Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Scheduling Workouts

First things first...
I just got a Sparkly Soul headband! Loving it so far.
sparkles!!
The headband has kept my hair out of my face for two hard workouts, and it's super adorable. It does cause a slight dent in your hair, but a quick shot with the blow dryer helps fix that for me (and any headband will do that -- if it stays on!). This could turn into a new addiction... the red, white and blue one is especially cute!

Scheduling Workouts
For the past few months, every Sunday night I have sat down and planned out my workouts for the week.  I schedule my workouts because I am 10 times more likely to do something if it's a "date" on my calendar! Inspired by Fit Bottomed Girls' guide to creating a general workout schedule, I wanted to post about how I fit in specific workouts throughout my week.
my workout and class schedule from Google Calendar (I took off meetings, extracurricular, and pro bono commitments I have -- I swear my calendar is much busier than this!) 

Here are some of the things I consider when scheduling other workouts:

  • Which studios and instructors do I want to visit this week? I've written about some of my favorites: Uplift Studios for strength-cardio intervals and yoga, Strala Yoga for yoga classes, and Physique 57 for strength, especially legs work.
  • What days have the best weather? When I'm planning out my outdoor runs, I check the weather and give running the first priority on days with good weather. I do that because I know that chances of me completing my goals on a treadmill are low since I can't stand running on a treadmill!
  • When is the best time to workout each day? This depends on my schedule, which is different each day of the week during school (Side Note: today was my first last-day-of-school ever since I'm starting my third and final year of law school!). If the best time to workout is the morning, I should schedule a class to motivate myself to get out of bed (a class with a 12 hour cancellation policy...). If it's afternoon, I need to give myself an extra cushion of time, since I tend to move slowly in the late afternoon and will probably start the workout late. 
  • When can my friends workout with me? Having an exercise date is one of the best ways to make sure a workout happens. I look forward to classes even more when I know I'm going to be 
  • What is my body likely to need? The day after my long run, I try to schedule a yoga class if possible because it helps my body recover. And my schedule can always be changed if I realize that a good run isn't going to happen, but I'm up for a strength workout.

Taking all these aspects into consideration, here's what I planned out for my workout schedule for this week:
  • 4 runs (1 interval, 1 5-miler, 1 hill run, 1 long run of 10 miles)
  • 4 cross training workouts (1 Physique 57 class, 2 classes at Uplift Studios, 1 gym session) 
  • 3 yoga classes (1 Strala class, 2 yoga workshops)

I am so excited for this week, which is filled with some new class offerings that I can't wait to report back on! I did almost every single planned workout last week so I feel strong and pumped for the rest of this week. I've already fit in my 5 miler and gym strength training session (after taking off Labor Day), so I am pumped and ready!

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