My Workout Schedule

I am a list maker. I love it. It gets me high. Crossing things off the list? Fuggetaboutit - it's like a hit of cocaine. I have a binder full of workout routines from the years, with quarterly, monthly, and weekly cycles planned down to the fine details. I knew exactly when I would be in a muscle building phase, when I would change to a slimming phase before a fitness competition, and when I would be in transition before starting it all over again.

And then I fell in love. He would cook stuff for me that wasn't in the meal plan. He would take me to places where meat was slathered in butter and covered in cream, and we would order wine and dessert to boot. My schedule was no longer completely my own, and the fireworks of early love were punctuated with irritation at the interruption to my utterly micromanaged and selfish regimen.

Then came babies! Pregnancy changed my body and mind so completely, I could barely recognize myself. I couldn't eat or exercise what was dictated on paper any longer; another being had taken over my body and was demanding that I eat more, barf more, and rest more. An almost complete annihilation of The Grand Workout Schedule followed.

Mind you, I worked in a fitness setting of some kind this entire time, so I was still incredibly active, but I learned to just roll with each day. Now that I am staying at home with kids, I still keep a loose idea of what I want in my head, but now it isn't World War III when I need to change my rest day, lift legs instead of arms, or work out late at night instead of in the morning.

Here is my loose schedule for the average week:
Day 1 - Lift - legs, emphasis squats/push
Day 2 - Lift, upper body, emphasis chest and biceps
Day 3 - REST
Day 4 - Run
Day 5 - Lift, upper body, emphasis back and triceps
Day 6 - REST
Day 7 - Run or bike

I don't fuss about what day of the week "Day 1" is, because it changes each time I restart the cycle. I don't even necessarily start with legs, I just know I want to tackle each major muscle group that week with weights, and get in cardio of some kind twice. I only do the cardio twice right now because I am trying to build up muscle. We have a long visit with family coming up, and I am anticipating interruptions to my schedule, so I am planning ahead. My body tends to lose mass when I am not regularly lifting, so I build whenever I can.

On our family trip (which will last 4-5 weeks), I would like to try for this modified schedule:
Day 1 - Circuit on TRX
Day 2 - Run
Day 3 - REST
Day 4 - Circuit on TRX
Day 5 - Run
Day 6 - REST
Day 7 - Yoga/Pilates or REST

Allowing for 3 rest days gives me flexibility while still allowing me to maintain my gains during our trip. I won't have access to weights or a gym, but the TRX fits in a small backpack, and you better believe my beloved jogging stroller is coming across the country with us! That way, I don't have to rely on people being available to watch the kiddos while I exercise. I am eliminating barriers and excuses to exercise while I travel.

What about weight loss? I personally have a small frame and high metabolism naturally, so between extended breastfeeding, a natural tendency to be hyper, and weight lifting, I have more trouble keeping weight on than losing it. However, when I am about 6 months postpartum and looking to shed excess pregnancy weight, I schedule myself this way:

Day 1 - Cardio
Day 2 - Full Body Circuit plus 15 mins cardio
Day 3 - REST
Day 4 - Cardio
Day 5 - Full Body Circuit plus 15 min cardio
Day 6 - REST
Day 7 - Cardio and extended stretch/Yoga

Before I got my jogging stroller, I had to make due creating cardio routines in my home. My ottoman became my step aerobics tool, and I did everything from jogging in place to burpees for 20-30 sec at a time to squeeze in a heart-pumping workout and stimulate weight loss. In addition to my full cardio days, I would always add in a little aerobic work at the end of my circuit workouts for an extra burn. This might be 5 sets of 10 burpees, dragging my kids back and forth through the hall on a blanket, or doing jump squats and step ups. I will be sharing workouts like this on my private Facebook page, so stay tuned!

I will stick with one of these loose schedules for a month or two before changing it up. I can feel when mental or physical boredom is approaching, so I will make little tweaks to keep it interesting. For example, I may emphasize unilateral exercises one week, where I do things like single leg squats, one-arm rows, etc. Another week, I might see how many exercises I can do using my foam roller or ball. And when I just need to reboot, I might spend a week or two getting back to Yoga and reassessing my imbalances and posture issues before diving back into the weights. It is this fluid, organic approach that keeps my routine fresh and leaves no room for boredom. It also allows for life's natural interruptions and keeps me from killing my loved ones when they keep me from getting in my workout. I simply call it one of my rest days and get back up the next day.

Whether you write it down, chisel it into granite, or keep it in your head, get up and plan on doing SOMETHING more days than you do NOTHING this week and see how it works for you! It doesn't have to be complicated. As my old drum instructor loved to tell me: "K.I.S.S., or Keep It Simple, Stupid!".