Fit 4 Thursday

Welcome to yet another feature!

Seeing as how I have so many interests and in yesterday's post the husband very wisely suggested having a plan, Thursdays will be reserved for fitness and health related posts. It could be a super, yummy good-for-you recipe (that might be parent approved, but not kid approved), or dialogues about training plans, exercise routines, etc.

Monday will also be about fitness, but it'll be a recap of the previous week's training, my goals for the week and my motivators. It will mostly be about me, and Thursday's will be about you. That's fair, right?

Anyways, on to today's topic.....

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Training Plans

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When I first started my fitness journey, it was like entering an ocean of unknown and it was filled with beautiful people who knew what they were doing.

Ok, that's not true, but it seemed like it.

The gym was daunting at first. Scary. Everyone is judging you (they're not) said the voice in my head.

Do you know that its taken 4 years for me to be comfortable in my Zumba class? 4 years. With the same teacher, who I love and she is such an inspiration for me.

I digress. The gym. Its daunting. Its really not, but we are so judgemental about ourselves, that we can't possibly fathom everyone not critiquing us, because we are our own worst enemies. We are our worst critics. We are our worst bullies.

How do you combat that?

With a plan. A training plan.

Aren't those just for races? Nope!

When I signed up with my gym, I got a free personal training session. Remember the teacher, I mentioned above? Yep, she was the trainer I picked.

Why? I trusted her.

I knew she knew what she was doing, and I needed help knowing what it was I wanted to do.

So we had our session. She taught me about the weight machines, an eating plan, and how to approach my fitness.

It was eye-opening, and then I was on my own.

Unfortunately, personal training is expensive. I couldn't justify spending the money when I was competent and willing to learn.

I had read somewhere along the line that having a training journal was a good tool for those starting out.

What is a training journal? Basically a planner for your workouts.

What are you going to work today?

You don't want to just focus on one thing. You want to workout everything. Yes, you can have a focus, but you need to keep it even.

Since I was already treating my gym visits like appointments, this journal seemed like the next logical step. I worked out Monday - Friday and I focused on a different muscle group every day.

• Legs
• Chest, Back and Arms
• Abs
• Cardio

These were the groups I started off with. I did, eventually, add in some Yoga and Pilates. 

I never worked the same muscle group twice in a row, and if I felt like the workout wasn't quite enough that day, I'd sprinkle in some more cardio. 

After I did each workout, I'd give myself a star. I like stars. Still do. 

I kept my planner with me, and I referenced it a lot. Adjusted it as needed. I now post my calendar on my kitchen cabinets. 

It keeps me accountable - to myself. 

I also keep a more detailed version of the current training plan on the refrigerator. A constant reminder kind of thing. 

Even if you're not training for something, its a good idea to have a plan. 

• What are your goals? 
• How are going to achieve them?
• Why do you want to achieve them?
• What's your reward for getting it done?

I did a quick google search for workout calendars and found free ones everywhere. 

Here are the calendars I use. 

New and Improved Fitness Calendars from Weigh to Maintain

I like being able to see my progress every time I'm in the kitchen, which is a lot. A lot of my day is spent prepping food, cooking,  cleaning up dishes, or going to the laundry room, which means I see these calendars a lot. 

I know that I haven't starred every day, and that workouts have been missed, but there are still a lot of stars on that thing, and that makes me happy. 

Its also making me realize that I can't run 5 days a week. I need to add another day of cross-training in lieu of running that 5th day. Having 2 speed work days a week is killing my hips, and its much harder to motivate myself to run when I hurt and I know I won't be able to perform the way I should. Not to mention that I might actually injure myself. 

This is one of the treasures of tracking those workouts. You can figure out what's working and what's not.