Evening! Glad you all enjoyed my explanation of how I create my strength training plans. For the record – the one I gave in that post was just an example. I’m currently doing something a little different.

Last night at the gym I completed an upper body workout followed by Week 3, Day 1 of the Couch to 5K program. My upper body workout looked like this:

[If you have any questions on moves, don’t hesitate to ask!]

It felt so amazing to do my own weight workout again. I adore DVDs for cardio, but when it comes to weights I much prefer the gym. With one exception – lower body only workouts. I enjoy moves like squats, lunges, and step-ups but always hate doing one huge leg workout at the gym. Popping in a DVD motivates me to get through solely leg focused weight training. The plan I created for this upcoming 4 weeks follows an upper / lower / full body weight training split. I did my upper body workout for this week (above) yesterday. And today called for lower body. Cathe DVD to the rescue!

I chose the Legs & Glutes workout (one of my favorites!) for today and could certainly feel it working. I did a whole lot of these…

I also realized something during the workout, which I have dubbed The Sticky 2/3 Spot. Around 2/3 of the way through workouts that I’m not 100% feeling I get very distracted with thoughts like:

• When will this be over?
• No more! No more! No more!
• Do I HAVE to do this exercise/last X minutes?
• This. Stinks! (although sometimes another word slips in)
• And so on…

Something about that 2/3 mark makes me feel like the workout will never end and I instantly feel my motivation waning. Then, oddly enough, the last sets or last few minutes of cardio come up and I suddenly have energy like I could go all day. The gripes turn into wondering if I could do more or go a little longer. It’s just getting through that Sticky 2/3 Spot when it pops up in particular workouts. I bet I will have to remember this situation when I get into longer runs, huh?

Question of the evening – Do you experience the Sticky 2/3 Spot? In which workouts the most? I would say spin class and leg training days are the most common culprit for me.

Last night I gave myself a bit of a Valentine’s Day treat.

I created and started up my first rotation of my own strength training. I love lifting weights. It makes me feel strong and provides such a fun personal challenge. I’ll share what I did last night later on, but first – how I set up my workout plans.  I have received some requests for sharing, so I figured I would do that first.

Please remember that I am not certified in any way. I have simply figured out a system that works well for me after years of my own experience. If new to weight training, I always suggest a walk through with a trainer if possible; taking a class like Bodypump to get guidance from an instructor; or finding some way to properly acquaint yourself with the moves completed in workouts (aka research and practice).

Now for my step-by-step to making my workout plans…

Step 1: Choose a Workout Split. This simply means I decide how I am going to break up my body parts for workout days each week. For example:

• 1 Upper Body day, 1 Lower Body day, 1 Full Body day
• 1 Push day (chest, quads, triceps – muscles that push), 1 Pull day (back, hams, biceps – muscles that pull), 1 Full Body day
• 2-3 Full Body Workout days
• 2 Upper Body days, 1-2 Lower Body days
• 2 Push days, 2 Pull days
• Bodypart (1 Chest, 1 Back, 1 Legs, 1 Arms/Shoulders) <—my least fave

Step 2: Lay Out a General Plan. Here I simply put my chosen workout split into a table or spreadsheet and list out which body parts I will work in each workout. If I chose the Push/Pull/Full Body split, I will have something that looks like this:

I always make certain to get 1-2 exercises for each major muscle group I plan to work (the legs/glutes, back, and chest). Then, I add in smaller moves such as shoulders, biceps, and triceps as time allows. The smaller muscles get worked during larger moves so I don’t focus on having a move for them every workout.

Step Three: Fill In the Moves. I have a handy spreadsheet document where I keep a list of all my favorite exercises broken down by body part. I have a column for leg exercises, a column for back, a column for chest, etc. Then, I just pick and choose exercises from that list to fill out my basic plan. So, the above may turn into something like this:

Step Four: Plan out the sets and reps. 3 sets of 10 repetitions is the standard, which I start with. I will many times do some exercises in the workout with higher reps (15-20) and some with lower reps (6-8). Or I might do a different number of reps with each set (IE gradually increasing from 8 to 10 to 12 reps with each set). I just make sure to switch it up sometimes. My final plan using the same Push/Pull/Full example will then have a layout like this:

Step 5: Add Variety. This is where I have fun. I can switch up the moves in the basic outline every week, every two weeks, or follow the same routine all month. I can sub out exercises easily if I feel like doing something different or a piece of equipment is occupied my entire workout. I can add in variety with different equipment, like stability balls. I plan on doing some of my favorites in the future with kettlebells or on TRX equipment. I can use supersets (two moves done back to back) or circuits (everything done back to back). I can do some plyometrics or abs in between sets. The options are endless!

Question of the Day – Do you enjoy planning workouts? Which kinds?

**Let me know if you have any additional questions and/or requests for expounding on any of these topics.