This week was all about heavy weight and high reps for me. My goal at the moment is to put on some muscle, so most of my workout routines basically consist of me pickin’ up heavy things and putting ’em back down again…and again, and again. I do a fair amount of cardio every week, and this week I kept it to mostly steady-state cardio, meaning my heart rate stayed fairly low and I wasn’t moving all that fast. Of course, I did get my weekly HIIT workout in, too.
Here’s exactly which workouts I did this week, and when.
Sunday: Endurance Cardio (Treadmill) and Abs
I did one of my favorite endurance workouts on Sunday. Basically, I ran five miles with the pace breakdown as follows:
Miles 0-1.5: Easy pace
Miles 1.5-3.5: Race pace (this is the pace per mile at which you would run a 5k race)
Miles 3.5-5: Easy pace
◊ This workout can be modified for any distance, just make sure that the chunk in the middle is a bit longer and faster than the beginning or end piece.
I followed this treadmill workout with a quick abs circuit.
Monday: Full Body Circuit Workout
On Monday, I did my go-to full body circuit workout. I didn’t have a ton of time for a workout on this particular day, so this high-intensity workout (that I did AT HOME!) was perfect. I’ve linked the full body circuit here.
Tuesday: Legs & Steady-State Cardio
I worked my legs on Tuesday and moved heavy weights for high reps. The workout was pretty similar to my legs workout on Saturday of this week, and I’ve linked it here.
I followed the weight portion of my workout with 25 minutes of steady state cardio on the stair machine. My goal for this exercise was to get my heart rate into the 150s and then keep it there: no lower, no higher.
Wednesday: Back & Biceps
Bicep Curls* using curl bar {12 reps, 4 sets}
Barbell Hammer Curls {12 reps, 4 sets}
Bent Over T-Bar Rows {12/10/8/6}
Straight Arm Pulldowns on the cable machine {12/side, 4 sets}
Standing Lat Pulldowns *one foot on bench {12/12/10/10 reps, increase weight each time}
Seated Cable Rows {12/12/10/10 reps per set, increase weight each time}
Seated Lat Pulldown* bar comes down in front of body {12/12//12/12 reps per set, increase weight each time}
Bent Over Cable Row {12 reps, 4 sets}
Thursday: Shoulders & Incline Treadmill Walk
1A: Shoulder Raises*front and side {12 reps, 4 sets}
1B: Plank Shoulder Taps {60 seconds}
2A: Kneeling Landmine Barbell Shoulder Press {12 reps, 4 sets}
2B: Weight Plate Walk*carry weight plate above head {60 seconds}
3A: In & Out Shoulder Dumbbell Press {12 reps, 4 sets}
3B: Pinky Up Seated Reverse Flyes {12 reps, 4 sets}
4A: Forward Dumbbell Raise & Press*Burnout {15-20 reps, 3 sets}
4B: Resistance Band Standing Shoulder Presses {12 reps, 3 sets}
I walked on the treadmill after my workout for 20 minutes at a 15% incline and slow speed (about 3.2 mph). I also did a quick abs circuit afterward.
Friday: HIIT Workout & Abs
On Friday, I did a treadmill HIIT workout that I’ve linked here. I did the Hill HIIT and it was INTENSE!
I did a quick abs circuit after my HIIT workout.
Saturday: Legs and Foam Rolling
Saturday I worked my legs, which I linked above and also here. This workout was TOUGH, and involved lots of weight and lots of reps.
After my workout, I had a long foam rolling session.
Sunday: Chest & Triceps and Steady State Cardio
1A: Barbell Chest Press {12 reps, 4 sets, increase weight}
1B: Barbell Skull Crushers {!2 reps, 4 sets}
2A: Incline Dumbell Chest Press {12 reps, 4 sets}
2B: Dumbell Tricep Kickbacks {12 reps, 4 sets}
3A: Chest Press Machine {12 reps, 4 sets}
3B: Diamond Push-Ups {12/12/10/10}
4A: Cable Flyes {12 reps, 4 sets}
4B: Lat Bar Push Downs {!2 reps, 4 sets}
I finished Sunday with a 25 minute steady state cardio session on the stair machine.
…………………………………………
◊ This schedule doesn’t show a rest day because I don’t take one precisely every 7 days (my rest day came on the Monday following this week of workouts). I listen to my body and, even though I like to schedule some of my weekly workouts ahead of time, I don’t build-in arbitrary workouts (or non-workouts) without giving myself some flexibility. If my body feels good: I workout. If my body is is fatigued: I take a rest or active rest day. The nice thing about varying your workouts throughout the week (as I did in the sample above), is that you give your body the rest it needs by working different muscle groups on different days, in different ways. Also, I’m a big believer that my BCAA’s and Glutamine supplements keep my muscles super healthy and ready to go for a full week of workouts. I’ve written an article of what supps I use and when: link is here!