Fitness has always been such a big part of my life and I really want to introduce more fitness/healthy lifestyle components to my blog. I’ll start with telling you a little about my fitness journey and my current workout routine.
I grew up in Boulder, Colorado where a healthy, active lifestyle is the norm. I could pretty much step outside and be on a trail! I always loved playing sports and I have an older brother, so I pretty much just wanted to play whatever sport he played. After playing a bunch of sports as a kid, I chose to play competitive soccer and basketball throughout high school. After high school, I got recruited to play soccer in college. My freshman year, I played soccer for a Division II school in Pennsylvania. Then I transferred to play Division I at a school in Colorado. For the last two years of college, I played club soccer for the school and I had to opportunity to play in a national championship.
I am so glad I grew up with an active lifestyle. Working out has been such an integral part of my life for so long that it feels weird to not work out every day. Now, without the scheduled workouts that come with playing a competitive sport, I have had to find an effective workout routine that I can do independently.
Everybody’s fitness goals are different. My focus is on being healthy and keeping my body lean and toned. I also have excess muscle in my legs from playing college soccer that I have been trying to lose or at least reduce – people always look at me weird when I say I’m trying to lose muscle haha! Because these are my goals, I try to tailor my workout routine to accomplish my desired outcome. Below is my normal workout – I try to workout 6 days per week. I’m not a trainer, I’m just doing what I think works for me! Definitely personalize this workout to your body and your fitness goals!
Running
My most frequent workout is running. I try to go for a 30 min run everyday. It’s great if you have a trail to run on (so much more exciting than a treadmill)! Long distance cardio is one of the best ways to stay toned and reduce bulk. It’s not the most efficient workout, but it helps keep my fitness level up and stay lean. I will try to run in the morning on an empty stomach. Not something I recommend unless you are trying to lose muscle. By doing unfed cardio sessions, you are breaking down muscle because the body turns to muscle for fuel when there’s no carbs to use. I think it works for me, but be smart about it!
There aren’t many articles on how to lose muscle, but in case you are in the same situation as me, here is one of best ones I’ve found:
http://fitnessblackandwhite.com/how-to-lose-muscle/
I also like to run in the morning because then I have no excuse to skip my workout later in the day if I get busy.
Depending on how I’m feeling, I will sometimes do fartlicks (weird word) or pick-ups during my run. Usually I will just do 30 seconds of sprinting and 20 or 30 seconds of jogging (active rest). I will do 5 to 10 pick-ups per run. This type of interval training really helps with fitness level and burning fat!
Abs
I do abs pretty much everyday after my run. One of my favorite ab routines is by Blogilates. I love the variety and it works every part of your abs! Here’s the link:
Strengthening
Depending on the day, I will do some “basic bitch” strength training – it’s not very hard, but it works smaller muscle groups and helps tone. I typically focus on butt and arms. Legs/butt includes fire hydrants, kicks backs, leg pulses, butt and leg lifts, inner thigh lifts, etc. Arms include forearm push ups, regular push ups, and planks (if that counts as arms haha).
I use body weight for any strength training I do. Not to discourage you from using weights! Training with weights will not inherently make you bulky, especially if you are just doing them a few times a week. I have done weights most of my life and there are many benefits to training with weights. For my current fitness goals, I just choose to train with body weight. Also, I usually don’t have access to weights.
HIIT
On the days that I don’t feel like going on a run or I don’t have time, I will do a HIIT workout. Sometimes I will do a short HIIT workout after one of my runs.
My HIIT workouts are 15 minutes. I do 4 exercises for 30 seconds each, with a 30 second rest in between exercises. I do 3 sets of 4 exercises, rest for 1 minute, and then do another 3 sets. I swear it’s not as confusing as it sounds.
Here are links to the workouts I usually do (from Sarah’s Day). She explains them in more detail:
-Workout 1-
Set 1 – High knees (x10) + chest to floor, Star crunches, Mountain climbers (x8) + jack push-up, In and out squat pulses (3x)
Set 2 – Plank toe taps, Plank in and outs, 180 jump squats, cross body crab kicks
-Workout 2-
Set 1 – Jump squats, Push ups, Burpees, Ab Exercise
Set 2 – Skaters, Down dog push ups/Shoulder push ups, Reverse burpees, Frogs
Those are my most common workouts! I really want to post more frequently about exercise, diet, and living a healthy lifestyle (maybe video?). I hope this is helpful and let me know if there is anything specific you want to see.
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