Day 2 - Baby Steps Circuit Training

I just finished the circuit training workout. I used 20 pound dumbbells and thought it was a bit too light. I'll add five pounds next time. My gym is pretty small so I usually had about 30 seconds rest between the step ups and the weight lifting part of the workout which seemed like a lot of time considering I only had to turn around to get to my dumbbells. For the weight routines, I was usually within 10-15 seconds of the time interval with lunges and squats and had about 30 seconds of rest again between the curls and overhead press exercises and step ups.

The step ups, curls, and overhead press seemed easy. The lunges were the hardest and I'm not certain my form was correct. The squats were tough on my lower back until I put 25 pound plates under my heels so I could keep my form correct. I need some flexibility work on my ankles. I'll have to do some research on that.

For my 10 minute warm up I skipped rope in sets of 60 and did stretches in between. Next time I think I'll add in a couple of practice moves for each exercise (especially lunges) and a few crunches for good measure.

For my cool down I took a 10 minute walk thinking that would be the same as the gentle stretching and slow step ups. After doing it, I don't think it was. I'll stick with the recommendation next time.

I have two questions for any weightlifters out there:

1. Do you know if my rest phases are of appropriate length or if they're too long?
2. Page 3 of the circuit training workout says, "One other point: in this higher-intensity zone, strength development and aerobic fitness are more likely to be complementary. Long and slow endurance training conflicts with strength training. The body’s muscle response is contradictory and the results can be disappointing (Nader 2006)." Am I wasting my time doing aerobic workouts every morning and circuit training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or is this saying that circuit training is complimentary to my aerobic workouts and wouldn't be complimentary if I were doing weight lifting workouts?

I look forward to your comments!