Week in Workouts: The Workout Schedule Getting Me Fit

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I have to say, so far I’m getting on pretty good with mine. I’ve been working really hard on the blog side of things the last few weeks, and have resisted the nail biting mostly. We can talk about the holiday-resolution at a later stage hopefully! But everything that I can work on from the resolutions list, I’ve been doing a pretty good job on.

My number one resolution for 2021 was to get fit again, and that’s one that kicked in over the last week or so. If you follow my Instagram, you’ll have seen a few workout-related stories pop up from me, and know that I’ve been doing a few workouts here and there. I’ve been using my own weekly workout schedule from the first lockdown, and – like when you go back to anything – I’ve been wanting to make a few changes to it.

The number one thing being that there’s a lot more legwork on there than the arms. My aim was to focus on a different body part each day and go harder, rather than do full body a little everyday. But I’ve found that pretty much until Friday, with the workout videos I’ve been using, it’s a lot of effort on the legs.

So, with that in mind, I’ve spent the first part of this week making a few updates to it, and today’s post is the new and improved workout schedule!

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Monday

20 mins total body workout (I’m still using this Pamela Reif YouTube workout)

Short Abs Routine – like this short one by MadFit

Total Body and Abs. I start the week working the whole body, and I like to try and do a routine that challenges me. That way I’ve had to do one of the hardest workouts at the start of the week, and it’s set the precedent for the rest of it. The workout that I’ve been using actually already involves a bit of abs work, so for my abs focused workout I just do a little song-based one that’s about three minutes long. Who knew three minutes of exercise could hurt so much?

Tuesday

20-30 mins steady state cardio (e.g. jog or bike ride)

Arm weights workout

Arms and Cardio. Tuesday is time a bit of outdoor exercise, but with an Arm weights workout thrown in to keep the upper body going. This used to be a HIIT routine, but I found that by the time Wednesday come round I’d already done a lot of legwork, so I’ve switched it out with an arm workout. For this one, I’ll either use my 5×5 app, a workout from Fiton, or the Instagram workout from Whitney Simmons. Then I fit in either a run or bike ride for 30 minutes.

Wednesday

30 mins legs and booty routine (I use this one for the legs, and then do this booty workout)

40 mins of outdoor walking

Yoga (I sign up to the weekly Tadasana yoga routines)

Booty and Legs, and a little bit of easy cardio. Wednesday focuses on the legs and booty, and sometimes I might throw in a squat challenge to mix it up. Then I do at least a 40 minute reasonably fast walk to keep everything working, and to stretch out the legs. I’ve also just started doing a little yoga to get some relaxation and stretching into my workout week.

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Thursday

30-40 mins steady state cardio (e.g. jogging or cycling)

10 mins foam rolling or stretching

Cardio and Stretching. Thursday is a little easier, if you don’t mind jogging or cycling. I start with the cardio, and then use the stretching afterwards as a sort of heavy recovery for the week of working out so far.

Friday

Arm weights workout (I use this Instagram workout from Whitney Simmons)

15 mins HIIT routine (I use this Pamela Reif HIIT workout, or this Natacha Oceane one)

Challenge workout (like Bring Sally Up)

Arms and Challenge. I use my weights for my arm workout, and Whitney’s workout absolutely destroys me, especially the 21s at the end. If I still feel like I want to throw in a little more, I might do a quick challenge at the end, like a squat challenge.

Saturday

Morning Walk

Pilates (I use the Fiton app for one of these)

Saturday is another slightly easy day, just having a morning walk and a Pilates session after – although, Pilates always catches me out by actually being quite hard work! This is basically the rest day where I try to focus on relaxing a little before building up to another week, and if I find that I have anything that feels like it needs stretching, this is the day when I’ll focus on it.

Sunday

5k or 10k jog

10-15 minutes foam rolling/stretching

Sunday Runday. At the moment I’m just about on the 5k, but I’m trying to build it back up to the 10k – I mean, I ran two half marathons in two weeks last year, so it’s a bit gutting that I can’t still do it now.

And by then I’m ready to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Shop My Workout!

