Workouts Lately + Adjusting For A Busy Schedule

Hey guys, hope you all had a great weekend and a nice start to the week yesterday. I had a blast at Erica’s bachelorette weekend, and I can’t wait to share our festivities with you once I go through the millions of pictures we took. In the meantime, since today and yesterday have definitely been get back on track days, I want to talk about my workouts over the past month or so.

My heavier strength workouts have been pretty hard to squeeze in lately. With summer weekends booked like crazy, it’s just HARD to get to the weight room as much as I did during the winter. Saturday and Sunday often end up as off days or days that I just go for a quick run or do a quick at home workout instead. Without either Saturday or Sunday (or both) to lift, it’s hard to fit strength training in among my teaching schedule, the classes I’m subbing, and the fun fitness events I’m attending during the week. That said, I haven’t been progressing as much as I’d like for my strength workouts, but it’s okay. I’m modifying my routine to fit what works for me right now, and I know once things calm down a bit I’ll be back on track with my goals. I’m also spending more time outside (kayaking, walking, running, etc.), so letting lifting take a back seat for a few more weeks is okay with me. I never want to feel stressed about something that I enjoy doing so much.

Before I get into some of the workout recaps, I want to share a Facebook status that one of my fitness idols, Molly Galbraith, posted a couple of weeks ago:

I recently took an informal poll asking a few audiences: “For those of you who have worked out for longer than 5 years, how many days per week do you work out?”

I can’t lie — was *secretly hoping* I’d hear the answer of 3-5 days per week, since that’s my general recommendation (that’s weights + cardio) for sustainability over the long haul. And yes. That’s what most people said… 3-5 days per week. But you know what they said that was even cooler?! Almost everyone who made a comment (beyond just listing the # of days/week) talked about MODIFYING IT FOR THEIR CURRENT LIFESTYLE/SITUATION, ie:

• “In the winter I work out a little less, but I lift more. In the summer I lift less, but work out more overall, mostly hiking and swimming.”
• “When I was in law school, I was lucky to manage 2 days a week, but now that I’m done, I’m hitting a solid 3-4 days a week.”
• “When my son was born, I mostly just walked with him every day for the first 4-6 months, and maybe did a little body weight circuit at home. But now that he’s old enough for the gym daycare, I’m back in there 3 days a week, and I still walk with him most days.”

Freaking awesome! Each and every one of these people recognized that if they modified their routines and just did SOMETHING, that it was better than nothing and that they would still be doing something good for their bodies. None of this, “I can’t hit the gym 5 days a week so there’s no point” stuff. Just giving themselves grace about their situation and finding what was sustainable for them. Love it.

I feel like this describes my workouts lately perfectly. By no means am I slacking because I’m still making fitness a priority, I’m just making adjustments to fit in everything else. <—there’s your motivation for the day!

Here’s how my weekly workouts have looked for the past month:

Workouts: Sunday 6/22 – Saturday 6/28

• Sunday: Off
• Monday: Full body strength workout
• Tuesday: Taught (and did) my 6am class
• Wednesday: Outdoor run. I had full intentions to run 3 miles, but it was way too hot and I felt dehydrated, so I listened to my body and stopped around 2.
• Thursday: Taught (and did) my 6am class and then went to the June New Balance Girls Night Out event and did bootcamp
• Friday: Subbed for Heidi’s 6am cycle and core class
• Saturday: Off

Workouts: Sunday 6/29 – Saturday 7/5

• Sunday: Off for engagement celebrating
• Monday: Off. Just didn’t feel like going!
• Tuesday: Taught (but didn’t do) outdoor Tabata stations, then stayed after teaching to do a full body strength workout. Also went kayaking!
• Wednesday: Full body strength workout + cardio finisher
• Thursday: Off to head to the Cape
• Friday: 3 mile run
• Saturday: At home workout (my Baby You’re A Firework bodyweight circuit)

Workouts: Sunday 7/6 – Saturday 7/12

• Sunday: Off day
• Monday: Lauren’s spin class
• Tuesday: Taught (and did) my 6am class with two five move circuits, one for upper body and one for lower body
• Wednesday: Ran a really hot 3.1 miles after work
• Thursday: Taught (and did) my 6am class with three different upper body supersets and lower body/cardio progressions between each
• Friday: Full body strength workout
• Saturday: Off for Slesh’s wedding

Workouts: Sunday 7/13 – Saturday 7/19

• Sunday: Off for Slesh’s wedding
• Monday: Off for the day after Slesh’s wedding
• Tuesday: Taught my 6am class with one of my favorite formats, 10 strength reps + 20 cardio seconds, five different sets, four rounds each. After that, we finished with a stability ball core circuit.
• Wednesday: Met Liz and Alice for a morning workout date at Studio Empower. At night, I went to an event at SoulCycle in Chestnut Hill and took a cycle class there.
• Thursday: Taught my 6am class with the same format as Tuesday, just with different exercises
• Friday: Off for Erica’s bachelorette
• Saturday: Off for Erica’s bachelorette

–Let’s chat–
Tell me how you modify your workout schedules to fit your routines? Do you find that you make adjustments in the summer? How do you still keep fitness a priority despite busy schedules? Is anyone else going to the New Balance event tonight?

Feel free to share anything else workout related that’s on your mind, and make sure to check back tomorrow morning for my New Balance giveaway winner!