Exercise routine

m1key87

What exercise routine do you guys use?

cwolfman13

Your routine is going to greatly depend on your goals. Setting fitness goals that are independent of weight loss and calorie burn are the best ways to determine what you should be doing and how often.

I personally cycle through a couple of different seasons of sport and my training varies. Right now I'm trying my hand at cyclocross so I go to an official practice on Tuesday evenings and then cycle on my own a couple days per week and throw in a group ride from time to time. I also do a maintenance run of 3 miles once per week. I'm currently lifting (Wendler's 5/3/1) 2x weekly with Wendler's 2x variation split. I will probably enter a couple of races this fall, but this season I'm mostly looking to learn and get my feet wet.

Cyclocross will go through about mid December...at that point, I'll really start hitting the weight room hard...probably 4x weekly with very limited cardio...probably maintenance run once per week and a good ride once per week. About mid March or so I'll drop back to 2x weekly with the weights and start doing a lot more running, cycling, and swimming in prep for the upcoming racing season which usually ends at the end of August for me.

m1key87

Yeah I think your right having a goal suits your routine my is to lose my belly so changing my diet and trying to do more cardio rather than just weights

Shawshankcan

Pretty much everything I do is based on building a bigger deadlift and a overhead press. This means heavy deadlifting twice a week, exercies to help with that, squats, and exercises to help the tricep lock out the OHP, as well as core work.

_liftnlove

I train like a bodybuilder...for aesthetics and hypertrophy rather than just strength... I lift 5-6x a week on a bodypart split, plus cardio 6-7 x a week...been doing it my way for over a year and a half and I can't imagine any other way. I love it, and I've never gotten results like this, even when I was younger and hadn't had 2 babies... Your goals will determine how you train. Most people on MFP train more for strength, which is fine...but lifting extremely heavy for 1-5 reps will yield different visual results than lifting moderately heavy in the 8-15 rep range. You gotta know what you want, and then do your own thing.

psychofairy25

I agree you have to find what you like and stay consistent.

Personally I do 5 mile power walk every other day( 2 yr old permitting) and include some resistance band training, but I'm growing out of the bands I have fast and will be upping to a set of adjustable dumbbells soon,my belly flab is going down slowly (2 inches on hip) I tend to stretch more after workouts than I'm "supposed to" don't know if that has an effect on belly or not but helps keep my muscles from cramping next day.

good luck finding your exercise bliss :flowerforyou:

Stage14

I have actually changed mine around recently to be MORE focused on lifting so I can reduce my belly. After being a slave to the cardio machines, which I have always hated, and just lifting once or twice a week, I now do 3 days a week of lifting and 3 days of c25k as my only cardio. Those days overlap once or twice a week depending on my schedule and energy levels.

My body is definitely responding better to the change. Weight loss has slowed some but I've lost a full inch off of my waist and 1/2 inch off my thighs, so I am fine with that. I think the big keys are to find workouts you actually enjoy and that work for your schedule and goals.

thatbelinda

Agreed that it should match your goals, but also it should match what you enjoy! I can't stand cardio machines at the gym - instead I will walk/run outside, and swim when the weather permits. I try to get in two hours of classes at the gym (usually high intensity cardio like boxing and cross training) as well as two weights sessions. Keeps it interesting I guess?