SHOW UP, SHOW OUT

I get asked very often what I do for training and how often I train. DISCLAIMER: What I do works for me and may not work for you. But at some point, we need to shake up our routine a bit and try something new. This could be the one piece of information you need to read to get you to commit to something new. And like I mentioned in my former blog post “Just Keep Going”, how I trained 4 years ago is completely different than how I train now. The difference is the education and knowledge I have acquired over that time. What I thought was the formula to gaining muscle and losing fat was not what I was doing. I was relying on HIIT, high rep, low weight and just chasing a feeling. That feeling was to feel like I could not breathe or move anymore. I know that sounds crazy, but you all know what I mean. Feeling like you have nothing left in the tank. Although that feeling is great sometimes, it is not necessary to reach your weight loss goals. And overtime, it is a recipe for burnout.

The road map is easier than you think. It just takes time, consistency and patience which most people don’t want to believe. Sorry to break it to you but detox teas and waist trainers are a scam. Real results are hidden in your daily routine. It’s boring and tedious. “The only way to become excellent is to be endlessly fascinated by doing the same thing over and over. You have to fall in love with boredom." A quote by James Clear that I completely resonate with. My current or former athletes know—The drill work and fundamentals are repeated over and over. It didn’t matter how “good” we got. We always fell back on those drills. Same goes for strength training. It’s a practice. A time to fine tune your skill. We’re never going to stop doing them, we’re just going to challenge ourselves a bit more by adding weight, volume & intensity.

PRO TIP: Figure out what your “why” is for training and you wont ever have to rely on motivation. Motivation is rarely there. Discipline is what’s going to get you out of bed. Then, after months and years of showing up regardless of how you feel, it becomes a part of your identity. You don’t know any different than to just wake up and get the work in. Picture this: You’re the boss and you schedule a meeting. Are you going to miss or cancel your own meeting? Absolutely not.

This may seem like an all or nothing approach and TBH, it kind of is. Depending on how serious you are about your goals will depend on your weekly routine. I am human and do take a week every 6-8 weeks or so to back off and train less or not at all. Listen to your body, its smart to take needed rest days and weeks as recovery is when you actually make those gains you’ve been working so hard for. It’s all about trial and error and figuring out what works best for you, your lifestyle and your goals. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS! There is a lot of great information out there on social media. Don’t be afraid to DM another coach and ask them a fitness/nutrition related question.

Let’s get into the split:

MON: Lower

TUES: Upper

WED: Active recovery

THURS: Pull: upper/lower

FRI: Push: upper/lower

SAT: Fun day OR Active recovery

SUN: OFF

I strategically plan my week so I am not overtraining any certain body part. My days also vary by intensity. I always keep in mind that training is a marathon, not a sprint. I want to train for as long as I live so having a plan is important for longevity.

PERIODIZATION. My experienced and advanced lifters have heard this term before. Or if you’re wanting to get into lifting long term, this is good to know and understand. Periodization training is the deliberate manipulation of training variables to optimize performance for competition, prevent overtraining and progress performance. Variable adjustments in duration, load, or volume are planned out over a specific period of time to achieve these objectives. For example, Ill train volume for 4-6 weeks or so then ill move into a lower intensity phase for the following 6 weeks. This is known as a mesocycle. We won’t go into detail about that but I just wanted to highlight the importance of having a long term plan with volume, intensity, load etc. Our bodies can’t handle high volume or high intensity workouts all the time. There has to be a long term plan that varies between the two.

MONDAY THOUGHTS: It’s day one of the week. I’m coming off of a relaxing rest day so I am fresh and ready to go. That is why I program Monday as a hard and high intensity day. If your goal is to build muscle and your legs aren’t shaking after this session, you’re not training hard enough. Plain and simple.

When I say “lower” that usually means a focus on quads, hamstrings and sometimes glutes. Quads and hamstrings are antagonist muscle groups. When you train opposing muscle groups, you can accumulate more volume in a session vs. just training all quads. This way, I can get everything I want to in 4 lift days (per week) instead of 5-6. I like to dedicate two days out of the week to recovery and have fun with some Kettlebells or my Peloton. Having a fun day incorporated weekly is important to me. At the end of this session or at the end of the day, I usually walk a mile on an incline for some steady state cardio.

