The why behind my weekly workouts

It’s officially summer. But in San Francisco that doesn’t mean we pull out the tank tops and flip flops, because it’s still a windy 60 degrees. What summer does mean, is that it stays light out longer and festival season is in full gear.

I spend a lot of time outside walking to the gym and back and have been loving the weather lately. If you stand still, it’s a little cold, but when you’re moving, it’s nice.

All of that walking doesn’t make it onto my weekly workout posts, but for fun, I thought I’d calculate my trips. The total from Monday through Sunday: 27.5 miles. True story. I had no idea the mileage was that high, but finding it out is a great example of “the why” …

The why behind my weekly workout recap

Have you ever heard of a food journal? Nutritionists and doctors have prescribed the practice for a long time so people write down every single thing they eat. When it’s on paper in front of your face, you’re accountable to every bite. Food journals can help you figure out how you feel when eating a certain way and help you watch the patterns in your diet.

While I don’t keep a journal of my food, I do find that documenting my workouts is quite helpful for me. I know I like to fit in six workouts a week with one day of rest, but sometimes my intensity and variety needs some adjusting based on a look at the whole week.

Outside of the walking, let’s see how I got moving over the past seven days …

Weekly Workouts

• Monday – foam rolling, 25 minutes of treadmill intervals, 20 minutes of leg and upper-body weight-training, stretching
• Tuesday – taught one-hour BODYPUMP class
• Wednesday – foam rolling, 25-minutes of rowing intervals, 20 minutes of leg and back weight-training, stretching
• Thursday – foam rolling, 25 minutes of treadmill intervals, 20 minutes of leg and shoulder weight-training, stretching
• Friday – taught one-hour BODYPUMP class
• Saturday – foam rolling, taught one-hour BODYATTACK class
• Sunday – rest

What was good?

Based on last week’s reflections, I’m starting to add some cardio intervals to the beginning of my workouts, and it gets me completely sweaty before I hit the weights.

My routine is definitely changing. For the past several months, I had been teaching so many group fitness classes, that I never had to worry about doing my own workouts. (I teach Les Mills group fitness classes, which means I do the full workout mirroring the class.) But these days as a full-time personal trainer teaching only a few classes, I’ve got to spend more time focusing on my own fitness regime, because I don’t actually do the workouts with my clients.

And it’s not easy. There isn’t much free time in my day between appointments, so my workouts need to be quick. They are always just under one hour and right around 55 minutes. I try to be very efficient, do compound exercises that work more than one muscle group and burn more calories, and make the most out of every minute. I’ve been developing a good program lately, which includes all the important parts, like foam rolling, cardio, full-body weight training and stretching.

What could have been better?

I’ve got to be honest, with the demanding schedule I’m currently working at the gym, between training clients and meeting with prospective clients for assessments, I’m really glad I was able to fit in the workouts that I did. No complaints here.

With a very busy few days ahead, we’ll see how I do in the fitness department this week. Time to put on my walking shoes and head out. I hope you have a great Monday!

Questions of the day

Do you go to the gym with a plan? Do you ever take group fitness classes or do you prefer to work out alone?

What’s one way you got active over the past week?