Do you have a formal exercise plan?

[LovefromPickles]

Those of you who exercise regularly but aren’t competitive sportspeople, do you have an exercise plan / plan in exercise or just do what you can when you can?

No, I think that would take the fun out of it tbh!

I aim for 5 exercise classes (1 hour each) and 2x ~5km run.

This week I’ve done:

Mon- barre class
Wed- HIIT class
Thurs- 4km run
Fri- Strength/weights class
Sat- Reformer pilates class
Sun- spinning class (en route to this! 😜)

*the spinning class is actually 45 minutes, I could NOT do 60 minutes of spin! 😅

No, I don't plan it but I aim to do at least two drop in classes a week. I have one scheduled ballet (grade) class per week then do another ballet drop in (choice of days).

Typical week might be:

Monday- Intermediate grade ballet
Tuesday-possible ballet drop in
Wednesday-5km run
Thursday- possible ballet drop in
Friday-
Saturday-5km run (if not doing a Saturday morning class, then Sunday)
Sun-

I do cross training Pilates based with small weights on unspecified days, and run through my barre and centre exercises most days. Pointe only once or twice a week.

No, I just try to do something most days, and apart from one hour PT a week which is fixed, I do what I feel like.

Eg:
Monday swimming
Weds gym
Thurs gym
Sat swimming and gym

The only plan that I do is a day of upper body, a day of lower body and a day of full body.
Also classes when I can get to them and an hour walk a day.

I have a couple of classes that I go to weekly, so they set up a structure that I plan my runs and other activities around. Parkrun's a regular that I often do around being avaliable.

I normally have some kind of loose running plan even if it's just a target for a long run. Sometimes I'll follow a more specific running plan. Sometimes it's just a phase of running to feel. I like a mix of structured/ relaxed phases as it keeps a balance of running with purpose and running for fun.

Not really I just do what I fancy
But I usually do
20/30/45 min spin classes
20/30 mins upper body weights and same with lower body
Barre

I do Les Mills body pump classes on Tuesdays and Fridays and have a PT session on a Thursday 😊

What's 'barre' as that's been mentioned a couple of times now? Is it proper ballet exercises at the barre, or something loosely based on ballet? And do you wear ballet shoes!

I do peloton barre, no shoes and a lot of it is lying down
Burns like fuck and I start yelping about 3 mins in

Oh like floor barre. That's supposed to be good!

Yes I do PT twice a week. It's expensive so I'm going to stop after Christmas. A YMCA gym is being totally rebuilt down the road so I'll do a couple pilates clases there and use the gym.

Yes my PT writes me 5 week blocks of 5 weights based workouts per week. I doubt I would be progressing much if I just did my own thing. My plan is very tailored to my gym goals.

I don't really have a plan.

I try and do weights semi-regularly (realistically 1-2 times a week), and then the rest is a mixture of swimming, cycling and badminton with some walks chucked in for good measure. Probably do something that my Fitbit counts as exercise at least 4 days, usually 5, a week, but that varies massively - some weeks it can be as little as 3 hours over the week, others it's more like 6.

I used to be in the habit of going to yoga/pilates/an alternative option for strength and stretching but I have been out the habit and that's a loss.

Honestly, my main aim with exercise is to do anything rather than nothing as I could easily be a total couch potato.

I try and have at least 2 planned things with other people so I can't just go Meh and not bother.

Yes. I love following programs, ticking boxes and progressing.

I use the Peloton app and do:

Every day:
10ms of core or Pilates
10ms stretching or mobility

X3 a week
One of their progressive overload programs (usually upper/lower/full)

x4 a week
Run with Garmin's AI adaptive plan.
Finished half-marathon recently and now trying to improve my 5k time

I overlap a day of running with lifting (upper body) and then have a day off where I just do 10ms core and maybe some restorative yoga.

This is my happy status quo, but I couldn't get motivated to go to a gym or classes, for example. It depends on your personality.

I like training at home in my bra!

Whilst I do compete now, I haven't always and had a plan long before I started competing. Plans are a pretty good idea for strength training if you want to make progress, but it depends on what your goals are. If I was going to classes or something I can see not having a plan.

I follow Caroline Girvan's weight training programs 4 days a week for 1h15 (leave out the HIT session) Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri and run 10 miles Tues Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I cycle sometimes as well.

I have a baby and a preschooler, and a busy job, so it’s difficult, but aiming for-

swimming x 2 days a week
tennis x 1 day

and I want to get back into weight training, probably upper body x 1 day and lower body x 1 day.

I wish I had an extra day for callisthenics as it’s great fun.

I have a baby and a preschooler, and a busy job, so it’s difficult, but aiming for-

swimming x 2 days a week
tennis x 1 day

and I want to get back into weight training, probably upper body x 1 day and lower body x 1 day.

I wish I had an extra day for callisthenics as it’s great fun.

Yes and since I started one I have really seen the changes. I lift weights 3 times a week in the gym, usually Mon, Wed, Fri and 2 days off. Sometimes I do the Mon on Sun. Sometimes I go in the AM or PM. But I stick to it. I've done 27 of 29 sessions, 2 I skipped as had UTI.

The rest of the plan is to hit 8-10k steps every day. I usually do but I also take the weekly average, usually about 11k.

I'm trying to up my cardio, TBH the weights were new so I prioritised that, but have usually managed about 15m-30m a week i.e a run or a spin class or swim. That is the next goal - get consistent with that.

I do plan for the next few weeks ahead, to make me accountable, as I love a tick list.
I might deviate from it, but it helps me to stay focussed and I take into account plans I may have that will get in the way of my usual exercise routine.

Typical week:
Monday:- strength training class before work, with a run at some point in the day or at least a fast walk
Tuesday: upper body weights in lunch and hopefully a Pilates session later on
Wednesday: run on my lunch hour, stairmaster/gym session after work (while DC at clubs)
Thursday: upper body weights on lunch hour
Friday: strength class before work, hopefully a run or walk at some point too
Weekends I have less structure to my exercise but I'll try to do Parkrun or a family bike ride or hike/mountain climb, but I'd count these as active rest days really to enjoy my time with family

I run twice a week but the days vary and do the plank every evening

Me too !!!

I usually tag on the Bowflex 3-minute plank and, if I'm feeling very energetic, Rebecca Louise's Best Abs or Caroline's Braced Abs & Core, or Lucy Wyndham-read's Thighs & Glutes.

I used to chicken out of Caroline's HIT too - and substitute one of Anna's (Growingannanas) - but lately I've tried to attempt them. And feeling quite proud... I must have done 50-80 burpees and walkers the other day 😂

i lift weights 5 times a week and cardio at least 5 but usually 6. Non exercise steps at least 12500. I also used to run 4 times per week, but found it was affecting my progress in the gym, so that’s on the back burner atm and likely to remain so unless I have a race I want to train for. Nutrition is also key, I pay very close attention to what I eat and the macros I hit. I stopped drinking alcohol pretty much completely about 6 months ago. I just can’t tolerate it any more.

It sounds like a lot but tbh it keeps me able to function during peri menopause and hopefully will keep me functioning as I get older.

I go to exercises classes at the gym I get good all round cardio/weights and have loads of fun it is much better for me