A question that all my students ask me is “What do you do for your workouts?” I answer vaguely so to not take up too much of their time talking about me. So I’d like to finally break down the week in the life of my workouts!
MONDAY: Most dread Mondays but I get excited for it because I get to run with my dog, Drogo. Weather permitting, I start the day off with a brisk walk to the park and once I get to Bridle Path in Central Park, it’s full speed ahead. I get bored easily so I mix things up with variations of running (sprints, skips, tip toes, backwards) and always add shuffles (regular and criss cross). I also find an area where I can do some resistance training. Some great exercises that can be done on a park bench: push ups, step ups, tricep dips, leg raises, mountain climbers, planks, and side planks. I add in walking lunges, squats/jump squats, frog squats and side lunges to make it a full body workout.
TUESDAY: This is my HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) day. I have very little time so I make sure every minute counts. My warm up is 20 minutes on the Stairclimber (with rotating steps). This helps get the heart rate up, warm up my legs, and gets me pumped for what’s to come. I love kettle bells and TRX so I make sure I incorporate both. Here is an example of a routine that I’ll work on.
– 30 walking lunge steps with kettle bell or free weights
– 15 TRX single leg lunges (each leg)
– 20 kettle bell swings
– 15 single arm rows with kettle bell
– 20 TRX Jump Squats
– 15 close grip push ups
– 10 single-leg plank to arm core exercise (each side)
– 25 leg raises
– 1 minute plank to side plank
– Forearm stand
– 5 minute jump roping
REPEAT! I’m in and out in an hour!
WEDNESDAY: This is a dual workout day that gets both the fire and water side in me. I train with my friend and professional boxer, Emmanuelle Brujan at Work Train Fight Gym and punch his mitts senseless for an hour. Not only is this a great cardio and strength workout but he keeps me on my toes and teaches me how to react quickly to defend myself. Later on in the day, I find time to work on my own yoga practice. I use this self practice as a way to tune in, give my body a break, and create some clever sequencing and techniques to teach my students for the week.
THURSDAY: This is my day to focus on strength training. I’ll warm up with either the stair master, a run in the park, or some TRX squats with some dynamic stretching. I focus on the larger muscle groups and work on developing them with more weight, less reps and with super sets or drop sets. I’ll do a sequence of 5-6 exercises back to back then jump on the treadmill for a 3 minute sprint and then rest/stretch for a minute before I start again. Most sequences are done in 3 successions and then I’ll move on to another muscle group. I usually hit legs, back, core, and arms for this workout. I walk out feeling like She-Ra but am sore for days after.
FRIDAY: This is probably my fave day of the week. Friday class at Katonah Yoga with Phillip Askew closes my week. It’s anything but restorative or easy but it’s necessary after all the lifting, pushing, and pounding I do all week. I get to stretch, lengthen, and practice my inversions with the “Inversion King”. I leave class feeling long, lean, and accomplished.
I like to rest over the weekend but if up to it, I’ll sneak in a quick run in the park. My weeks don’t always pan out as planned but the workouts do remain the same. I may throw in a class here there (I love Barry’s Bootcamp and BollyX) and try to explore other fitness studios (Brick’s BX class is next on my list). Variety in your workouts are important not only to challenge your body but to keep you interested and sticking to a routine. A combination of power/strength workouts with stretching and lengthening sessions work for me. So whatever floats your boat, always listen to your body and be sure to rest. It will only make you better for next week’s workout.