I've successfully completed two morning workouts in a row! I can sometimes get in 2-3 morning workouts a week, but attempting two mornings in a row is rarely successful. I guess since I wrote a blog post about it yesterday I felt like I owed it to myself to be more consistent in the mornings :)
Here's the workout I completed this morning after a 20 minute cardio session on the upright stationary bike:
Sorry, I'm feeling a "school" vibe since I've started teaching again :)
Before I started reading & learning about various workouts and their benefits, I wasn't able to put together an effective workout by myself. I used to ask Ryan to make up workouts for me and I would scour the internet for something that was challenging. Now that I've figured a few things out, I often create my own workouts and post them in blog posts and on my Workouts page.
Before I started reading & learning about various workouts and their benefits, I wasn't able to put together an effective workout by myself. I used to ask Ryan to make up workouts for me and I would scour the internet for something that was challenging. Now that I've figured a few things out, I often create my own workouts and post them in blog posts and on my Workouts page.
Here are the steps I use to create a circuit workout:
1. Decide on muscle groups
Am I going to focus on upper body, lower body, and/or core? Or maybe a combination of two or three?
2. Where do I want my heart rate to be?
Is my goal to create a heavy-lifting/strength workout where I take a lot of time to rest, or do I want to create a workout that has my heart racing for a good 30-45 minutes? Deciding this will allow me to figure out specifically which exercises to include. This morning my workout didn't get my heart rate up very high, so I started with a bike in order to get in that element of cardio.
Is my goal to create a heavy-lifting/strength workout where I take a lot of time to rest, or do I want to create a workout that has my heart racing for a good 30-45 minutes? Deciding this will allow me to figure out specifically which exercises to include. This morning my workout didn't get my heart rate up very high, so I started with a bike in order to get in that element of cardio.
3. Come up with a list of exercises for each major muscle.
For example, if you're doing a lower body workout, you'll want to include 2-3 exercises for quads, hamstrings, calves, and maybe hip flexors. If you're doing upper body, you have come up with exercises for chest, back, triceps, biceps, and shoulders. (I'm sure you could get even more detailed here, but I'm not that serious with upper body.) For abs, you'll want to include lower abs, upper abs, obliques, and all-encompassing exercises.
Then you have to think about cardio exercises: jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jump rope. butt kicks, high knees, skaters, etc. Will you include cardio exercises with your strength exercises?
Then you have to think about cardio exercises: jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jump rope. butt kicks, high knees, skaters, etc. Will you include cardio exercises with your strength exercises?
4. Arrange chosen exercises into groups
Will your rounds be muscle-focused or a combination of muscle groups? A muscle focused-round, for example, would be squat jumps, lunge jumps, and box jumps. A mixed round would include squat jumps, calf raises, and push ups.
How many rounds of exercises do you want? You can have anywhere from one to one hundred since it really doesn't matter. I prefer to have about 3-4 rounds (groups of exercises) that are repeated 2-3 times each. It's rare I'll create a workout where a set of exercises has to be repeated more than 3 times. I get bored easily :) This morning's workout required only two repetitions of each round.
4. Choose a timing/counting strategy.
Are you doing 25 reps of each exercise before moving on? Or are you doing as many as you can for 30 seconds or 1 minute before moving on? Are there scheduled rests or should we rest as needed? This morning, I decided to complete a certain number of reps before moving on. When it comes to upper body exercises, some wipe me out after 15 seconds and others could go on for a minute; so for me it was important to focus on reps instead of time!
5. Readjust as needed during the workout.
Sometimes exercises just don't turn out the way you think they will. I once tried to include donkey kicks into a timed circuit. I'm not very efficient with donkey kicks, so I could only complete 5 per round. Five reps wasn't enough, so I decided to trade it out for a different exercise that would work similar muscles. Donkey kicks fit better when I'm completing a certain number of reps.
And last but not least,
6. Search for inspiration!
I'm always looking for new exercises or twists on overdone exercises. I wrote a post about that a few weeks ago, and I have to say that I probably looked like a crazy person kicking like a donkey in the middle of my burpees, but I had fun changing things up!
Pinterest has endless workout ideas and it often leads me to blogs with countless links to workout resources! I know it's hard to stay motivated to workout and challenge ourselves. Being able to design your own workout routine can help shake things up and keep you invested in seeing results!
Question: How do you like to plan your workouts? Is there a particular part you look forward to? I really like burpees, so I always look forward to them in my circuits!
How many rounds of exercises do you want? You can have anywhere from one to one hundred since it really doesn't matter. I prefer to have about 3-4 rounds (groups of exercises) that are repeated 2-3 times each. It's rare I'll create a workout where a set of exercises has to be repeated more than 3 times. I get bored easily :) This morning's workout required only two repetitions of each round.
4. Choose a timing/counting strategy.
Are you doing 25 reps of each exercise before moving on? Or are you doing as many as you can for 30 seconds or 1 minute before moving on? Are there scheduled rests or should we rest as needed? This morning, I decided to complete a certain number of reps before moving on. When it comes to upper body exercises, some wipe me out after 15 seconds and others could go on for a minute; so for me it was important to focus on reps instead of time!
5. Readjust as needed during the workout.
Sometimes exercises just don't turn out the way you think they will. I once tried to include donkey kicks into a timed circuit. I'm not very efficient with donkey kicks, so I could only complete 5 per round. Five reps wasn't enough, so I decided to trade it out for a different exercise that would work similar muscles. Donkey kicks fit better when I'm completing a certain number of reps.
And last but not least,
6. Search for inspiration!
I'm always looking for new exercises or twists on overdone exercises. I wrote a post about that a few weeks ago, and I have to say that I probably looked like a crazy person kicking like a donkey in the middle of my burpees, but I had fun changing things up!
Pinterest has endless workout ideas and it often leads me to blogs with countless links to workout resources! I know it's hard to stay motivated to workout and challenge ourselves. Being able to design your own workout routine can help shake things up and keep you invested in seeing results!
Question: How do you like to plan your workouts? Is there a particular part you look forward to? I really like burpees, so I always look forward to them in my circuits!
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