I love strength training. But I also love cycling classes, Solidcore, running, yoga, and just going for a walk! At the beginning of my fitness journey, I would stress about getting in the correct amount of aerobic exercise, mobility and core work, while optimizing my strength gains. Honestly, people tend to over-complicate the different aspects of fitness. I get it! I was there too and I felt so incredibly lost. So let's cut to the chase and let me tell you what my current workout split is.

Monday: Legs

Tuesday: Full Body Lift

Wednesday: Run & Quick Yoga Sesh

Thursday: Upper Body

Friday: Cycling or Solidcore Class

Saturday: Full Body Lift

Sunday: Rest or Active Rest

So there you have it, my split. Let's break it down a bit. I have a main goal of fat-loss right now. Since I am prioritizing fat loss over muscle gain, I have taken a few different approaches. First off, I want to ensure I am maintaining my muscle mass while I am in a fat loss phase. This is why I have included 4 days of strength training into my weekly workout split. But how am I prioritizing fat loss while only doing cardio 1-2 times a week? Well for one, my lifting sessions are under 1 hour long. This allows me to have time to hop on my walking pad either before I head out for the day or after I am done eating dinner or lifting. Since exercise typically only takes up 10% of your total caloric energy expenditure a day, I am not sacrificing my lifts to get in some more cardio. What I am doing is prioritizing my daily steps, taking the more active-routes, and making sure my diet has me in a caloric deficit. If I am being honest, I could probably bump my lifting sessions down to 3 days a week if needed, but lifting weights is great for your metabolism, great for my mental health, and important if I want to keep the muscle I have worked hard to build. Ultimately, the more muscle you have, the easier it is to lose fat (typically).

Second, I am making sure I am getting some higher-intensity workouts to supplement my lifting sessions. I want to make a quick disclaimer here and just say that lifting sessions can be and most of the times are high intensity. The purpose of going on a run and going to my cycling or Solidcore class is to get my heart rate up and get my sweat on. These aren’t necessary to promote fat loss, but I do want to get in some cardio and aerobic-specific workouts during the week to really promote caloric expenditure. These workouts make me feel good and make me feel accomplished, which is a big reason why I included them in my workout plan. I enjoy these workouts and they allow me to not have to worry about programming or timing for my exercise that day.

Third, I have two full body sessions in my split. This was actually an intentional choice for me. Once again, there are a few reasons why I included full body workouts in my plan. One, I have gotten bored with the body-building split. I wanted to switch it up a bit and try something new! Two, the body-building split is best used for BUILDING your BODY. Since I am not prioritizing muscle growth right now, it is unnecessary to have days devoted to chest & arms, back & bis, or legs. I do enjoy a bit of segmentation which is why I have one upper and one lower day. But as for the rest, full body it is. And finally, the reason why I included these full body days is to allow myself to have circuit-style training sessions. This means I can do five exercises at once if I wanted to. I can choose one leg, one push, and one pull exercise and rotate between the three of them with minimal, if any rest. This keeps my heart rate high for the majority of the workout and keeps my workouts short & sweet when needed. 

Fourth, I included some yoga in there. And once again, there are several reasons for this. The first one being I just enjoy doing it. I like to do yoga and doing a quick 20-30 minute yoga video after my run helps me feel grounded and accomplished. Second, I can focus on mobility, core, and isometric strength during these sessions which I might not get much work on in my other workouts. Yoga is a different kind of strength and I wanted to highlight this strength at least once during my workouts. Is it necessary or essential? No. But I sure do enjoy it! I have one last disclaimer to add here. While yoga is some time I dedicate to work on core & mobility, that does not mean I ignore it throughout the week. I incorporate warm ups that focus on mobility before my lifts & will add core finishers to some of my workouts just to ensure that if I don’t get to my yoga session one week, I am still working on it.

I feel my current workout split balances all of the goals I am working towards while prioritizing my main goal of fat loss. Resistance training should be part of your fat loss workouts and if you aren’t including some weights in your plan, you're missing out on some serious gains (and I don’t mean muscle growth). I also made sure my plan has the right amount of flexibility for me. If I am going away for the weekend, which happens often during summer, I can just prioritize my lifts for the week before leaving and then maybe get some cardio in while I am away. Additionally, I have the option between choosing workout classes I enjoy doing. If Friday I am feeling more of a Solidcore class, I am allowed to do that instead of cycling. I could even switch my run out for a workout class if I wanted to. I have four lifts that I prioritize each week, and then allow for some flexibility on the other days so I can listen to my body and adapt to my life as needed. I hope this helps simplify your workout plan, fat loss plan, or just your mindset around exercise. Exercise is meant to add to your life, not take away from it. So if you find yourself wanting to take a pilates class over going for a run, do it! Any movement is good movement, and you deserve to enjoy your workouts.