Circuit Training
Is it Effective in Improving Anaerobic Lactacid Capacity?
Aliza Aliza, Boyke Mulyana and Nina Sutresna
School of Postgraduate Studies, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jln. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229 Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Circuit Training, Anaerobic Lactacid, Futsal.
Abstract: The present study was aimed at discovering the effectiveness of circuit training in improving anaerobic
lactacid capacity using 10 posts (movements) in 16 meetings. To this end, a one-group pretest and posttest
experimental design was employed. The treatments were given to 20 futsal extracurricular participants at
SMA Negeri 1 Haurgeulis. The measurement was conducted using running-based anaerobic sprint test
(RAST). This test resulted in data on fatigue index. It was revealed that the average fatigue index improved.
It can be concluded that circuit training significantly influenced the anaerobic lactacid capacity.
1 INTRODUCTION
Circuit training method is originally designed to
improve physical fitness (Bompa and Buzzhicelli,
2015). It is a combination of anaerobic exercises and
brief breaks between them (Taskin, 2009). Circuit
training has the following advantages over other
training methods: time efficiency, a combination of
strength and aerobic exercise, short break time,
minimal use of tools and facilities (Klika and Jordan,
2013). Circuit training is used for its tome efficiency
and its ability to improve an individual health and
fitness (Rodriguez, et al., 2011). This training is
deemed efficient and effective in improving physical
condition, especially cardiorespiratory skills and
body composition (Romero-arenas, et al. 2013).
Circuit training can improve physical performance,
reduce fatigue, and minimize injury risk (Freaitas, et
al., 2015). The question is “is it effective in
improving main components of physical condition in
futsal?” Futsal is a high intensity sport. Futsal is also
a multiple-sprint sport (Makaje, and Yoopat, 2010)
that demands its players to have aerobic and
anaerobic ability skills as the main sources of
metabolism (Alvarez, et al., 2009) because futsal is a
high-intensity sport conducted in a relatively short
duration, 2 x 20 minutes. A futsal player is required
not to get tired easily or able to maintain his physical
state during the game or has a good anaerobic
lactacid capacity, which is the ability to withstand
fatigue (Harsono, 2015). It requires training to
acquire a good anaerobic lactacid capacity. In this
respect, a question is posed: is circuit training
effective in improving anaerobic lactacid capacity of
futsal players?
Figure 1: Circuit training effective in improving anaerobic
lacatacid capacity.
2 METHODS
This study applied the one group pretest-posttest
experimental design; i.e., by looking at the effect of
a treatment (Freankel et al., 2011).
76
Aliza, A., Mulyana, B. and Sutresna, N.
Circuit Training - Is it Effective in Improving Anaerobic Lactacid Capacity?.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education (ICSSHPE 2017) - Volume 2, pages 76-78
ISBN: 978-989-758-317-9
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

2.1 Treatment
The treatment in this study was a circuit training
using 10 posts (movements) including, shuttle run,
push-up, sit-up, zig-zag run, leg raises, side shuffle,
squat thrust, lateral jump, mountain climber, and
dash. Each exercise took 30 seconds, the break
between exercises was 10 seconds, and the break
between sets of exercises was 4 minutes.
2.2 Instrument
The data were collected through a running-based
anaerobic sprint test (RAST), resulting in data on
fatigue index. The lower the fatigue index is, the
better the anaerobic lactacid capacity is (McKenzie,
2011).
2.3 Sample
The samples were 20 futsal extracurricular
participants at SMA Negeri 1 Haurgeulis, consisting
of 13 males and 7 females, selected using the total
sampling technique.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The fatigue index is the interpretation of anaerobic
lactacid capacity. The difference between pretest and
posttest gain scores was 1.4 watt/sec.
The paired sample t-test resulted in the Sig. (2-
tailed) value of .003. Using the significance level of
0.05, it was concluded that H
0
was rejected. In other
words, the circuit training significantly influenced
the anaerobic lactacid capacity.
Table 1: Result of paired sample t-test.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Based on statistical testing, it can be concluded that
a 16-meeting circuit training can improve anaerobic
lactacid capacity. Using circuit training, the research
participants were able to improve several
components of physical condition simultaneously.
This is due to the fact that the circuit training
comprises different exercise elements done
simultaneously. In addition, the training movements
can be modified according to the needs.
Although the fatigue index was in a good
category (<10), it was revealed that there was an
increase in the fatigue index. This is not an ideal
condition because the higher the fatigue index is, the
easier it is to get tired. The increase in fatigue index
was due to fact that the researchers ignored the
requirements of anaerobic exercise, which is a good
aerobic capacity (Giriwijoyo and Sidik, 2012) that is
required to neutralize the lactic acid that allows a
better recovery during the breaks between posts or
between sets of exercises (Harsono, 2016). No sport
is 100% aerobic or 100% anaerobic. A good
anaerobic capacity is made possible by a good
aerobic capacity. Aerobic endurance significantly
supports speed endurance (Aliza, 2014). In anaerobic
endurance, aerobic capacity serves as the lactic acid
neutralizer during the break (Bompa and Careera,
2015). It was also revealed that the average
improvement of anaerobic lactacid capacity was
relatively small. This was due to the samples’ gender
differences. The samples were 13 males and seven
females. Bompa and Haff (2009) state that:
Gender differences can play an important role in
performance and individualized training adaptations.
Prepubescent boys and girls are very similar in
height, weight, girth, bone width, and skinfold
thickness. After the onset of puberty, boys and girls
begin to develop substantial differences in physical
attributes. After puberty girls tend to have higher
levels of body fat, lower amounts of fat-free mass,
and lighter total body masses. The research
participants were not really familiar with futsal
training exercises. This affected the movement
quality and understanding about the training
movements per se.
Some external validity factors the researchers
had no control over included: the small sample size,
the samples’ biorhythmic condition that might have
allowed unexpected condition such as illness,
samples’ fatigue as a result of other activities or
sleeping trouble that influenced their performance
during treatment or posttest. It was concluded that
circuit training was not effective in improving
anaerobic lactacid capacity.
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Fatigue Index (Pretest) – Fatigue
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.003
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