Fit/active women of Reddit, what’s your weekly exercise routine like?

[thebadcatholic]

@rougepaper I do Stronger by the Day too. I don't have set days that I lift, I just make sure that I get all four workouts in every week. I practice yoga of various styles and intensities (I have a goal for January to get on the mat everyday for a minimum of 10 mins) and take my dog on long walks when it's not freezing cold. It's -11F where I live this morning! I also downhill ski. Here's what this week looks like:

Sunday: Upper body lifting, Stronger by the Day a little over an hour in the gym. Downhill skiing for a few hours that afternoon and 10 mins of yoga before bed.

Monday: Predictably wiped from the day before, 10 mins of yoga. Rest day

Tuesday: Lower body lifting in the morning. 30 mins yoga class in the evening.

Wednesday: Upper body lifting in the morning. 1 hour yoga class evening.

Thursday: 10 mins yoga, rest day. This is my super long day. Work from 7:30 am-4:00 pm and then graduate class from 4:30-7:30 pm

Friday: 1 hour yoga

Saturday: Upper body lifting and downhill skiing, 10 mins yoga before bed

Sunday: Lower body lifting, 1 hour yoga.

My Stronger by the Day week starts on Monday which is why you see 5 lifting workouts. This is a lot and I don't recommend it for everyone, but I have been doing something similar to this for years and a lot of activity is necessary for healing a disc issue I have in my lower back. Physical therapy exercises daily too!

 

[thehandshaker]

@thebadcatholic Great program! How long are your lifting sessions? How effective do you feel the stronger by the day program has been? I am also a lifter, but don’t follow a program per se. I also have back issues which I feel lifting has helped and love skiing!! I used to do yoga but my lifting sessions tend to take longer than they probably should so I should figure out how to incorporate yoga again.

 

[thebadcatholic]

@thehandshaker I usually spend an hour to 75 mins at the gym. I just follow my program and it takes however long it takes. It's a fantastic program I have built a ton of muscle and learned so much about lifting in the 2+ years I've been doing it.

 

[thehandshaker]

@thebadcatholic I think I’m going to have to try the Stronger BTD out. That’s fantastic for you! I’m intrigued. I have been trying to improve my results. Do you attribute your progress mainly to this or the combination of yoga also? I’m sure it plays into it, just wondering if you feel they are equal or not.

 

[thebadcatholic]

@thehandshaker Yoga is a nice complement to lifting but I never saw serious strength or muscle gains until I started lifting regularly.

 

[kereena]

@thebadcatholic Have you modified anything in your weightlifting to cater to your back?

 

[thebadcatholic]

@kereena When things were really bad during the summer I was only doing body weight and resistance bands for lower body exercises. As things have improved I have added weight back in but not doing anything that aggravates my back. I'm fully functional these days just not moving as much weight as I used to before I injured myself. Last June before I got injured I was squatting 160 lbs and now I'm doing about 90 lbs. My main goal is to keep active and heal my back so I am detaching myself from numbers. As long as I'm challenging myself and not hurting my back I'm happy.

 

[sassyashy08]

@rougepaper I’m glad you said this because this week of SBTD has been kicking my ass as well.

 

[rougepaper]

@sassyashy08 Deadlifts fucking killed me today. Like they sucked all the energy I could have possibly had for the rest of the day out of my body by 7:30am. Husband asked what I was doing tonight around 7pm and I told him I was ready for bed.

 

[wallflower1104]

@rougepaper I did my long run yesterday and THEN day 3 after trying to dodge some bad weather...I am DEAD today.

 

[rougepaper]

@wallflower1104 Hope your legs support you when you get out of bed today!

 

[marvindy]

@rougepaper How long do you usually ride for? I'm following a similar program to SBTD (4 days of lifting on MTTF) with goals to add 2-3 cardio sessions on Peloton.

 

[rougepaper]

@marvindy 20-30 mins, unless I’m feeling particularly energetic. Sometimes I feel like I should be doing 45 minute rides but I’m all about what’s gonna get it done, and if I feel like I have to do 45 minute rides it’s gonna happen less often than if I say 20 mins is ok

 

[prayingparent]

@rougepaper That’s a great way to think about things I’m gonna use that!

 

[dawn16]

@acco340 I think your routine in and of itself is reasonable (my prepandemic routine was very similar--spin class 5 days a week plus two days lifting), but it is a huge amount of exercise to adjust to if you were previously sedentary. I'm mostly chiming in to recommend a consult with a physical therapist. Years ago I was experiencing knee pain after a few weeks of taking up a new exercise regimen, and went to see a PT who diagnosed a specific muscle imbalance that was easily corrected with a few weeks of resistance band exercises.

 

[kingjamesversionbibleonly]

@prayingparent What is BCBS?

 

[payal66]

@kingjamesversionbibleonly Blue Cross Blue Shield. It’s a group of companies that offer insurance.

 

[dawn16]

@kingjamesversionbibleonly Mine wasn't covered because I didn't bother with a physician referral, but the place that I went to had a separate rate/service for preventative consults/movement assessments and I only went twice (one assessment, one follow-up), so it wasn't that bad.

Agree that Dr. referral is the way to go if it's not financially feasible for you out of pocket!

 

[mother2six]

@kingjamesversionbibleonly I had to get referred by my primary physician in order to have it covered by insurance. You may try that route!

 

[mos13foxtrot]

@acco340 40+ miles of running per week - that usually translates to about 6-8 miles 5x a week and a long run of about 10 miles on Saturday. Usually 1 or 2 speed workouts per week, the rest easy miles. On top of that, I do 2 days of upper body strength and 2 days of lower body/plyo work, and then the sprinkling of yoga and core work.

I go pretty hard on my body so Sunday I have been taking off completely. I’ll walk (just because we live in the city and I have kids I run around with) and maybe do some restorative/slow/relaxing yoga but that’s it.

I don’t know what kind of cardio you do, but maybe go easy on the cardio if you’re lifting heavy. You don’t need to go crazy on a spin bike; walking, an easy bike ride, etc. is all beneficial and much easier on your legs.