play Enya.
Cool Down: Now that the hard work is over, congratulate your class and start to bring the pace down. Just like the warm-up, consider what the focus of the class has been, what muscle groups and energy systems were worked. What needs attention and why? The cool-down should be marked by a decrease in music volume (not turned off!) and a change in genre…not Enya, but along those lines. Cool-downs further eat into your class time, so don’t need to be any longer than 2-3 minutes. As you lead the class through their cool-down, reference the Bull-etin board and let them know what is going on across all 3 of our studios. This is an important touch point between you and our member base to further build the community.