Shockingly enough, I honestly think my first couple of weeks were probably the most beneficial so far because I was actually learning how to do a workout on my own. However, then I sort of shifted directions and started to try out a bunch of different online workouts that didn’t require a lot of thinking and you can just sort of mindlessly follow along. I do think the online workout videos did serve a purpose because they sort of eased be into the idea of strength training and I was also exposed to a lot of different exercises from these videos.
As this project is coming to an end in the next couple of weeks here I am going to shift back towards what I was doing in the very beginning by structuring my own workout (sort of). However, I still don’t really know how to actually structure a workout so I decided to hit YouTube to see if some of my questions could be answered.
At first I was kind of thinking that I would be able to find a quick and easy explanation and I would just be set and ready to start creating my own workout. I think that was a little naive of me to think. But after a while I found this video by Shelley Darlington that answered a lot of questions I had and even some that I didn’t know I needed answered.
Workout Split:
One of the first things discussed was how to split your workout (which I now realize I probably should have been doing this whole time). Shelley suggested that beginners do a Lower/Upper body split 3-4 times a week. She also gave some advice when creating a workout plan:
- Consistency + skill + structure = results
- Keep it simple
Different Workouts:
The next thing discussed was different workouts you could do for the different days in the split.
Lower body: squats, lunges (static lunge), deadlift (stiff leg deadlift), Leg press, Bulgarian split squat, hip thrust, seated hamstring curl
Upper body: Lat pull down, seated low row, chin ups (assisted), dumbbell row, dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell side raise, pushups, bench dips, hammer/bicep curls, tricep rope pull down,
Core: (not necessary) but you can do a three exercise circuit on your arm days (2 days a week) if you really want. 3 rounds of 15 reps
Workout structure:
Next, the video went over how to structure the workout it’s self. Shelly suggested:
- 4 or 5 exercises
- 3-4 sets per exercise
- 10-15 reps
- rest 60-90 seconds between sets
- Total workout should be 45 min to an hour with warmup/cooldown
Overall structure:
Next the video went over the overall structure of your workout, which is honestly something I haven’t thought about before. But I learned you should be doing 4-6 weeks blocks of doing the same workouts. This means that once you have your weekly plan, you have to do it for a minimum of 4 weeks in order to see results.
A final word of wisdom from Shelly’s video was “learn to love the mastery of lifting weights”
This is going to be harder than I thought…
There is way more things to consider than I originally thought there would be. So, I decided to try another resource that my #edtc400 mentor, Caleb Lueck, recommended to see if it would clear things up.
Trying out Jetfit
After Caleb recommended Jetfit I googled to to see what it was all about. Apparently it is the #1 popular workout tracking platform, so I was very excited to try it out!
When you first download the app you have to make an account and then it asks you some questions about yourself so it can recommend premade workout plans to you (but of course that is not why I got the app, I got it to make my own workout plan)
Once you get through all that beginning stuff then you can start to make your workout plan. I used the information from Shelley Darlington‘s YouTube video to guide the days, sets, rests, and the exercises that I picked.
Overall, the Jetfit app made the whole process seem a lot more organized and it is laid it is a visually appealing and easy to use way. I also like that there is videos and descriptions that go along with each exercise so that I can make sure I can get the form correct.
Also, just a funny story about trying to record this week’s workout. First I forgot to press start when I got my old phone set up to record (because I needed my phone to see the app). Then, after the first 2 and a half exercises my phone decided to run out of space. So, I had to start recording on my laptop webcam of all things. Since, some of the footage was on my laptop and some on my phone I wasn’t sure how on earth I was going to put a video together, especially since the files are both large. I ended up having to edit the videos on my phone first in order to get them into a smaller file and then emailing it to me so I could use the windows video editor. I had never used the video editor before but it was surprisingly easy to use! Here is little peak of what the video editor looks like.
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