Effects of circuit training on cardiovascular responses during physical preparedness tests

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the addition of pre-programmed circuit training would improve cardiovascular fitness in trained individuals as well as improve performance on a physical preparedness test. Participants completed a preliminary physical preparedness test and then came in twice a week for four weeks to do a 20-minute circuit in addition to their regular fitness regimen. After the 4-week intervention was complete, participants returned to do the same physical preparedness test. The results showed a significant decrease in average heart rate during the post-circuit Stairmaster test and an average decrease of 1.72 minutes in participants' 2-mile time. These results suggest that there was an improvement in cardiovascular fitness, as well as an improvement in performance on the physical preparedness test.