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Whats your exercise routine?
I've recently started exercising pretty much every day for health & mental-health reasons. I've been running 3 times a week (I'm doing a couch-to-5K plan, which I would highly recommend), hiking once or twice a week, and usually taking walks the other days. Overall its really improved my mood and energy levels.
What does everyone else do to stay active?
Long walks. Where I live, it's nothing but forest for miles and miles. It's hybrid exercise-meditation. It's also very hilly, and walking miles up a 30' incline is damn good exercise.
Did the couch to 5k routine and loved it enough to keep going. Couldn't so much as jog for 1 minute at the start so it was a nice transition. Now just do 2-3 runs a week for fun. Trying to get back into doing HIIT excercises on non running days to be active every day of the week.
I've currently been going to the gym 4x a week. and occasionally going for 1-2 runs a week.
Gym routine:
Usually, I aim for 3 sets of 8-12 reps per each, which takes me anywhere between 30 - 45 mins. I'm by no means a pro or highly experienced, but I've found this routine works well for me! Does anyone have any suggestions of things I could add or focus more on?
I guess it depends on your goals. What are you trying to achieve?
Anyway, do you do this same routine every time you go to the gym? Or is it divided between different days?
I'm trying to gain some strength and muscle, but mainly to stay in good physical condition; I'm not looking into body build or anything like that.
I tend to do the same routine, I like doing whole body workouts - rather than just focusing on a specific muscle group.
Well, besides being on a caloric surplus for gaining some muscle, I think you might add some deadlift and some more core exercises as well, the rest seems fine and varied enough. Also, you probably should leave a full day between one session and another if you're training full body in every session in order for muscles to recover.
What surprises me a bit is your timing. 30-45 minutes for all those exercises sounds to me a bit too fast. Meaning, maybe you're not using as much weight as you could? From my limited experience and knowledge, I think 8-12 reps is ok, even doing less would be fine, probably not more, but you should use a weight where you get to near failure when you finish your last rep. Which usually means you will need a bit of rest between sets making it a bit longer than 45 min.
Thank you so much for the advice!
I'll definitely add in some deadlifts. I've always been a little bit intimidated by them - I've tended towards weighted squats as a kind of substitute. I'll add in some more rest time and try to go for some lower reps (more towards 8 rather than 12) and increased the weight.
I typically run about 4 miles three or four times a week. Occasionally if I want to hate myself the next day I'll be brave and take on a routine for upper body weight training (push ups--diamond and regular, rows with free weights, shoulder presses, shoulder flys, stuff like that).
HIIT (high intensity interval training) and starting weekly yoga as of last week.
I started YouTube yoga classes at the beginning of the year. I average about 30 minutes 5 days a week and mix in some dumbell work on my shoulders and arms. Had shoulder surgery last year and recovery was a bear. Now I'm rebuilding strength and flexibility, and all things considered, it's working very well. Getting too old to power through like I used to.
Swim for an hour. Gets the job done.
I'm on strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/27101046
I also have a power rack and weights in my backyard.
Wake up. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
I occasionally unicycle, skate or slackline. When do I do those highly depends on friends, so I wouldn't call it a routine, but it's the closest I got besides walking my dog.
Whenever I don't have a big event to look forward to I seem to fall off the fitness wagon, so to motivate myself to work out, I always have to have a race on the calendar. My sport is triathlon, so that means I am always training for my next Ironman (or in a rest period). For me the three sport balance keeps me from getting so bored during training, something I struggled with a lot when I was just marathon training.
Beat Saber