I think a lot of us have made it our quarantine goal to come out post glow-up, fit and fabulous. If, like me, you’re pre-lock down weekly workout amounted to random trips to the gym, then walking round the gym looking at the machines wondering what the hell they do, then you probably started the life of lock down workouts a bit all over the place as well. I think I was in a bit of a panic and just doing full body work outs everyday, which was getting me nowhere other than needing a rest.
But last week I stopped and did a little more planning, and I’ve come up with more of a schedule for myself. My new plan is to focus on one part of the body for my daily workouts rather than all of it, and just go harder. That way, I can still workout something while the tired bits are resting.
Now, I must stress, I am in no means an expert, and I’m not even close to the amazing personal trainers that are out there now, so please don’t take this as a successful workout schedule, it’s just what’s been working for me. I also have to say that I don’t make up any of my own workouts, they’re all from other trainers online, but I will link my favourites in the post.
Monday
20 mins total body workout (I use 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
30 mins HIIT routine (I use this Pamela Reif HIIT workout to start, then this Natacha Oceane one)
20-30 mins steady state cardio (e.g. jog or bike ride)
HIIT and Cardio. Tuesday is time a bit of outdoor exercise, but with a HIIT routine thrown in to keep everything else going. The two I use are both different, and I save the one that has a break between each workout until the second go. If I’m feeling a little tired already, or like I can’t handle both of them I’ll cut it down to just the one, or do one in the morning, and one in the evening. 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
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.
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)
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
Yoga or Pilates (I use this Boho Beautiful yoga routine, and get jealous over the location)
Saturday is another slightly easy day, just having a morning walk and a yoga session after. 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 earlier this 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. I’m still experimenting with my workouts a bit at the moment, and constantly looking for new workouts. If you have any amazing workouts, please post them in the comments, and I’ll give them a try.
xx
