Fitness Friday – My Weekly Running & Workout Routine

I don’t know about you, but I’m sure glad it’s Friday. Mostly because I’m excited to watch my husband perform in our local theater’s production of Hello, Dolly!, but also because I get to talk about fitness again. Sorry if that’s not your thing and I totally understand if you want to click away and go find something more fun to read, but if you stick around thanks in advance. Of all my workouts throughout the week Friday is probably my easiest one. Easy might not be the best word, but maybe the real reason I like my Friday workout so much is because Saturday is the one day of the week I rest. Well, I rest from actual exercise anyway, but we all know how it goes when we say we’re taking a day off, right? I have a pretty good schedule that I stick to and while I have to make adjustments here and there I’m usually able to stick to my routine every week. It’s a priority for me, so I always find a way to make my runs and workouts happen, but I do have family schedules to consider sometimes, too.

Here’s a rough idea of what my weeks look like because like I said I have a routine and I like to stick to my plan as much as possible. It definitely changes if I’m training for a specific race, but this is what my workouts look like pretty much every week.

• Sunday – This is one of my favorite days of the week because it’s a long run day. The distance varies based on my goals for the week or month or if I have a race coming up on the calendar, but I always try to run at least 5 miles on Sundays. The other nice thing about Sunday for me (usually) is that I don’t have to worry about watching the clock. I can just hit the road for a relaxing easy-paced run.
• Monday – I usually ride my stationary bike for some active recovery and to flush out the lactic acid from my legs. My goal is 30-45 minutes and then I follow-up with about 15 minutes of upper body work.
• Tuesday – Yay! This is another run day. I prefer to run a minimum of 3 miles, with my total usually coming in between 3 and 5 miles depending on how I’m feeling and how much time I have. Then I hit the basement for 10-15 minutes of ab/core work.
• Wednesday – This is another day of either riding the bike or walking (sometimes with incline intervals) on the treadmill), which I follow up with 15 minutes of leg-focused exercises. I love squats and lunges. I love squats and lunges. I love squats and lunges.
• Thursday – You guessed it! On Thursdays I run again. After I run I head down to the dungeon, I mean basement, and do some ad/core work for 10-15 minutes.
• Friday – I usually dedicate Friday to an easy cardio workout (today I walked 2 miles on the treadmill with incline intervals) then I spend about 15 minutes doing some full body circuits.
• Saturday – Rest day! No exercise at all, not even a little bit.

So there you have it. It’s not anything too exciting, but it’s my plan every week and I mostly stick to it. I’ve got a goal to shed some pounds and improve my running speed and with focus and determination I know I’ll totally achieve both. But not without a little pizza and ice cream every now and then. Or once a week. Or something.