This week was my first full week back at the gym and I could not have been more excited to get back into training. It was difficult booking gym times at CARSA because there is limited capacity and everyone is fighting for spots. Luckily, I was able to still book times that worked with my school and work schedule. This week I tried to increase weight every time I worked out. I also added a cardio day to my workout plan. Cardio is important for your overall health and wellness. It improves cardiovascular health, it lowers your blood pressure, it helps with sleep, maintaining weight, and much more. It is a common misconception that cardio will prevent you from gaining muscle. Cardio helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently and improves muscle circulation. It improves your stamina which helps to speed up your recovery period. This way, you are able to train more often and avoid injury. Furthermore, it will help reduce body fat. If you are looking to gain muscle, do not overlook doing cardio. A balanced workout plan that includes cardio days will only help you achieve your fitness goals.
I am looking forward to going to the gym this upcoming week and training even harder. Hopefully I am able to go up in weight with all of my exercises and increase the number of sets and/or reps I do.
Monday
- RDL’s 4 sets of 12 at 65 pounds
- Hip thrusts 4 sets of 10 at 85 pounds
- Bulgarian split squats 3 sets of 10 15 pounds each
- Elevated squats 3 sets of 8 with 55 pound dumbbell
- Leg extension 4 sets of 10 at 50 pounds
- 3 sets of 10 back extension with 25 pound plate
- Calf press 4 sets of 12 at 230 pounds
Tuesday
- Treadmill for 25 mins (1 min walk, 1 min 30s run)
- Stair master for 500 steps (8 mins)
Wednesday
- Bench press with dumbbells (30 lb) 3 sets of 10
- Shoulder press (20 lb) 4 sets of 10
- Incline bench press (25 lb) 3 sets of 10
- Tricep extensions (45 lb) 3 sets of 10
- Cable one arm lat raise (10 lb) 3 sets of 10
- One arm tricep extension (25 lb) 3 sets of 12
- Machine fly (72 lb) 3 sets of 10
- Overhead cable extension (37.5 lb) 4 sets of 12
- Face pull (45 lb) 4 sets of 12
Thursday
- Rest Day
Friday
- Hip thrusts (95 lb) 4 sets of 10
- RDL’s (75 lb) 4 sets of 10
- Bulgarian split squats (15 lb x 2) 3 sets of 10
- Leg extension (60lb) 4 sets of 10
- Back extension (25lb plate) 4 sets of 10
- Single leg press (105 lb) 3 sets of 10
- Calf press (257.5lb) 4 sets of 10
Saturday
- Assisted Pull ups (45lb decrease) 4 sets of 8
- Lat pull down (40lb) 4 sets of 10
- Cable rows (94lb) 4 sets of 8
- Half-kneeling cable pull down (45lb) 4 sets of 10
- Bent over dumbbell rows (25lb) 3 sets of 10
- Cable Bicep curls (37.5lb) 3 sets of 10
- Hammer curls (15lb x 2) 3 sets of 10
- 100 biceps curls with 10 lb plate non-stop
Sunday
- Rest Day
Sources:
https://www.runtastic.com/blog/en/cardio-training-and-muscle-building-friend-or-foe/amp/
brianmajic
February 8, 2022 — 10:37 am
Hi Olivia,
Great work! I am very impressed with your dedication to getting to the gym and staying active in our busy times. I agree with you when it comes to the difficulty of booking at CARSA. It is rather annoying to have to be on their website at the crack of time the hour turns that you would like to work out at. I understand the difficulty with provincial health restrictions, but there has to be a better way.
Good work on including more cardio into your workouts. You are right, it is so important. My team has recently started doing cardio workouts with Maffia Fitness and since we started, we have won our last 3 games. I believe that our extra emphasis on cardio has given us the stamina and energy we need to complete our games and get the W’s.
Keep up the great work!