Hey my loves!
Hope you’re all doing fab.
So this week I vowed to get back to my usual diet and gym routine after a month of going slightly off the rails for my birthday and Easter (prosecco and chocolate are just needed sometimes, aren’t they?)
For my #LookGoodFeelBetter social media campaign, I thought I’d bring you guys with me for a my week’s worth of workouts… with info on calorie burn, length of workout, etc etc!
This is something I’ve never done before, but I thought it would be interesting to put together, and it also helps me stay a little more motivated for my first week back to normal!
I usually go to the gym around 4/5 times a week, a mix of weight training on my own, and spin and hiit classes to get my cardio in! I haven’t done cardio in two weeks, so I needed all kinds of help at the beginning of this week.
I have been posting my workouts on my blog’s Instagram all week as a little snippet into this blog post… If you’re not already following my blog’s Instagram, go ahead and give it a follow! @lipstickslouboutinslifestyle … my personal account is @lauren_sian96.
I am also planning of a related “My Week’s Diet” … with posted screenshots of my My Fitness Pal app, and related FitBit calorie intake/output graph! So keep your eyes peeled for that one!
Monday:
My first day back at a spin class for about two weeks… hmmm. Hard? Definitely. Worth it? Definitely. There’s no doubt that cardio, although invented by the devil, makes you feel amazing after. After the first 10 minutes, when you get to the zone where you feel like you could go on forever, THAT is my favourite part!
Calories burnt: 476
Time length: 45 minutes
Average heart rate: 146bpm // Maximum heart rate: 174bpm
Tuesday:
Ooooooooh I used to do metafit and a core class one after another every single week without fail, but jeeeez I have NOT done it in MONTHS because of my uni timetable, and boy could I tell. Coming back was extremely hard, but I have no doubt it will be worth it! (My abs still hurt three days later after this core class!)
CORE CLASS:
Calorie burn: 299
Time length: 33 minutes 28 seconds
Average heart rate: 132bpm // Maximum heart rate: 158bpm
METAFIT:
Calorie burn: 232
Time length: 20 minutes 28 seconds
Average heart rate: 150bpm // Maximum heart rate: 183bpm(!)… This is why I love metafit, it makes you work SO hard, but it is just SO hard!
Wednesday:
I intended on this being more of a relaxed gym day, but it actually ended up being quite intense. I had booked on for a “body tone” class, so I did this, and 20 minutes cardio on the cross trainer beforehand.
Cardio:
Calorie burn: 235
Time length: 20 minutes (although for two and a half minutes I forgot to set my Fitbit, so my Fitbit reading is 17 minutes and 30 seconds (hate myself))
Average heart rate: 156bpm // Maximum heart rate: 172bpm
Bodytone:
This is the first time I had done body tone, and I expected it to be quite light, but it was actually pretty intense. The weights are light, but the high reps make it more of a stamina sort of class, which I really enjoyed.
Calorie burn: 396
Time length: 45 minutes
Average heart rate: 141bpm // Maximum heart rate: 169bpm – I find it better to do cardio before a weights class as it gets your heart rate already up at fat burning level for when you start!
Thursday:
Leg day! My favourite day of the week. I often train legs twice a week, but it solely depends on my uni workload for that week, and the amount of gym classes I am booked in for too.
I usually do a similar routine every week consisting of:
12 sets of heavy squats usually looking something like this:
80kg – 8 reps – 2 sets
85kg – 8 reps – 2 sets
90kg – 6 reps – 2 sets
95kg – 4 reps – 2 sets
100kg – 3 reps – 2 sets
105kg – 3 reps – 2 sets
(If I am feeling stronger, I’ll play around above 105kg, but as a rule, this is what my squats look like at the moment – after a week off. I’m hoping to hit around 120kg in the next couple of weeks!)
I then move onto some sumo deadlifts which I do on leg day to target hamstrings. If I do my two leg days a week, I alternate between sumo deads and conventional deads for each of the days.
Then, I move onto smith machine split lunges at around 50kg, 8 reps each leg for 3 sets.
I also do a lot of squat hold and pulses on the smith machine after my heavy squats, at around 50kg, and they’re an absolute killer. I hold for around 5-8 seconds, then quickly do two reps, then back down to 5-8 seconds hold, and so on until I need to stand!
I sometimes incorporate RDLs, but it depends on how much time I have in the gym.
Then I move onto the machines: leg press (120kg, 10 reps, 4 sets), leg curl (40kg, 12 reps, 4 sets), and leg extension (40kg, 12 reps, 4 sets).
And then, I do a hell of a lot of stretching and foam rolling. I always try to foam roll after a leg day because I find it really helps to reduce the amount of doms I get the following two days!
Thursday’s leg day:
Calorie burn: 576
Time length: 1hr 8 minutes
Average heart rate 130bpm// Maximum heart rate 160 bpm
After leg day, I finish with 5-10 minutes of interval sprints on the treadmill to stretch out my legs, and to raise my heart rate again.
Thursday’s Finishing Treadmill Sprints:
Calorie burn: 42
Time length: 5 minutes
Maximum heart rate: 140bpm
I have to say, following a month of being bad and eating bad and not being as dedicated to the gym as normal, by Thursday night, I felt SO much better again and so much more like my usual self.
Friday:
Okay so today I did intend on doing some cardio this morning, but waking up with a banging headache and aching all over, I decided that today will be my non-planned rest day. Usually, I take active rest days, where I’m either at work, or at university, or just doing something in general. Every once in a while, I take a full rest day and catch up on some blog posts, watch some Friends, and have a little self care. Today has been one of those days!
We all need a little breather every now and again. It was pretty hard in the afternoon of this rest day, as I really wanted to go to the gym, but wasn’t in a place where it was accessible, and I had nothing at all that could make a workout. But, I will save this energy for my next gym session over the weekend!
Saturday:
I work at the weekends, so although I’m not training on a Saturday, I do have an active job and total anywhere between 8,000- 12,000 steps per day. The gym I train at closes at 7pm on a Saturday, so I don’t tend to train at all on a Saturday.
Sunday:
I work Sunday’s too, and Sunday nights after work change weekly. Some days, I use Sunday nights as a ‘recoup’ night, after stressful weeks. Sometimes, I go to the gym straight from work. It really depends on the day and the week and the plans I have. My main focus for me is to train each weekday.
One thing I do find though, the more you train, the more guilty you feel for having a day off… and the more you want to hit the gym on the day off! It’s hard when you feel like you’re battling yourself, but sometimes we all need a little rest, and sometimes we need to go and smash the gym. Listen to your body and your mind, and you’ll know what’s right for you!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and thank you so much for reading!
Speak soon lovelies, I’m now going to enjoy a little treat of some pizza 🍕!
Love,
L&L
