I always hesitate to share blogs like this where I’m sharing my personal routine. A lot of people enjoy seeing them, but it can be damaging and can make you believe things that may not be true for you and/or your situation. So keep in mind that as I share my weekly workout overview with you it doesn’t mean that it’s the exact option you should be doing or that you have to follow something similar. Programs are built in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons including what equipment you have access to, how much time you have, what your ability level is and more. Keep in mind as you read the overview of my current training program that I’ve been training consistently for years and that my ability level has only increased over that time. This isn’t somewhere I would start a beginner.
I typically train 5-6 times per week which is not realistic for a lot of people and that’s okay. You don’t have to train this often, I just do it because I genuinely enjoy it. For a beginner 2-3 times a week can be a good place to start and then as you get more comfortable you can build up from there (if you want). A lot of people will start out in that 2-3 times per week range and then as they get more confident and enjoy it more they will naturally add, which is a great progression to take.
My training split typically involves 2 days a week upper body, 2 days a week lower body, and 1-2 days a week for conditioning-style training. I also typically teach 2 group fitness classes a week as well most weeks (these aren’t necessarily workouts for me, but they still definitely get my heart rate up and do involve doing exercise, and sometimes depending on how I’m feeling I may not add an additional workout on top of those days).
My upper body days focus mainly on pushing and pulling movements (bench press, chest press, pulldown variations, rowing variations, overhead pressing). I include the Bench Press in both upper body workouts each week as it’s something I’m working on getting stronger in and then mix it up from there a bit. I know the value in training the same workouts consistently, but I also know that personally, I’m way less likely to do it if I’m training the same workout for a 6 or 8-week period so I try to change it up just enough to keep myself interested without changing it hugely which is why I follow this protocol for myself. Again, this is not something that works for everyone, so keep in mind that repeating the same workout for several weeks in a row is also not a bad thing.
My lower body days focus on squats, lunge variations, deadlifts and hip thrust variations. Typically with my lower body days I take one day to focus on the heavy anterior chain lifts (squats/lunges) and the second day to focus on the heavy posterior chain lifts (deadlift/hip thrust). I do include these movements on both days, but I will focus one day on the heavier lift and the other on a different variation. An example might be that on my anterior chain heavy day I will do barbell back squats, lower reps and heavier weight, while on the posterior chain heavy day I may do a goblet squat instead (less weight, but higher reps). Again, this may not work for everyone, but it does work for me which is why I train in that style.
My conditioning-style workouts can look very different or similar from one workout to the next. I try to do at least one conditioning workout each week, sometimes I get 2 in, and sometimes I don’t (it just depends on how I’m feeling that week and what’s going on). These workouts may look like AMRAP’s, 5X5 or 6X6 workouts. I typically change these up from one day to the next. I don’t enjoy this style of training as much so I find that I need to mix this piece of my training up more in order to stick with it. Again, this is just my personal preference and is what I have to do in order to help myself stay accountable to this style of training (this is also the same reason that sometimes I only train conditioning once a week instead of twice a week).
Remember that I’m sharing this with you as my personal plan but it may not work for you or be a good fit for you. Building a workout program is about more than just the number of days a week you are working out. If you are interested in having a program built to suit your needs don’t hesitate to reach out to me and I’m happy to work with you to find something that suits both your goals and lifestyle. Training for life is a lifelong journey and your program will change over and over to meet the current demands of your lifestyle. Know that you are not stuck to anything forever and with the help of a qualified coach you can adjust your programming while still chasing your goals.
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