How to plan and stick to your week of workouts

Do you often find yourself starting the week off well and then come half way you’re neck deep in ice cream and snuggled on the sofa watching Greys Anatomy with your unicorn slippers on? Ok, not quite but almost.

It’s hard to stay on track with your workouts if you haven’t planned the week out well or at all. When I started working out I depended on my current fitness schedule provided by my trainer but once I started incorporating LISS and HIIT into my schedule I lost track and found myself like a lost goose. Now what? Is today LISS or HIIT?

So, I grabbed myself a decent diary/planner (get one you actually like the look of – it acts as a motivator) and every Sunday night before bed I plan my week of workouts. This doesn’t take long at all. Basically, if you have time to scroll through Instagram then you have the time to plan your workouts. No excuses! For each day I write down each workout with a square box beside the workout to tick off once it’s complete. In a matter of fact, you’re making a date with yourself – of which you most certainly can’t cancel!

For my personal planner I will already have my workout schedule from Lauren Gleisberg as I’m currently completing her LgTeamKini Challenge. (you can read more about that here) However, I still add in my current HIIT & LISS sessions and any added extra workouts I wish to do. All my workouts involve the use of strength training (weights).
Below provides an insight into this weeks worth of workouts.

Monday – Legs
10 min HIIT to finish

Tuesday – Arms
30/40 min LISS

Wednesday – Cardio – 30 min run
Abs

Thursday – Shoulders & chest
10 min HIIT to finish

Friday – Yoga & glutes (glutes added on – not in plan)
30/40 min LISS

Saturday – Legs & glutes
10 min HIIT to finish

Sunday – annnddd, REST!

At the moment i’m currently incorporating 3 HIIT & 2 LISS into my weekly plan as I’m on a mini cut. I’m doing this as the cut is through the use of cardio and not food. For me – LISS is the best form of burning fat and I always do my LISS by walking the dog.

If on the day however you find you’re suddenly short of time to workout I would suggest cutting out the added on workouts. So for me, this would be either the HIIT or LISS. So, i’m still getting in my main workout which normally lasts 30-35 minutes and because i’ve set it as a ‘date’ with myself I almost NEVER cancel. This was the situation through my University deadline week too. I stuck to all my workouts – simply because I made it a priority to workout, just like brushing my teeth.

So now you have your week of workouts planned out, my tops tips to sticking to that plan are:

It’s a date: You can’t cancel on yourself. This is your ‘you’ time to de-stress, work on yourself and reach your goals. Like i said, you wouldn’t cancel on your boss – you ARE the boss.

Have a reward: This has worked for me so many times before. If i’m having a crappy week i’ll set myself a ‘reward’ for the end of the week that I can have if I complete all my workout. Every. Single. Workout. This reward can be anything from a new item of clothing, chocolate, a new album, a new book.. whatever!

Set times for your workouts: I know I’m less likely to workout in the evening because i’m lazy when I get home after a busy day. All I want to do is eat, shower and slump in bed with my favourite tv programme. So, I plan my workouts for the morning. I set my alarm for 6am, workout until 7am, shower, eat and leave the house. It works perfectly for me. Yes I get less time in bed but it’s so worth it once the workout is complete and truth be told, once you get used to the routine you won’t want to mess it up! So, set a time to workout that suits you the best.

Keep yourself accountable: If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll be no stranger to my post workout pictures. After each workout I post a picture of myself after i’ve completed my morning workout with details of the workout I completed, the time I did it and probably my post workout endorphin feels. (hah, sorry about that!) I find this not only motivates and keeps me on track but it also motivates others around you. Double bonus – every little helps!

Hopefully this helps some of you who occasionally find yourself in that midweek workout rut. I know this may not work for everybody and that we all have different goals and lifestyles but fitting in what you can is the most important thing. Don’t over stress yourself if you lose track or miss one workout. Forget it and move on. It’s life and it happens to all of us.

Now get planning and have an amazing new week!

Hannah,
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