Acute effects of three different circuit weight training protocols on blood lactate, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion in recreationally active women

Interval and circuit weight training are popular training methods for maximizing time-efficiency, and are purported to deliver greater physiological benefits faster than traditional training methods. Adding interval training into a circuit weight-training workout may further enhance the benefits of circuit weight training by placing increased demands upon the cardiovascular system. Our purpose was to compare acute effects of three circuit weight training protocols 1) traditional circuit weight training, 2) aerobic circuit weight training, and 3) combined circuit weight-interval training on blood lactate (BLA), heart rate (HR), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Eleven recreationally active women completed 7 exercise sessions. Session 1 included measurements of height, weight, estimated VO2max, and 13 repetition maximum (RM) testing of the weight exercises. Sessions 2-4 were held on non-consecutive days for familiarization with traditional circuit weight training (TRAD), aerobic circuit weight training (ACWT), and combined circuit weight-interval training (CWIT) protocols. In sessions 5-7, TRAD, ACWT, and CWIT were performed in a randomized order >= 72 hr apart for measures of BLA, HR, and RPE at pre-exercise and following each of three mini-circuit weight training stations. Repeated-measures ANOVAs yielded significant interactions (p < 0.05) in BLA, HR, and RPE. Combined circuit weight-interval training (CWIT) produced higher BLA (7.31 +/- 0.37 vs. TRAD: 3.99 +/- 0.26, ACWT: 4.54 +/- 0.31 mmol. L-1), HR (83.51 +/- 1.18 vs. TRAD: 70.42 +/- 1.67, ACWT: 74.13 +/- 1.43 beats. min(-1)) and RPE (8.14 +/- 0.41 vs. TRAD: 5.06 +/- 0.43, ACWT: 6.15 +/- 0.42) at all measures. Aerobic circuit weight training (ACWT) elicited greater RPE than traditional circuit weight training (TRAD) at all measures. Including combined circuit weight-interval training (CWIT) workouts into exercise programming may enhance fitness benefits and maximize time-efficiency more so than traditional circuit training methods.