Week one new training program
Last week, I shared that I was going to reset my training program to get out of a bit of a funk and regain some of the fitness and strength I’ve lost over the past few months.
The aim of my new training program is to enable me to:
- Exercise every single day.
- Rebuild my base fitness level.
- Rebuild strength and muscle mass.
- Set regular goals to show progress.
This has been my first week of training, and I have to say it was both good and bad. It felt good to get back to a more basic training pattern with lifting sessions that don’t take over an hour. Another positive is I haven’t been ridiculously sore (which makes a change), which means that I’ve felt like I had energy and could do more; I didn’t allow myself to do more, as that would defeat the purpose. The less positive has been the mental games that have come with kick-starting my fitness again. My inner bitch is loud at times, and it takes a fair amount of self-talk to put her back in her box so I can get on and do what needs to be done. I’ve managed to put her in the box this week (yay me), but I know she is there, and it will be an ongoing battle to keep her there.
Goal for this training cycle
I’ve set myself the goal for this training cycle to complete two full weeks of training, then increase the weights I’m lifting by 5%. Normally, training programs increase weight by 10%, and I would usually do the same, but in this instance I want to ease back in and avoid overload, knowing I’m likely to struggle and feel defeated if I push too hard too soon. Over the next few cycles, I will stick with 5% increases over set periods to ensure a sustainable progressive overload.
What have I been doing?
Each week, I will share one of the workouts I’ve done here so you can see the program and exercise details.
This week I’ll be sharing one of my HIIT workouts, along with my warm-up and cool-down.
For some context, I put a lot of effort into my warm-up and cool-down for all workouts, and I’m always very careful to make sure everything is warmed up and working when I’m running. Over the years, I’ve been unlucky with injuries, and my legs aren’t what they should be thanks to:
- a torn Achilles tendon,
- a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) that required surgery on my left knee, and
- some missing (worn away) cartilage in my right knee.
While some days I spend more time on my warm-up and cool-down than I do actually working out, it is an important part of keeping my body in good working order.
Day 1 – HIIT treadmill training
Warm up
| Hip circles | 10 each direction |
| Diagonal leg swings | 10 each side |
| Leg swings front to back | 10 each side |
| Banded hip abduction | 10 each side |
| Banded hip extension | 10 each side |
| Banded hip flexor activation | 10 each side |
| Walking lunges 10 each side | 10 each side |
| Calf raises | 10 |
Workout
| 10 minutes walking | starting slow, building to a brisk pace or a slow jog |
| 10 rounds | 50m sprint with a 50m walk back |
| 10 minutes walking | take the time needed to recover from the sprints and maintain a pace that is gentle |
Cool down
| Standing quad stretch | 2 sets, 30 seconds each leg |
| Straight leg calf stretch | 2 sets, 30 seconds each leg |
| Kneeling hip flexor stretch | 2 sets, 30 seconds each leg |
| Hamstring stretch | 2 sets, 30 seconds each leg |
| Figure 4 stretch | 2 sets, 30 seconds each leg |
| Butterfly stretch | 2 sets, 30 seconds |
Workout disclaimer
I share my workouts to show what I do, not to tell you what to do.
I post my workouts using percentages of my max lifting capacity rather than stating the weights or speeds I use. Everyone is different and has different levels of fitness and capability. Your body is yours alone. If you want to start working out, I recommend spending some time with a personal trainer to get you on the right path.
When working out with weights, remember your one-rep max is yours alone; finding the weights that are right for you is important. If you decide to try a workout, find out which weights you should use first.
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