Load and rest decide what you train
Every functional session sits somewhere between a strength workout and a cardio workout, and two settings move the dial. Heavier loads and fuller rests keep each rep strong, so the session builds strength. Lighter loads and short rests keep your heart rate up, so it builds endurance. Good sessions mix the two on purpose.
WHO's 2020 guidelines offer a handy effort scale. Moderate activity is usually a 5 or 6 on a 0 to 10 scale of your own capacity, and vigorous activity a 7 or 8. Cardio stations in a mixed session tend to sit in the vigorous band. Strength stations should feel hard on the last reps without your form slipping. For the kit itself, see functional training at RPM.
Five session structures
Each structure can be tilted towards strength or cardio by changing the load and the rest.
| Structure | How it runs | Leans towards | A first version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Station circuit | Four to six stations in a loop, each for a set time, with a short walk between them | Either side, depending on the stations | Four stations of 40 seconds each, three laps |
| EMOM, every minute on the minute | Start a set at the top of each minute and rest for whatever is left of it | Strength if the set is short and heavy, cardio if it fills most of the minute | Ten minutes alternating goblet squats and push-ups |
| AMRAP, as many rounds as possible | Repeat a short list of exercises for a fixed time and count the rounds | Cardio and muscular endurance | Eight minutes of kettlebell swings, box step-ups and bike sprints |
| Contrast pairs | A heavy strength set followed straight away by 30 to 60 seconds of hard cardio, then a full rest | Strength first, with a cardio top-up | Dumbbell squats then a sled push, four rounds |
| Density block | As many quality sets of two exercises as fit in a fixed window, resting as needed | Strength and work capacity | Twelve minutes of kettlebell deadlifts and one-arm presses |
These numbers are starting points, not a prescription. If you have a heart condition or another medical condition, get clearance from your doctor before hard intervals.
Building one circuit, step by step
Worked example: a 35-minute session for someone with a few months of training behind them.
- Pick one exercise per role: a lower-body push such as the goblet squat, an upper-body pull such as the one-arm dumbbell row, a hinge such as the kettlebell swing, a farmer's carry down the turf lane, and a spin bike for the cardio station.
- Order them so the same muscles never work twice in a row: squat, row, bike, swing, carry.
- Set the clock: 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds to move, so a lap of five stations takes five minutes.
- Set the loads: for the squat and the row, a weight you could lift about 12 times when fresh, so each 40 seconds stays controlled.
- Run four laps after a ten-minute warm-up, with a minute's rest between laps.
- Log laps and loads. Next time, add load to one strength station or add a fifth lap, but not both.
Keeping the strength side honest
- Keep technical barbell lifts out of fast circuits. Heavy squats and deadlifts belong in a strength block or a contrast pair with a full rest.
- Choose loads for the last lap, not the first. If your form slips in lap three, the weight is too heavy for this format.
- Track strength stations by load and cardio stations by output, such as sled lengths or bike distance.
- Run at least one session a week with heavier loads and longer rests, or your circuits will drift into pure cardio.
- Stop a station if you feel it in a joint rather than the muscle, and have it checked if the pain persists.
Three ways to fit functional work into a week
- Two functional sessions plus one lifting day. This suits general fitness, and most beginners after their first month.
- Three functional sessions. This suits people preparing for a sport season or a HYROX-style race, and RPM offers HYROX-style training as an independent gym, not an official HYROX partner or venue.
- One functional session plus two or three lifting days. This suits people whose main goal is strength, with the circuit as their conditioning.
Leave a day between hard sessions where you can. The cardio rounds count towards WHO's weekly aerobic target, and the strength stations count towards its muscle-strengthening advice as long as the week works every major muscle group.
Functional circuits at RPM
RPM has one location, Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal. Its functional area, in the Mixed section, is built around a turf lane with a sled. Kettlebells and dumbbells, battle ropes, step boxes and heavy bags sit around it, along with medicine balls and slam balls, and spin bikes can serve as cardio stations.
- Coaches whose roster roles fit this training: Taha Ragab for general fitness in the Mixed section, and Asma Jamousi Zadeh, listed for HYROX-style training, in the Ladies section.
- Classes: group sessions run in both sections, and the timetable changes, so ask which current classes use the functional area.
- Women: ask which functional kit the Ladies section holds, and whether your tier also covers the turf lane in the Mixed section.
- Programming: Engine is the tier that adds coached programming, if you would like your circuits written for you.
Sources
Questions, answered.
Does functional training count as cardio?
The hard rounds do. WHO counts vigorous activity towards its weekly aerobic target, and most cardio stations in a circuit reach that level.
Can a beginner do circuits?
Yes, with longer rests, lighter loads and simple exercises. Learn each movement on its own first, then link them into a circuit.
Will functional training build muscle?
Some, especially early on, but circuits rarely give each muscle the number of hard sets a size programme needs. If muscle gain is the goal, keep dedicated lifting days and read the hypertrophy method.
Where can I find sessions built purely for conditioning?
The conditioning guide has a session menu built around sleds, ropes and bikes, with easier versions of each.