Figuring out what you want to do at the gym is probably one of the hardest things to do. Doing cardio is easy, just hop on the treadmill or elliptical and get going. But what do you do after? How do you know which part of your body to work out, or even what moves to do to focus on those areas? Here are a list to steps you can do to get yourself organized and ready to tackle the week strong!
1. Do your research
Before you just jump into a workout, it helps to do a bit of research on some different exercises and tips. You can find workouts all over the place on the internet, especially via Instagram or Pinterest. I LOVE using Pinterest for workouts because it is so easy it’s almost funny. All you do is type “ab workout” or “butt workout” and you are instantly given a ton of different things you can do inside or outside the gym. I also like to follow fitness pages on Instagram or pages of personal trainers who constantly post videos of them in action. @Massy.Arias and @LyzabethLopez are two of my personal fitness ladies that post workouts and videos that you can try almost daily.
2. Decide how frequently you want to work out
If you plan to workout 3 times a week, your routine will probably look a bit different from someone who chooses to workout 5 times a week or even twice every day. This is not to say that any one of those schedules are better than the other, but it’s important to understand what works for you and only you.
3. Choose the days you want to work on specific areas of your body
This is not to be confused with “spot” weight loss, or trying to only lose weight in one area. That is pretty much impossible. If you want better abs, or want smaller arms, or whatever else, the key for me has been doing strength training after cardio. I like to split the areas of my body amongst the days I plan to workout. For example:
Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Arms & Chest
Wednesday: Abs
Thursday: Back
Friday: Butt
Preparing your workout routine like this makes it easier to shuffle through all those exercise you find online. This also gives the areas of your body time to repair so that you are not constantly working sore muscles. If you went in on abs Monday, don’t workout abs Tuesday as well thinking it will ensure more definition quicker. That does more harm than good!
4. Include diverse workouts!
Don’t be that girl that thinks she can just do fifty squats a day and be great. Sure that may help, but you can get more results if you stick to a plan similar to number #3. It is better to do various workouts targeted towards one group during one session, than working that area everyday with less intensity. You also don’t want your muscles to get used to the workout your doing, then you may find yourself at a pause in your results. There are more ab workouts than just crunches, try some walking planks or tire flips! Use some dumbbells or resistance bands every once in a while. Don’t be afraid to make your workout exciting.
5. Know the importance of Rest Days!
When starting a fitness journey it’s very easy to get carried away, especially once the results start rolling in. But that soreness is going to creep up on you, and if you don’t listen to your body you could end up straining muscles (trust me I’ve been there). So you want to include a rest day in your routine which just allows you to take it easy. Or perhaps you can just settle for light cardio instead of heavy cardio and strength training. Listen to yourself! This is your body after all.