Understanding Circuit/Boot Camp Workouts

Exercises are performed with the number of reps to perform either descending and/or ascending each time the sequence is repeated. An example, a countdown workout might have eight exercises performed for six rounds starting with 12 reps decreasing by two reps each round, listed as “12-10-8-6-4-2.” A count-up is just the opposite: six rounds with reps at two, four, six, eight, 10, and 12 each round. A combination countdown and count-up example would 25 down to 10 and back to 25, noted as 25-20-15-10-15-20-25. It would be seven rounds from 25 reps descending by five each round down to 10 reps, then back to 25 reps ascending by five each round.

Varied count downs, ups, and combination ups and downs mean that one or more exercise is performed for a different rep count from the one listed in the heading. That is, a count-up such as 4-8-12-16-20-24- 28 is the main rep count for a seven-round prescription, except one or more might have a different seven-round scheme such as 12-24-36-48-60-72-84.