Details on my new workout program

It’s time to talk workouts. My life is pretty much all about fitness these days. Most of the time, I’m focused on the fitness of others, but some of the time, I’m focused on myself.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I just started the first phase of a brand new workout program, designed just for me by one of our most experienced trainers.

This program is set up in four, four-week phases, lasting for four months, with three different workouts for each week. I begin each workout with the same 15-minute dynamic warm-up full of mobility exercises, which will change in phase two based on my progress.

Phase-one workouts

• Workout A – Elevated reverse lunges, Hover with arm reach marches, Face pulls, Box back squats, Assisted pull-ups, Pallof presses and Standing reverse chest flies.
• Workout B – 3/4 Turkish get-ups, Single-leg hip extensions, Resisted leg drops, Side plank leg lifts, Barbell deadlifts, Single-hand seated cable rows, Good mornings.
• Workout C – Single-arm dumbbell chest presses, Chop and lifts, Barbell overhead walks, Leg drops, 1/2 burpees, Barbell hip extension, Lateral ViPR shuffles.

Ever heard of any of these things? The names are killer and so are the moves. I’ve linked to demonstrations for a few of the exercises, in case you’re curious. By the way, when you search around for exercise demos online, there is a lot of bad information out there. Be very, very careful what you use as a resource.

Sets, weight and intensity

I’ve been using heavier weights, mostly dumbbells and barbells, and doing only 8-10 reps for each move, depending on the difficulty. Each workout is set up in three different mini-circuits, and I repeat each circuit four times. It means each workout takes about an hour and 15 minutes.

It’s hard, and I’m certainly being challenged every single workout. I can already tell that my mobility exercises are working. I’m so much more flexible and have a greater range of movement, which is an awesome feeling.

Now, as we do on Mondays, let’s get to the recap of my entire week in fitness …

Weekly Workouts

• Monday – WORKOUT B, including a dynamic warm-up, mobility exercises, one-hour of total-body weight training
• Tuesday – WORKOUT C, including a dynamic warm-up, mobility exercises, 45 minutes of total-body weight training, foam rolling
• Wednesday – Practiced 35 minutes of a BODYATTACK class at home
• Thursday – One-hour power yoga class, WORKOUT A, including a dynamic warm-up, mobility exercises, 45 minutes of total-body weight training, foam rolling
• Friday –  Taught one-hour BODYPUMP class
• Saturday – Taught one-hour BODYATTACK class, worked with ViPR total-body tool during a training for about two hours
• Sunday – Practiced 35 minutes of a BODYATTACK class at home

What was good?

Although I didn’t get a full day of rest this week, due to the fact that I am practicing heavily to prepare for the launch of the brand new BODYATTACK 85 and BODYPUMP 90 releases Friday and Saturday, I had a very diverse week of fitness. I did three sessions of cardio with my three BODYATTACKs. I did three sessions of heavy weight training at Equinox and one session of lighter-weight endurance training during BODYPUMP. I fit in a yoga class. And I went through a training on Saturday afternoon at Equinox along with my fellow personal trainers to use an awesome new tool called the ViPR, which I will explain in a future post. That’s a great week.

In general, I suggest to most of my clients (depending on their ability level and goals) that they aim for three, 30-minute sessions of cardio each week, as well as two-to-three resistance sessions and plenty of stretching. I definitely hit all those points.

What could have been better?

I’ve been trying really hard to fit my workouts in during my busy workdays at the gym between clients and meetings. I don’t always have enough time to do the full workout. That means sometimes the last couple sets of my planned workout get left off, as well as the stretching at the end. I’m well aware that because of the intensity of my workouts I need to stretch and foam roll, even at the end of my session, but quality recovery didn’t happen every time this week. Shame on me.

This upcoming week could be one of the busiest on record for me. In addition to my 12-hour days at Equinox, at night, I’ll also be preparing for the Les Mills quarterly launch at 24 Hour Fitness this weekend. Wish me luck!

Questions of the day

When was the last time you tried something new for a workout? Do you stretch after your workout? How did you get active over the past week? Let’s hear it!