How I Plan My Workouts

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post for another social media class about how I planned my workouts. At the time I think I was honestly just looking online and taking whatever I found to the gym with me. I still use some of those same ideas and do like to explore online/social media for new workouts, but the way I plan everything out has completely changed.

After becoming more experienced in the gym and learning more over the years from both working out on my own and going to lift during lacrosse, I have narrowed down what works for me…again what works for me, this might not work for everyone! I’m also no exercise scientist, I’m just writing this for a class grade/fun, so don’t come at me if some of this isn’t correct or something.

The Warm-Up

Before I start my lift, I begin with some stretching and usually bike for 10 minutes. It’s important to loosen up and get the blood flowing to prepare your body for a workout!

The Lift

Next, I start my lift. Each time I go to the gym, I usually shoot for around an hour total of lifting. As a matter of fact, I don’t really keep tabs on time anyway, I just do what I have to do and it usually ends up being around an hour. I’ve always been a huge believer in “just because you’re there longer doesn’t mean you’re working harder” …I think my dad said that honestly. My workouts usually only consist of 8-10 effective movements anyway.

I like to break up my lifts by muscle group, probably similar or the exact same way as many people do. The categories are legs, glutes, back & biceps, chest & triceps, shoulders, and abs.

I combine back and biceps because they require similar pulling motions, and chest & triceps because they require similar pushing motions. I keep shoulders entirely separate because it’s something I struggle with and really want to focus more on.

I guess I shouldn’t say I do legs and glutes completely separate, I usually just do two “leg days” per week. One is just more focused on quads/hamstrings/calves while the other is more glute/hamstring focused. I do an additional day of hamstrings with glutes because working your upper hamstrings can really help lift and tone your glutes!

Now for abs. I used to really hate doing abs, but after finding what works for me, I actually really enjoy them! They can be tiring and sometimes painful for sure, but they have tremendous benefits. I usually try to hit abs at least three times per week for 10-15 minutes after a lift.

The Cardio

I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it over again, I hate cardio. It just doesn’t work for me in regard to how I want my body to feel or look, BUT it is very necessary for heart health. When it comes to cardio, I try to get in about an hour total per week by using the stair stepper, bike, or elliptical…running ain’t my thing. Even just a 20-minute walk on an incline can do the trick sometimes too. When I do cardio at the gym, I’ll do it after an upper body lift to avoid excess soreness in the legs. It is also important to note that my 10-minute warmup and any extra cardio I do afterwards is not included in the hour or so I spend lifting.

The Recovery

When I want to get some type of active recovery in, I’ll spend a few minutes when I’m done with my workout to stretch and foam roll. I love foam rolling and found it super beneficial, especially when I was playing lacrosse. You can use foam rolling as both a pre-workout prep and recovery technique depending on your needs. Before a workout it can be used to loosen your muscles up that were sore from a previous workout, and increase your mobility for the upcoming workout. Rolling out after instead enhances recovery by getting blood flowing to the areas you're rolling, which can help reduce that tightness/soreness to come. I almost always foam roll after I do legs to avoid any soreness to come, or the day after to help loosen the sore muscles.

Another tip I learned about foam rolling is that it can actually help prevent the appearance of cellulite. Allegedly, it helps tighten the connective tissue that covers your entire body. When that tissue is too weak, cellulite has an easier time breaking through which is how it shows on the skin.

The Weekly Plan

I tend to stick to a 5 day per week schedule. I really do try to workout at least 5 out of 7 days a week, but obviously sometimes life gets busy and things come up. When I don’t end up doing the full 5 days, I always try to make sure I hit legs, abs, and upper body (usually back & bi) at least once per week to stay somewhat consistent. It’s also super important to give yourself at least one full day of rest, in my opinion. Personally, my body just can’t perform at its best without some type of break or recovery time. I usually take the weekends off for this.

So, that leaves us with Monday-Friday…5 days! Since I pretty much explained the details of everything already, I’m just going to give you guys an example of what a week of workouts look like for me:

Sunday: REST

Monday:

- Stretch

- 10-minute bike

- Legs: quads/hamstrings/calves

- Abs

- Foam Roll

Tuesday:

- Stretch/Foam Roll

- 10-minute bike

- Back & Biceps

- Abs/Cardio

Wednesday:

- Stretch

- 10-minute bike

- Shoulders

- Abs/Cardio

Thursday:

- Stretch

- 10-minute bike

- Legs: glutes/hamstrings

- Abs

- Foam Roll

Friday:

- Stretch/Foam Roll

- 10-minute bike

- Chest & Triceps

- Abs/Cardio

Saturday: REST

I hope this blog post was helpful or even just interesting to read!I love hearing about how people workout and am always interested in learning new things I can use in the gym!