Workout Plan - Aug/Sep 2018
New plan, new me... ?
I like to do a body composition test the weekend before my training and nutritionist appointments - it gives us something quantitative to look at and allows us to assess progress towards my goals. The morning of my last test, I looked in the mirror and smiled. Truthfully, I was feeling good about myself. I knew the potential that numbers had to destroy that confidence, so I made sure that I took a moment to take it in. I am a strong, healthy, happy person and nothing can change that.
Of course - The results were disappointing.
Despite working hard and diligently tracking all of my food over the last two months, both my muscle mass and body fat % were virtually the same. I began to spiral into a "what's the point" mentality. Why put so much effort into this process if it amounts to nothing? I obsessively looked through the numbers, trying to figure out where I went wrong. I wrote down 100 questions and possible paths to take moving forward. I was ready for answers
The appointment with my nutritionist worked wonders on my motivation. I appreciate how much he appreciates my knowledge and dedication. Rather than becoming more obsessive about tracking food and cutting calories, we concluded that the best thing for me was to go back to intuitive eating. No more counting calories. All around, he agreed that my eating is healthy and well-rounded, so he suggested a few tweaks to how I fuel/re-fuel around my workouts. The focus is really on performance, recovery, and how I feel overall.
BCAA supplementation - Most mornings I do fasting cardio, which means that I run before I eat anything. This is something that I have always done; when I eat before I run, I always feel sick. When you run on an empty stomach, your body gets its energy from three places: glycogen stores in your muscle, breakdown of fat, breakdown of muscle. By supplementing with BCAAs before running, the hope is that that last one won't occur.
Increase carbohydrate intake post-run - After a run, I usually have a protein smoothie with a bit of fruit and soy milk. I will now be adding 1/4 - 1/2 cup rolled oats to my smoothie to help replenish the glycogen stores that I depleted on the run. He recommended a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein. The point isn't to eat more necessarily - rather, the expectation is that I will be less hungry later in the day by eating carbs at the right time.
Intuitive eating - No more counting calories or macros. Since I already have a good handle on what to eat and how much, it's time to concentrate more on my body's hunger signals. Since our bodies are always trying to stay ~ the same, intuitive eating usually results in maintenance of weight. This means that in order to lose weight, we should try to have a 1 or 2 /10 feeling of hunger. (Similarly, in order to gain weight we should be feeling pretty full most of the time.)
Note: If you have questions about this, shoot me an email! I don't want to go into too much detail in this post, but could talk about this for hours.
As far as workouts go, I will continue to run 5-6 times/week. I will be hitting the gym 3 times/week, alternating between the two workouts in the program below!
Day 1:
Warm up, 5 minutes
Superset:
Barbell squat - 2 sets, 6 reps (heavy)
Jump squats - 2 sets, 20 reps (no weight)Superset:
Dumbbell chest press - 2 sets, 6 reps (heavy)
Dumbbell chest press - 2 sets, 20 reps (1/2 weight)Superset:
Drop back lunge - 2 sets, 6 reps (heavy)
Jump lunge - 2 sets, 20 reps (no weight)Superset:
Pushup - 2 sets, 6 reps
Inclined pushup - 2 sets, 20 repsLebert equalizer pull under - 3 sets, 15 reps
TRX jack knife - 3 sets, 15 reps
Pallof press - 3 sets, 15 reps
Alternating leg raise - 3 sets, 15 reps
Day 2:
Warm up, 5 minutes
Superset
Deadlift - 2 sets, 6 reps (heavy)
Deadlift - 2 sets, 20 reps (1/2 weight)Superset
Negative pull up - 2 sets, 6 reps
Cable lat pull down - 2 sets, 20 repsSuperset
Leg curl - 2 sets, 6 reps (heavy)
Leg curl - 2 sets, 20 reps (1/2 weight)Superset
Cable bent over row - 2 sets, 6 reps (heavy)
Cable bent over row - 2 sets, 20 reps (1/2 weight)Tricep dip - 3 sets, 15 reps
Bosu superman - 3 sets, 15 reps
Plank dumbbell fly - 3 sets, 15 reps
Spider front plan - 3 sets, 15 reps
Images courtesy of Physigraphe, using the Hexfit app
