How’s everyone doing on their 2017 activity challenge? My challenge is going well so I wanted to do a check in of where I am in staying active in 2017.

I lift weights 3-4 days per week and have been consistent with this since January 1 except for one week when I was sick. For the illness I took a full five days rest from the gym, slept 8+ hours each night, and came back feeling great!

I break down my lifting into 1-2 major muscle groups each session.  I’ve had to rearrange my schedule a bit, but as of the last two weeks, here is my training schedule:

• Monday: Rest – I get 8-9 hours of sleep 10:00pm to 6:30-7:00am
• Tuesday morning: Back & Chest + light cardio (20-30 minutes)
• Wednesday morning: Leg Day + light cardio (20-30 minutes)
• Thursday morning: Moderate cardio for longer duration (70-90 min)
• Friday morning: Shoulders + stretching + 45 min Spin Class (intense)
• Saturday morning: 45 min Spin Class (intense)
• Sunday morning: Stretching + 60 min Spin Class (intense) or monthly massage

My lifting sessions right now are focused on muscular strength versus muscular endurance so I’m completing 4 sets of 5 repetitions for each lift and my strength has increased quite a bit. My lifting sessions take 30-40 minutes.

I was happy to hoist 250 lbs. on the leg press, 170 for leg extension, 110 for lying leg curls, and I’m about to max out the stack on the seated dips machine lifting 190 lbs. All of these are for reps versus a one rep maximum which would be higher. It’s nice to see my off season work paying off in much needed strength gains.

I keep track of everything on MyFitnessPal.com to keep myself accountable. Tracking diet and exercise is key to making positive changes and helps you stay motivated. Plus, it helps you form the training and dietary habits you need to stay on track after you reach a goal.

You’ll notice that this runner isn’t running right now and that is by design. I won’t do any running until after the July 4th holiday. With the temperatures breaking for the warmer these last couple weeks I do get out for walks in the evening and across my lunch hour I many times will walk for 45-60 minutes depending on how easy it is to eat lunch at my desk.

That’s it for me!  How’s your activity challenge going for 2017? If you haven’t been able to get started then start today!

Always Training,
Brian