My Training Routine

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, there are many factors. Staying active and moving my body is just another part of my health journey. My favorite forms of exercise are lifting weights and lower intensity cardio. My routine may not work for you. I keep my gym time relatively short and simple, only 3x a week, due to the fact I work a physical job the other 4 days, and I am always walking, bending, lifting boxes, and squatting.

I personally have to watch out for overtraining and raising my cortisol and stress levels in my body too much. I definitely have to prioritize rest and recovery, and I ALWAYS listen to my body. Here is how I structure my training routine. I am in the gym for about 4 hours total a week.

SUN- 20 minutes of stretching before work

MON- 20 minutes of stretching before work

TUES- 20 minutes of stretching before work

WED- 20 minutes of stretching before work

THURS- Pull day & 20 minutes of incline walk

FRI- Leg day & 20 minutes of incline walk

SAT- Push day , 20 minutes of incline walk, & 10 minutes of weighted abs

As a general overview, I keep my lifting routine very simple and like to start my session with a compound lift for strength (1-5 reps per set) and then I do a few accessory work exercises in the hypertrophy rep range (10-12 reps per set). Here are some of my favorite exercises to perform.

Pull day- conventional deadlifts, seated cable rows, dumbbell hammer curls, lat pull downs, straight arm pulldowns, bicep curls

Leg day- barbell back squats, leg press, leg press calf raises, goblet squats, hamstring curls, quad extensions, glute kickbacks

Push day- bench press, seated shoulder press, incline chest press, overhead tricep extensions, shoulder raises, tricep rope

Choosing forms of exercise that you enjoy is so important! I choose to lift weights for my overall longevity, bone strength, energy levels, mental health, and to build a strong, muscular, and curvy physique. I do not utilize the gym as an unhealthy obsession, fixation on my weight, or punishment for what I ate. The gym is a tool to be used as part of a bigger health picture.

Staying active is just one factor of many that goes into living an overall healthy, balanced, and sustainable lifestyle!