I thought it would be fun and helpful to some of you if I shared a typical week of working out to you. When I’m at school, I typically work out in the campus gym, as the membership is built into my tuition, and Lord knows I pay way too much for that to not take full advantage of it.
Something important to note: I spent several years of my life being far too preoccupied with getting a daily workout in, or making sure my workout left me sweaty and breathless enough “to count.” While I still love tough workouts because those are the ones that leave me feeling like I can take over the world, I am no longer a slave to my gym schedule. If something comes up, or I have social plans all day, or I’m tired or sore, or my heart is completely not in it that day, I scrap that workout.
One day will not make or break anything, and it’s all about moderation and balance.
I know that if I start putting exercise on a pedestal or forcing myself to go even when it’s the last thing my body wants to do, that’s a surefire way to begin to dread working out or to develop an exercise addiction. So although I included six days of working out, most of the time things come up, and it’s more like 4-5. C’est la vie.
Health is about listening to your body, really loving and nurturing it, and treating it with compassion and care.
One more note. This workout schedule is mine and mine only. I am sharing it only for the purpose of motivation and inspiration. This is not meant as a guide that you have to follow, too. My goals are not your goals. My body is not your body. It could be that my workouts are too challenging or too easy or too boring or too dynamic or not dynamic enough for you. Please promise you will take into account what is right for your own body.
Without further ado, please join me in walking through a sample week of workouts for me.
Monday: 15 minutes high intensity interval training (intervals of 20 seconds of hard work with 10 second breaks; mostly plyometric dynamic moves with a lot of emphasis on the lower body) + 30 minutes upper body strength training (heaviest dumbbells are usually 12 pounds each, but I use a range starting from 5 pounds, depending on the exercise).
Tuesday: 30 minutes cardio (I despise treadmills, so I usually find a fun cardio workout video on YouTube; leaps, squats, lunges, push ups, mountain climbers, etc. are all easy and fun ways to get a great cardio workout in) + 25 minutes Pilates core work (Blogilates is my favorite ever).
Wednesday: 30 minutes high intensity interval training + 15 minutes lower body strength (heaviest dumbbells are 20 pounds and usually range from 10).
Thursday: 20 minutes cardio kickboxing (again, I use YouTube videos, but there are also classes offered in most gyms) + 20 minutes Pilates for arms and back
Friday: rest/active recovery day (I will usually spend the day roaming the city or running errands, so I’m still fairly active)
Saturday: 45 minute total body high intensity and interval training and strength training mix (these tend to be my favorite workouts because they’re so multifaceted and not boring)
Sunday: 45 minutes light cardio/yoga/lower body Pilates (this tends to be the most flexible day because it really depends on how burned out I am by the previous days’ workouts. Sometimes I feel like I can take on the world, so I’ll do a cardio + lower body Pilates sweaty session, and sometimes my body is craving a nice stretchy yoga session. Again, listening to my body is key.)
As you can tell, I usually alternate my high intensity/lifting weights days with no less difficult but not as high-speed days of Pilates and lighter cardio. I always, always leave at least one day as a rest day with no scheduled work out, and I leave one day as a flexible workout day, which allows me to make sure I’m attuned to how I’m feeling.
I hope this helps, and please let me know what else you want to know. I love talking about fitness, so any and all questions are welcome!
Love,
Nicole Rosalyn
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