Do you plan your workouts like you plan your meals?

Stephanie198907

I think I just figured out why my attempts at frequenting the gym have failed miserably in the past. I read in a women's health magazine that planning your workouts like you plan your meals help you to stay focused when it comes to being consistent with the gym.
Since I joined MFP and starting using the gym I would always "freestyle" my workouts: just go to the gym with no set plan and do some cardio and decide on the spot what arm and leg exercises I was going to do. Why did I never think to pre plan my workouts!!! Maybe this time I'll stick with being consistent at the gym?

tmte1207

I think I just figured out why my attempts at frequenting the gym have failed miserably in the past. I read in a women's health magazine that planning your workouts like you plan your meals help you to stay focused when it comes to being consistent with the gym.
Since I joined MFP and starting using the gym I would always "freestyle" my workouts: just go to the gym with no set plan and do some cardio and decide on the spot what arm and leg exercises I was going to do. Why did I never think to pre plan my workouts!!! Maybe this time I'll stick with being consistent at the gym?

That right there is why I love CrossFit. It's varied from day to day and never dull. I used to fail miserably at working out regularly because of a lack of planning. They plan it for me and I go from there. It's awesome and I love that it works that way. As a result, I have been working out for well over a year, consistently even. :flowerforyou:

twinmom_112002

I live with a training plan in place. It also allows me to eat around my exercise. For instance, today I have a 6 mile run which means I needs to get some calories in early and I need to find extra calories later today. Changed what I ate for breakfast to up the calories.

Stephanie198907

Bump

Amburglar

I work different muscle groups every day. 1: biceps/chest/abs 2: shoulders/triceps/back 3: legs/obs...everyday I do 20-25 minutes of cardio.

On top of these, I also do a monthly challenge. Last month was 50 burpees a day. May is 100 squats a day.

Day 4 is usually a day off of lifting, but I do double the cardio. Day 5 I start over.
Really helps me stay on track and I don't find myself wandering around the gym wasting time. :-)

meshashesha2012

i dont understand how people can go to the gym without a plan, so yeah i plan my workouts like i plan my meals.. actually i probably plan my workouts more so than meals :laugh:

i tend to plan based on the days of the week. right now sun/tues/thursday are weight training days , mon/wed/sat are cardio and fridays are either for rest or for light cardio.
i tend to keep the same schedule for a month or 2 then will change it up depending on what my main focus is for that time.
so the main focus for the past few months as been on heavy lifting, which will in turn affect my cardio choices on my off days.

next week i'm switching up my routine completely and the main focus for a month will be krav maga. since i cant safely fit heavy lifting in with that, it means i can run more and do a few circuit style workouts with moderately heavy weights

MMarvelous

I plan my workouts based on what gym classes I like and my lifting schedule. Until this month I did NROL4W Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Zumba on Tuesday and Thursday. I am almost finish with my 10k training but I walk Tuesday, wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Monday is Pilates and cardio on AMT & arc trainer then Wednesday is Latin dance. Friday I supposed to be a rest day lol

mmapags

I plan both. I believe the old adage that says "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

MMarvelous

I plan both. I believe the old adage that says "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Very good point!

tenunderfour

I plan my workouts BETTER than I plan my meals!! The endorphin high is often the highlight of my day.

aproc

Having a plan is the best way to go. I always have my routine written out in my gym notebook with my previous lifting numbers for each exercise so I can make sure I am improving weight or reps each time. Just freestyling could mean forgetting certain exercises or not remembering your previous lifts which means no progress.

jenaissance

i rarely plan my meals more than an hour before I prepare them. my workout is part of my daily routine: get up at 6, go to the gym, etc. etc. etc.

kimad

Hey, I don't necessarily plan my workout, but I have scheduled days I go. I rarely go on days that aren't scheduled, but the ones that are I go 100%... I also think it isn't so much what you choose to do, but that you find something you enjoy doing and you stick to it. Some days I do a 1 hour cardio dance class and that is good enough for me. Some days I do weights and 6k on the treadmill. Its the fact you are doing it!

Umeboshi

I don't plan either, actually.

Jersey_Devil

i have a plan, but i have to adjust it a bit depending on how busy the gym is.

jenniejengin

bump

kdeaux1959

The short answer for me is "YES"; this does not mean I don't deviate from the plan. Usually, I work Upper body one day and lower body the next. Schedule usually dictates rest periods in any given week. I always do some level of cardio. Today was a bit unusual in that I only did cardio.. However, it was a day where I had limited time and I had 2 consecutive days of workouts before and schedule 2 consecutive days after... Therefore, I felt like it made sense.