How to Structure Your Workouts

Let me preface this blog post and say I am a functional fitness trainer. I am not into gimmicks and social-media spot training techniques. I teach my clients and preach the importance of functional resistance training. This means you are working towards strengthening your body in postures it is naturally meant to handle (ie: a squat, because you need to sit down and get up, or a deadlift/hinge, because you need to bend down and pick something up off the ground).

I am not a fitness professional who could pretend I could make you an effective workout with ankle weights and 2lb dumbbells. I could probably get you to sweat, but I would be lying to you if it was the most effective way to train.

I am someone who trains towards goals to be able to measure my progress. I believe everyone should have goals in mind and work efficiently towards attaining them. I also believe this should be done through pleasurable and enjoyable movement that your body and mind can handle. If you haven't seen progress in one form or another, you're most likely going about your fitness routine the wrong way.

Here's an example: If your goal is to "build muscle", what are you doing to accomplish this? Are you using progressive overload techniques, ie, increasing weights and rep ranges overtime? Are you eating more protein to help build muscle tissue? Are you prioritizing recovery?

Most people's first mistake is not having a plan when it comes to fitness. If you invest some time upfront towards the workout for your day/week/month you will be able to track your accomplishments.

All that to say, I am here to help. This post will go over the best ways to improve and hit your goals. Please STOP wasting your time doing your favourite influencer's workout and really master the basics. Working out does not have to be complicated, but it shouldn't be easy. Your body deserves to be challenged.

First things first: warm-up.

Questions to ask yourself:
--Do you warm-up?
--If so, for how long before your workout?
--Do you warm up based on your workout for the day?
--Is your warm-up dynamic?
--Do you include mobility and/or activation techniques?

Assuming you are planning to workout for 60 minutes, I would suggest carving out 10-15mins for your warm-up (cardio/stretching/activation/mobility).

Here's how I would structure it:

- 2-3 mins to raise your heart rate through movement (jumping jacks, cardio machines, high knees, butt kicks, light jogging, etc.).

• Personally, this allows me to get deeper into my warm up movements by having my heart rate elevated and blood flowing.

- 6-8mins dynamic stretching. You want to incorporate stretches where your body is constantly moving so you can best approach an injury-free workout and allow yourself to enter positions with greater range of motion.

• I love to cycle through stretches like: world's greatest stretch, inch worm, t-spine openers, squat to hinge, walking lunges, high-knee pulls, windmills, and arm circles.

• If you are splitting your workouts into upper and lower days, try to warm up the muscles you know you are about to use.

- 3-4 mins mobility work. Mobility is the process of strengthening the muscles around your joint. By preparing your body to move properly, you will be able to enter positions with enhanced strength and prevent injury hopefully both short and long-term.

• I suggest trying: hip CARS (controlled articular rotations), world's greatest stretch with a focus on ankle mobility, thoracic spine rotations and roll-outs with your foam roller.

• As an example, focusing on mobilizing your ankles will allow you to hit a deeper squat position.

Once your 10-15 minute warm up is complete, you are ready to hit your strength portion.

Again, if this workout is 60 minutes, you should plan to to really elevate your heart rate for the strength series.

Here is how I would structure a strength workout:

- Start with your compound lifts (ie. the exercises where you use 1+ muscle group). These are your squats, deadlifts, bench press, barbell hip raises, clean and presses, pull-ups). These type of exercises typically tire you out as you are able to go heavier than other lifts. Due to this you need your energy and strength so should be prioritizing them as your #1 lift. Typically you are only completing 1-2 compound lifts per workout.

• Leg day: 1-2 compound lifts: I would typically perform squats and glute bridges. Based on strength or hypertrophy training you would change your set and rep count.

• Upper Body Day: could start with a bench press and move on to a overhead press.

- Add in some complimentary work (2-3 exercises) to help grow the muscle(s) you are targeting for your training session. For example, If your first lift is a squat, second is a hip thrust, next you could do some static or walking lunges, pistol squats or bulgarian split squats.

- Lastly I would add in a bit of accessory work. These exercises aren't necessarily as important but are more related to the vanity of working out. Bicep curls, deadbugs, skullcrushers, would all be in this category. Depending on your goals you can include 1-2 movements here.

You are now done the hard stuff, but don't just stop. Your body needs proper recovery. Not only does spending some time stretching help with recovery, but it's a way to safely lower your heart rate.

Here is how I would structure a cool-down for the last 5-10mins:

- Foam roll parts of my body I just used for 3-4mins

- Re-using a lot of my dynamic stretches from my warm-up to also cool down

- Some of my favourite cool down stretches are:

- Child's pose

- Down dog

- Butterfly

- Pigeon

- Banded stretches where the band is pulling resistance on my tight muscle areas.

As a takeaway, copy and paste this workout for an awesome lower body focused workout:

1. 10-15 minute dynamic warm-up (walking inch worms with push-up, world's greatest stretch (4-5 reps/leg), leg swings, high knee pulls, and squat to hinges). Add in mobility and banded activation work (monster walks, tap outs, abductions, etc.)

2. Strength could look like:

   1. Squat 3x8 (goblet/back/front squat)

   2. Barbell Hip raises 3x8 (at home: off a chair/bench, weight on pelvis)

   3. Bulgarian Split Squats 3x8 per leg

   4. Walking Lunges 3 x 10 per leg

3. Accessory Exercises:

a. Banded or weighted fire hydrants 3x8 per leg

b. Frog Pump Glute Raises 3x8

Try to focus focus on challenging yourself with the weight you have access to. If you are stuck at home with low weights, either invest in heavier or increase your rep count!

PROtip: please don't compare the influencer's body type to yours and think the workouts they share are actually what they did to get their body. Weight gain and weight loss are unique to everyone. You cannot spot train. Everyone is different. So do what's best for you!

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