The Workout Wednesday vibe is flowing for me today! I was able to up my weighs in a few moves this morning and I’m seeing some real progress in terms of muscle definition. FINALLY! Your girl is, and always will be, a runner. Butttt I can’t help but think the look + results I get from consistent, heavy-ish {for me} lifting is what I really enjoy.

Top 3 Questions of the Week

It seems like sometimes you do the same workouts, is that true?

Yes, 100% this is true. I stick to a Monday ‘leg day’ and a Wednesday ‘arm day’ workout for a 5 week rotation. 4 weeks at full/max weight and then the 5th week I de-load. This gives me a good gauge on how much I’m building strength & flexibility. While some people might find that boring, it has worked very well for the last 3ish years for me so I stick to that philosophy. I shared a little more detail in THIS OCTOBER POST. My Tuesday ‘Speed Day’ workouts may vary, but they’re always speed-focused. Thursdays are always full-body days so I try to work ALLLL the muscle groups — this is also my fun day where I really switch things up. Sundays are always LOW IMPACT so yoga, walking, lots of stretching & maybe some light biking.

How did you become an AM exerciser? Tips for working out early in the mornings?

I am a morning person. Honestly, I always have been, so working out before the sun comes up comes pretty easy for me. I’d much rather be up at 6am and in bed by 9pm than up at 9am and in bed at midnight. I like the first 60-90 minutes of my day to be about me. That’s selfish but it works. It helps my mood, makes me a better wife and employee and it sets my day up for success. My top 3 tips for getting into an early morning workout routine are pretty simple:

Make a plan the night before – know what you’re doing for your morning workout, have your clothes laid out, put your pre-workout/etc. on the kitchen counter.
Get up IMMEDIATELY – don’t snooze your alarm and don’t start scrolling social media or your email while in bed. Eliminate the distractions. Get out of bed, change into your workout clothes and LEAVE your bedroom
Stick with it for at least 2 weeks – it takes time to develop this habit, so give it an adequate amount of time. AM workouts are not for everyone and that is totally ok. Don’t worry if they’re not for you. Find what time is best for you and make THAT work.

Do you get sore? How do you combat soreness?

Yes. Not nearly as often as I use to, though. I think consistency has helped me a lot. Typically soreness comes most for me the week I start a new leg/arm rotation. My calves get sore if I have a lot of hills in a short timespan and my forearms tend to when I’m heavy on pull-up work. To help ease sore muscles I: drink lots & lots of water, take targeted stretching classes on the Peloton app, add in more yoga and GET GOOD SLEEP. So much of our recovery capabilities directly correlate with our sleep. I aim for 7-8 hours every night!

Workout Wednesday Workout of the Week

ARM FOCUSED

What you’ll *ideally* need – 1 set of: heavy, medium & light dumbbells, mini band, large band. To make this easier, drop down to 3 rounds of each circuit and/or ditch the plank holds. To make this more difficult you know the drill: UP YOUR WEIGHTS. This is the exact workout I did today & I love it — if you don’t have access to pull-up bar, sub the 4×4 slow downs for 4×20 alternating planks!