TUESDAY THOUGHTS: I am just coming off of a lower day. My legs are probably feeling it from Monday so I don’t train them at all to give them time to recover. Just like legs, I do a total upper day and work back, shoulders, chest, tris, bis. I personally don’t like to overload a muscle in one day. But I will be sure to accumulate the volume I want by the end of the week. For example: I’d rather train quads 2x a week instead of all out 1x a week. I split my quads into 2 days instead of all in one day. I find that I recover better this way. So- Tuesdays for me are a lot lower intensity. Still hard on the muscles I am working in my arms but, overall, my average HR is a lot lower than they day before (Monday). It’s all about waving the intensity through-out the week.

WEDNESDAY THOUGHTS: I just came off of two training days so I take a mid-week day to do some active recovery. I go for a walk, ride my Peloton at a low/moderate intensity or do some yoga. Depends on how I am feeling. Blood flow is important for recovery. A walk is better than nothing! I’m sure to remind myself that today is about RECOVERY and to set myself up for success for the rest of the week. IT IS NOT MEANT TO GAS ME. As a former athlete, I still get caught up in thinking every training session should be all out. Not for recovery days.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS: WOO HOO Half way done with my lifts for the week! I’m coming off recovery so my intensity will be back up with a total body pull day. This means: Hamstrings, glutes, Back, Bis. Think posterior chain (entire back side of body). I always start with my heavy compound movement which is usually a deadlift variation. And then go into my accessories which are some single leg or arm variations and lastly some isolation movements. My back side is LIT UP after this session.

FRIDAY THOUGHTS: LAST LIFT DAY! Just like yesterday, intensity will be up BUT I am training total body push which is: Glutes, quads, shoulders, tris. I haven’t trained quads since Monday so I will feel more rested and ready to push that muscle group again. After finishing a Friday lift, Im always like YESSS, I made it! Now let’s do it again for a few more weeks, lol.

SATURDAY THOUGHTS: FUN DAY AYYYYY. Because I am so strategic with my lifts, I like Saturday to be fun and kinda mindless. I know that I usually want to incorporate some cardio, athleticism, power and/or kettlebell skills. This may be: Peloton, kettlebells, bodyweight plyometrics etc. I do crave to move athletically so I make sure it is incorporated. But sometimes, after a hard week, I am TIRED. So I will make it another active recovery day and walk, yoga or a light/moderate peloton.

FINAL THOUGHTS: By the end of the week, my goal is to have trained all movement planes and muscle groups equally, waving the intensity and incorporating some cardio. I also had at least 2 full days of recovery before I trained any muscle group for the second time. The goal is to train forever so find a routine that works for you and makes you feel good!

CARDIO?! Ah yes. Everyone always asks about cardio and how much and how often. Cardio is incredible for heart health. It is necessary to build a strong and efficient heart. But as far as fat loss, it’s not necessary to overdo it. I make a goal for myself to hit 10k steps a day. Staying active throughout the day burns a lot more calories than you think. As far as pre-determined cardio, I stick with steady state 2-3x a week and high intensity 1-2x a week. My lifts are pretty damn hard so doing that combined with HIIT takes a toll on my body. Ya girl is 33 now so I feel things a little bit more than I used too. It also depends on the season and cycle I am doing. This will look different for everyone. But just some info: steady state is achieved at 70-80% of your MAX HR. How do you get your max HR? 220 – your age and then multiply it by the percentage converted into a decimal (.70-.80). I’ll do mine: 220-33=187 / 187x.70 = about 131 BPM. 187X.80 = about 150 BPM. So—when doing low intensity steady state, I stay within that HR range (131-150 BPM).

WANT TO LAUGH?? I actually wrote a blog on my weekly training routine back in 2018. Can we say CARDIO BUNNY?! Geez, lol. CLICK HERE to read. I just read it and WOW, I have learned and changed so much! It’s not something to laugh at I guess, it’s pretty cool to see how far I have come.

If you have made it this far, IM SO HAPPY! You guys obviously love training as much as I do. I have a 12 week hypertrophy program available on my website under “programs.” IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT! People have had great success with it. If the thought of it makes you kinda nervous and/or excited, then that is your sign to do it! Growth begins at the end of our comfort zone. CLICK HERE and it will take you to all the details of the program. There is a clickable link with a video demo for each movement! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me via my website or Instagram @gionnahealth

SHOW UP. SHOW OUT.

XO -G