My Workout Week

Wonder what I do for my workouts? Here is a breakdown of a week in my workouts, complete with sets and reps!

Monday

Warm Up

20 jumping jacks

20 high knees

20 standing side crunches

10 burpees

Workout - 4 Sets

12 stability ball cross crunches (each side) holding a 20 lb weight

10 V ups

30 sec side plank (each side)

12 stability ball reverse hypers

10 flutter kicks (each leg)

Rest 1 min

Cool Down

A few quick stretches and a protein shake

1.5 hr roller derby practice

Tuesday

1.5 hr roller derby practice

Wednesday

Warm Up

20 jumping jacks

20 high knees

20 butt kicks

12 push ups

Workout - 3 Sets

10 squats holding a 20 lb dumbbells in each hand

10 lunges holding a 20 lb dumbbells in each hand

10 single leg calf raises (each side) holding a 20 lb dumbbell on the same side as the leg being worked

12 clam shells (each side) with a 15 lbs resistance band around my legs

10 hip adductions (each side) with a 30 lb resistance tube

Rest 1 min

Cool Down

A few quick stretches and a protein shake

Thursday

1.5 hr roller derby practice

Friday

Rest day

Saturday

Warm Up

20 jumping jacks

20 high knees

20 butt kicks

10 Burpees

Workout - 3 Sets

12 push ups (from toes)

8 lateral arm raises holding a 8 lb dumbbell in each hand

12 tricep dips from a bench

10 front arm raises holding a 20 lb dumbbell

8 assisted chin ups

Cool Down

A few quick stretches and a protein shake

Sunday

Warm Up - around half a football field

Run

Side shuffle

Backwards run

Grapevine

Grapevine

Run

Side shuffle

Backwards run

Agility Run- 3 Sets

Start facing sides, sprint 5 yards to your left, turn around and sprint 10 yards, turn around and sprint 5 yards back your starting place
Rest 1 min
Repeat heading in the other direction

Plyometrics - 3 Sets

10 hops forward, backwards, right, and left

10 single leg hops (each leg) forward, backwards, right, and left
8 tuck jumps

8 continuous long jumps

Cool Down

Jog around the entire football field

That is a week in my workout! I have a few different core, leg, upper body, and agility workouts I rotate through to ensure a full body workout and to keep things interesting! My husband and I also add in one or two outdoor skating sessions in the summer time.

Weight Training: High vs Low Reps

Let’s talk weight training. If you aren’t doing it, you should! Weight training is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. There are typically two types of weight training people think of: heavy weights with low repetitions or light weights with high repetitions. Which should you be doing to meet your goals? Unfortunately it’s not that clear cut.

Weight lifting can be broken down into three zones: high reps, mid reps, and low reps. Using the below chart, we can talk about what type of weight lifting you should do to meet your goals.

Weight Training Type	Training Effect	Reps per Set	% 1RM
Low Reps	Strength	1-5	80-90
Mid Reps	Hypertrophy	6-12	60-80
High Reps	Endurance	15+	40-60

Strength Continuum

1RM stands for 1 Repetition Maximum, or the amount of weight you can lift once. It is the basic unit used to determine strength. Here’s an online tool to help you calculate your 1RM (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/other7.htm).

First, weightlifting and losing fat. In a previous post, I talked about cardio for fat loss and the link to heart rate. The ideal range of your heart rate to maximize fat loss is 70% - 85% of your maximum heart rate. While that article was about cardio,  The same principle applies to weight training for fat loss as well. How does that translate to high vs low reps? The truth is, it doesn’t matter. The important thing to do is get your heart rate up. My personal suggestion is to do mid to high reps in a circuit of 4-6 moves, taking little to no rest between sets. That being said, the exertion it takes to do heavy weights will also bring your heart rate up. It is harder to maintain a higher heart rate, but the benefit is still there.

Next, what if your goal is to build muscle? It’s commonly thought that lifting heavy weight with low reps is the only way to build muscle.. Studies on the best way to build muscle do not all point to low reps. It seems the most benefit comes from lifting weights until failure or fatigue. So how do you decide which is right for you? It’s going to depend on your experience and time. Doing a low rep workout until failure will be a shorter workout than a high rep workout until failure. The best way to maximize your muscle growth is to mix it up every few weeks. Lift big for a week or two, then switch to low weights.

If your goal is to improve your athletic performance, weight lifting should be an important part of your workout routine. As with cardio, you want to mimic your sport and target the muscles you will be using. If you are in a sport that requires you to be a brick house, like football or rugby, you want to work on muscle growth and strength, so stick to the high weight with low to mid reps. If you are in a long distance endurance sport, such as running or cycling, stick to low weight with high reps. Weight training for endurance sports doesn’t give the body the same simulation as the actual sport itself, but it’s important to have the increased lean muscle to get full power in each stride or push. And lastly, if you are in a power sport that requires you to do quick bursts of action, such as hockey, sprinting or roller derby, you will want to do explosive training. For explosive training, I recommend being in the mid to high reps range, do your movements quickly to simulate the sudden energy you will require in sport.

One last tip. If you are new to weightlifting, start in the high reps range with light weights. Have a friend or a trainer spot you to make sure you are using proper form.

Happy lifting!

References

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/07/19/high-reps-vs-low-reps/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/high-reps-low-reps-which-rep-scheme-is-best.html

http://www.trainingscience.net/?page_id=301

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/strengthtraining.html