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

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acco340

New member
So basically I started exercising and working out about a month and a half ago with the goal of growing my legs and glutes plus cardio but have recently had some knee soreness. My lifestyle before was quite sedentary for years then I started exercising 6 days a week with legs being done everyday either through resistance training or cardio. I had 2 days a week of heavy weight low rep lower body exercises around 60-90 minutes and 4 days cardio + a bit of core but all with inadequate warm ups and stretching (I know I’m dumb).

I think/know I’ve been overdoing it with my lower body and am trying to change up my routine to protect my knees and so I’d love to hear what you all do! How many days a week, how long per session, how many exercises per session, how often going very heavy/til failure etc… Also how often do you stretch? Any advice or suggestions for beginners?

Edit: lots of good answers here! I’m reading everything and trying to answer anything that relates to me but it’s good to get an idea of what to work towards. Thanks everyone :)
 
@acco340 I’m more focused on overall strength/health and weight loss but my week looks like:

Sat: lift heavy - lower body + back
Sun: lift heavy - arms shoulders chest
Mon: rest
Tues: boxing (cardio/a lil body weight strength)
Weds: yoga
Thurs: cardio kickboxing
Fri: rest

I also get in 12k steps daily including walks in my super hilly neighborhood a few times a week. I hit the gym all on the weekend just because I hate going when it’s super crowded.
 
@acco340 Why do all of these answers sound like a full time job? Is there a lifting routine that would help build RMR and aid in keeping fit that is like a...three day a week one hour tops commitment? Because absolutely all due respect but none of these answers sound super sustainable in the long run for a lot of people.
 
@josh12 Some are but I think fitness is just more so a way of life for a lot of people in which case you’ll always be able to find time and motivation for it :)
 
@acco340 My schedule is kind of inconsistent when it comes to training in the gym. To preface, I recently started a part time job as a pole dance instructor and I’m also training for my very first competition. Outside of pole, I try to get some cross training by weightlifting. I used to have an upper body day, but in combination with pole my upper body became very developed (I used to be called Michelle Obama arms in high school lol. It’s the highest compliment” So to balance it out, I solely used pole as my upper body workout. Most of my gym workouts are about an hour.

Sunday: Rest day if I’m not in the studio, otherwise I take two 60 minute choreography classes back to back.

Monday: Lower body with glute and hamstring focus

Tuesday: 60 minute Level 3 Pole class

Wednesday: Abs and spin workout for cardio

Thursdays: Rest day

Fridays: Lower Body with glute and quad focus

Saturdays: I teach a 60 minute Level 1 pole
 
@acco340 I prefer a 3 day a week workout schedule, maybe 4.

I do crossfit, which is a mix of cardio and weight lifting. We stretch, work on mobility, lift weights, get the heart rate up. I feel great after a work out, and go every other day, about. Been doing it about a year and a half and have really toned my (admittedly already thin) body. I didn't get into it for aesthetics, I just want to live as long as possible. This amount makes me feel strong and healthy.
 
@acco340 It’s all about consistency. And it’s not a race to get there, do it slowly to avoid injury and what works best for you.

My routine is this:

Every morning I do Pilates for 45 minutes

Then at the gym I do about 30 minutes of cardio (I go at night so it gives me a decent break)

I alternate leg, arm, back and ab days. I hit the weights for about 45 minutes and then cool down with some yoga.

I usually rest on sundays but still do yoga or at least go on a walk.

Hope this helps!
 
@acco340 I go to the gym 3 days a week, 1 day leg and abs, 1 shoulder, bicep and tricep and one for back, chest and abs. Everytime I walk 10 minutes when I enter and 10 minutes when I finish(sometimes run). On weeekends I skate 2 hours every morning. So I exercise 5 days a eek but I'm happy and I feel healthy and resistant.
 
@acco340 My usual plan each week:
  • 3-4 running days, anywhere from 3-8 miles (30-90 mins), and I do 5-10 minutes of glute activation before and 10 minutes of stretching after
  • 1-2 lifting days, usually 1 hour and it’s a mix of upper and lower body, I try to do 10 minutes of stretching after
  • 1-2 yoga sessions, 30-60 minutes
Usually I aim for at least 5-6 days of working out per week. I usually try not to do the same workout on back-to-back days, sometimes I run back-to-back days but make sure those are both at an easy pace and on the shorter side.

Also I dealt with runners knee a few years ago and went to a physical therapist. And then went back when I sprained my ankle. I am a HUGE fan of physical therapy. A few weeks of targeted exercises to fix muscle imbalances, etc, and I feel as good as new when I’m done.
 
@acco340 We don’t have the same goal, so may not be helpful, but I do an hourlong kettlebell/bodyweight strength & conditioning group class on Mondays & Wednesdays (at home via zoom at the moment), then do Couch-to-10K on a treadmill on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays which I’ll ideally increase eventually; I’m new to running. I take Fridays and Sundays off. Though Sunday I spend a lot of the day doing meal prep for the week, so it’s sometimes kind of a mini arm workout haha.

Stretch-wise I foam roll before and after each workout, and do some additional leg and ankle stretching before the running. (The conditioning classes have a built-in warmup.) I’m hoping to increase flexibility so also work on splits a few days a week, but I’m not as consistent as I’d like yet.

Sleep and water are both hugely important, and are areas that I am admittedly so neglectful in, and I know it would make a huge difference in recovery!

FWIW I also started this after being really sedentary - I frankly still am since working from home every day, coming off of years of easily getting my 10,000 steps just living in NYC and walking to and from work - and it took a few weeks to not be constantly sore and achy. I could barely walk the first week!
 
@acco340 Your routine sounds close to mine! But you need to work into it or you risk injury or burn out. I was a runner for 6 years, then switched to weights only for a year, and now I’m combining both. You won’t need to take 7 years to combine of course but it does take time to adjust!

I do yoga for a half hour every morning and go to a class Monday evening. Tuesday and Thursday are my heavy leg days, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are my run days with Wednesday being a shorter run and doing upper body weights. Sunday I either snowboard or go on a long trail run.

But I change as needed, last Sunday I snowboarded a ton and was absolutely gassed, so yesterday (Thursday) was my first big workout since. Just listen to your body, and be in tune with it, and remember to enjoy yourself!
 
@jillhydra Think I’m gonna change to strength training for 30-40 mins max. cardio 2x a week, stretching/Pilates 2x a week and adding more warming up, stretching, foam rolling etc. hopefully that protects my knees!
 
@acco340 I might be doing it wrong but I’ve been doing Leg day, upper body, cardio/abs, rest and repeat! So I have one rest day a week and I try to still go for a walk or yoga! I usually try to do cardio on my upper body days as well because I’m trying to lean out a bit.
 
@acco340 I run about 45-50mpw split over 7 days, sometimes go for little strolls in the afternoon, and occasionally go for a hike at the weekend. My left knee hates strength training, cycling, and even swimming but it's completely fine with running and walking unless I'm on a really awkward trail where I'm having to step up and down onto rocks all the time.

In theory I stretch after running but to be honest I usually skip it.
 
@acco340 I would definitely add some upper body days! This will reduce the stress on your lower body. You shouldn’t be doing resistance training on the same muscle groups consecutively for many so days.

Plus, working your upper body will help to achieve a toned look if that’s what you’re going for.
 
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