Day-of-the-Week Workout Routine
An easy way to keep yourself on schedule with your workouts is to develop a routine so that it becomes second-nature. Dedicating each day of the week to a specific exercise, or area of focus, is an easy way to do this! Spreading a full workout into separate daily sessions will motivate you to keep working out all week long, so that you can target all areas. Completing a full body workout in one day may convince you that it was good enough for a few days. However, if you dedicate one day to legs, one day to arms, and so on, it will make you WANT to complete your small daily workout in order to get closer to accomplishing your overall full body workout. Here are a few suggestions for a day-of-the-week workout routine:
Monday: Run. Hit the treadmill for a 30-minute run, or head outside for a 3 mile jog. Switch up the programs you use on the treadmill, and the routes you take when running outside to ensure your body is challenged adequately during every workout. Each week you can increase the distance/time as you gradually improve as well.
Tuesday: Legs. For the first week, do 25 sumo-squats, and the next do 50 lunges. Up-downs are great for legs also. Create a list of leg-based workouts you like and alternate through them from week to week. Also, increasing intensity and repititions each time you complete a repeated workout will help you avoid plateauing.
Wednesday: Bike. On Wednesday’s, hit the gym and hop on an exercise bike, or break out the old 5-speed and hit the trails. Biking is a great source of cardio as well as great for toning those legs and buns. Be sure to switch between the two exercises to give yourself a nice variety. Also, switch-up the workout programs used on the exercise bike and the routes you take when biking outdoors to ensure optimum results!
Thursday: Arms. Generate a list of a few arm exercises such as push-ups, weights, or medicine ball. Decide how many of each exercise you want to start off with, then designate all Thursday’s to one of these arm exercises. Mixing them up from week to week is ideal, along with increasing the intensity of each workout each time you complete it.
Friday: Elliptical. TRUE ellipticals are great because you can achieve a full body workout using your arms and legs, or isolate your workouts to just legs or just arms. These ellipticals also come with a variety of pre-set and custom workouts that are sure to keep your body challenged. Mix up your target areas and workout programs used for the best results!
Saturday: Abdominals. Select a few of your favorite (and add in some new ones) ab exercises and rotate through them each week. Examples of ab-targeted exercises could range from sit-ups to wall-sits. Anything that will get those abs burning!
Sunday: Ahh, the day of rest! Use one day each week to let your body recoup and recharge, in order to make sure you are not overworking yourself. Adequate rest is just as important as the workout itself in order to obtain the best results possible!