S B Coaches College - Triangle Circuits




		Triangle Circuits *Robb Rogers, M.Ed., CSCS*

Triangle Circuits is an excellent tool to use in order to build your circuit and control the volume of exercise that is prescribed. Steve Myrland (the inventor of the agility speed ladder) first introduced me to this training design concept. It is very simple in concept but can be very complex in the application. The first exercise (1) has the highest priority since it will be executed the most times during the circuit. The second exercise (2) has the second highest priority and so on. Below is a schematic drawing of this type of circuit design.

Circuit Number E X E R C I S E S / D R I L L S

1) 1

2) 1 2

3) 1 2 3

4) 1 2 3 4

5) 1 2 3 4 5

6) 1 2 3 4 5 6

7) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This is an example of a 10 series circuit that builds up to 10 exercises or drills. It is easy to teach as the athlete builds one exercise/drill upon another, but always begins at the start which is always exercise/drill one. Exercise/drill one will get 10 sets, exercise/drill two will get 9 sets, exercise/drill three will get 8 sets, etc. So for instance if core is my main emphasis, followed by single leg strength, upper body pulling and pressing then the circuit with exercises/drills might look something like this.

1) Supine Plank Hold

2) Lateral Plank Hold

3) Prone Plank Hold

4) Lateral Lunge Squat

5) Inverted Pull – Ups

6) Single Leg Balance Squat

7) Push – Ups on Medballs

8) Alternate Step – Ups w/a weight vest

9) Alternate Tubing Pulls with Feet Staggered

10) Alternate Tubing Punches with Feet Staggered

This type of circuit can be time driven or rep driven in order to control either the total time of the workout or in order to increase the quality of the repetitions. I have found that time creates a sloppiness in reps but can also increase the mental stress of the work bout as the athlete does not know exactly how many reps are left to execute. If it is time driven, I have an excellent chart in my “Power Conditioning Handbook” that details exactly how long any timed circuit will take in order to complete. An example from this table is below.

Number Work Recovery Recovery Total Circuit Time
Of exercises Bout Exercises Sets 2 sets 3 sets 4 sets

4 :15 :30 2:00 7:00 11:30 16:00

6 :15 :30 2:00 11:20 18:00 24:40

8 :15 :30 2:00 13:00 20:30 28:00

10 :15 :30 2:00 16:00 25:00 34:00

4 :30 :30 2:00 9:00 14:30 20:00

6 :30 :30 2:00 13:00 20:30 28:00

8 :30 :30 2:00 17:00 26:30 36:00

10 :30 :30 2:00 21:00 32:30 44:00

4 :45 :45 3:00 13:30 21:45 30:00

6 :45 :45 3:00 19:30 30:45 42:00

8 :45 :45 3:00 25:30 39:45 54:00

10 :45 :45 3:00 31:30 48:45 66:00

This chart is designed to be utilized in conjunction with the old style straight circuits that we are all used to using. In order to construct a triangle chart, it would need to look something like this:

Time :15 on and :15 off

Number of Exercises Total Time

1 :30

2 1:00

3 1:30

4 2:00

5 2:30

6 3:00

7 3:30

8 4:00

9 4:30

10 5:00

Time :30 on and :30 off

Number of Exercises Total Time

1 1:00

2 2:00

3 3:00

4 4:00

5 5:00

6 6:00

7 7:00

8 8:00

9 9:00

10 10:00

Here is another tool to use in order to develop and implement workouts for your athletes and clients. A special thank you is in order to Steve Myrland for sharing his expertise with me concerning the development of this topic.