The Equipment

• Yoga Mat – my advice is don’t scrimp on the exercise mat – you’ll be using it everyday, so you want one that’ll last and that’s comfortable to workout on. This one is extra thick, so you should be as comfortable as possible when planking.

• Barbell Set – This is for your arm workouts. I use the Women’s Health set, which is really affordable, and perfect if you’re just starting out, as they’re not overwhelmingly heavy, then you can always get more weights once you’re ready to start building it up even more.

• Dumbbell Set – More weights for your arm workouts, and you’ll sometimes find these appearing on other workouts too! I really recommend getting a set of these, because they’re so handy to be able to grab for a workout. They don’t do the Davina McCall set I use anymore, but this new set is the equivalent. Or you can find places to buy individual weights if you’re planning on using the same weights from each exercise.

• Resistance Bands – These will come into your booty workout. They’re like big rubber bands that add a little bit more difficulty – through the resistance – to the exercises. I love this Meorex set because they come with 5 different resistance level – and still look cute.

• Foam Roller – This’ll come in handy for your stretch and recovery days, and might occasionally pop up in the yoga and pilates routines. I’ve been using this Lohey one – in green – since my rowing days and love it, but these EVA marble patterned ones are so cute, I might have to get myself a bonus one!

The Outfit

• Trainers – this is the part that might be easier to speak to someone about for advice, if you’ve never invested in a pair of trainers for exercise before. Personally I’ve always been a Nike girl, so I’m currently loving my Nike Revolution pair, like these ones, but in pistachio green. I also like the look of this pair, but like I said, it’s definitely worth speaking to an expert if you can.

• Leggings – for my leggings I switch to Puma. The closest pair to the ones I currently use the most are these Puma Leggings, which I’ve added to my payday wishlist. I’ll use those for most exercises, but might switch to my Nike pair for my more slow-moving workouts – or maybe even throw in a jazzy pair if I’m feeling like it. My dream is to get a matching set like this two-piece set, but I haven’t quite worked up the courage for it yet.

• Vest Top – My favourite workout top at the moment is my simple Nike tank top, similar to this one. I like my workout tops to be loose, rather than tight, like this Icyzone top that’s open at the back, or their top that’s more open at the sides. And here’s another co-ords set for goals.

• Socks – don’t forget to stock up on plenty of trainer socks, you’ll get through these quickly through the week.

The Optional Accessories

• Water bottle – I got myself a nice water bottle, mainly to encourage me to drink water, but I love having a water bottle. The one I’ve been using is Omorc fruit infuser bottle, and I love it! The water bottle is where you can personalise your workout, so go with your style. Why not get an actually personalised one, ready for when we can hit the gyms again! I also used to use a filtered water bottle like this one, which I also loved.

• Bum Bag – I ran my first half marathon without one of these, and as soon as I discovered it I was a changed runner. Now I run with a bum bag every time, even if it’s just to get used to it. You don’t need to get a big one, just one like this Jueachy bum bag.

• Headphones – I recently made the switch to headphones, rather than earphones, and also went wireless for the first time ever. When I used to ran with my wired earphones, I’d find myself gripping onto the wire, so now I love my new headphone. I use my House of Marley Bluetooth headphones that I got for Christmas, and they’re fab!

• A Screen – you can just watch the workouts on your phone or TV if you can, but I like to use a tablet screen for mine. I’ve been using my old iPad, but even just a Fire Tablet should do the job, and they’re not actually that expensive.

• Sports Watch – okay, this is something that’s big on my list. I had one that counted your steps, but now I want more from it, so I’m saving up for the Fitbit Versa 2.

Apps To Use

• Fiton App – My new favourite app, which I discovered this week. It’s got free workouts with videos, nutrition advice, and you can also get workout plans. I can’t express enough just how much I love this app!

• 5×5 App – I don’t use this app as much as the Fiton app, because it’s not so much workouts that you go through a video with, but it’s handy if you need some advice with your arm weights workout.

• Map my Run App – there’s a lot of running apps out there, but this is the one I use. It’s handy for logging outdoor runs, and any other work outs that you do, and they also do competitions that you can join in on, and add your friends to see what workouts they’re doing.

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