Design Your Workout Schedule

Hello!  I’ve been MIA lately.  Did I mention I coach a high school drill team?  We are in peak competition season and getting ready for the state comp this week!  As you can imagine, life is crazy busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Wish us luck! :)

I’ve had a few questions on designing a workout plan or trying to figure out what kind of workouts to do.  Here are a few guidelines.  Hope they help!

One way to stick to stay fit is to customize a workout plan just for you.  Try new classes, new workouts, new machines, and figure out what you like and don’t like.  Getting your workouts in each day shouldn’t feel like a chore, it should be something you look forward to.  Take the time to sit down and create a concrete schedule that will keep you on track. 

Plan Weekly      To begin, I like to take a look at my weekly calendar.  I’m the type of person that tries to pack as much as I can into one day.  Looking at my work schedule and commitments makes it easier to write in when I will workout.  When I write my workouts in my schedule, they are more likely to happen.   So, take a look at your calendar and decide how many days you are willing to exercise. 

Pick Your Weapon     The next step is to decide what type of exercise you enjoy doing and select which days you will do what.  Every effective workout program needs a combination of weight training and cardio.  You can do whatever you want for each type of training, but make sure to have a balance to promote muscle growth and fat burning, while preventing injury. 

Cardio:  Incorporate 30-60 minutes of cardio into your daily schedule.  Decide which form of cardio you will do each day, example: running, biking, swimming, stair climbing, elliptical, hiking, boxing, any cardio classes etc.

Weight Lifting:  Weight lifting is a usually the workout that gets left out, when it comes to women.  More to come on this one later!  Set aside 30-60 minutes for lifting sessions.  If you haven’t incorporated lifting into your schedule in the past, take it slow, add it to your workouts, and you will see major results.  Begin by performing total body workouts aimed at conditioning every major muscle group.  Balanced development is extremely important.  As you become more experienced, split your workouts to target and concentrate on specific muscle groups.  A rule of thumb when splitting muscle groups would be, upper body one day, lower body the next. 

Just a few quick tips:     If you are person that likes going to classes, grab a schedule from your gym and decide which ones you will attend.  Avoid doing the same workout two consecutive days in a row.  If you like and want to do something similar, change it up to make it different.  For example, if you like to run, run at a steady pace one day and run hills or intervals the next.  Vary intensities from day to day. If you went all out one day, take it down a notch the next. This way, you’ll be ready to go for a more intense workout the next day and you won’t burn out.  Continuously working at a high intensity can lead to overtraining and injury.  Yoga is a great way to revitalize.  Last but not least, remember that muscles need 48-72 hours to repair and grow back leaner and stronger.  Getting 7-8 hours of rest each night is vitally important for your body to recover.    

You've got the tools, now design your workout schedule.  All in all, you just need to be moving!  Get it?  Got it?  GO!