How To: Schedule Your Workouts

As the Nerd-Core Fitness train keeps rolling along a lot of you loyal readers have been asking how to schedule your workouts. Now that you have three solid beginner workouts to do as well as tips on running, it can be a little overwhelming if you are new to fitness. So let’s recap for a moment; you have at your disposal:

So the question of how to fit these newfound activities into your schedule makes complete sense! The question can be looked at several different ways, so what I want to do is offer you some Jerdtastic advice today on how to:

Schedule your workouts throughout the week
Figure out your optimal workout time
Schedule your meals to best suit your workouts

First it is vital to remember that there is no definitive answer to this question. What is “correct” is very subjective, so I recommend trying a few different methods until you find what works for you. Learning to schedule your workouts in a manner which suits you best is imperative to you being able to stick to your new routine. If you are experiencing too much muscle fatigue or soreness it will discourage you, if you are having a hard time fitting your workout into your day you will be more apt to skip them and if you are too hungry/full when you workout you will be uncomfortable; we want to avoid this!

“The easier you make it to workout at the optimal time, the easier it will be to stick with your routine!“

As we know, our arch-enemy is Captain Laziness. As human beings, when we encounter discomfort our minds naturally try to rationalize/scheme/sabotage whatever it is that stands in the way of what our subconscious wants to do – Sit on the couch crushing the latest Xbox release or watching the latest anime you picked up. So we need to make sure we make our workouts as convenient and comfortable as possible!

How To Schedule Your Workouts Through the Week

Each week you should do one lower body workout, one upper body workout and one total body workout. So how do you space them out? You want to take at least one day in between working each muscle group. As an example – I like to do lower body on Tuesday, upper body on Thursday and total body on Saturday. What you are also going to want to do is figure out which workout is harder for you to recover, lower or upper body. Since I have a debilitating case of chicken legs I find it takes me a little longer to fully recover from my lower body workout, so I like to put a few days between it and my total body workout. If you find your upperbody work is more taxing, then put a larger buffer between it and the always difficult total body routine. Regardless of what days you pick for your workout, until you get in a groove you have to force yourself to stay on track! No slacking allowed in the Jerd Herd.

As a bonus, if you want to add some good cardio to your newfound active lifestyle fit in two days of running in between your scheduled workouts!

How To Schedule Your Workouts During the Day

All we need now is a 30 minute chunk of time, three times a week. Think about it, this is not a big commitment! What can make it feel very tedious though is working out at the wrong time. Now right and wrong are very different from person to person, so you are going to have to do a little experimentation to see what suits you best. For me, I have a difficult time working out in the morning (I feel sluggish and I never feel like I have the energy to really push myself) so I like to schedule my workouts for the late afternoon or evening. I like being able to finish up hitting my workouts and then be able to just relax until I hit the sack. I usually spend that post workout downtime reading some comics or playing a little Xbox. You very well might find that you are the type of person who is too tired after work to get motivated though; in that case maybe morning workouts are your ticket! Either way, pick a time and stick to it.

How To Schedule Your Workouts and Meals Together

This one is pretty easy, and should be relatively consistent across the board. First off, make sure you are drinking enough water during the day. Right now with the Nerd-Core Fitness 101 series of workouts you might not be sweating a lot, but the intensity will ratchet up shortly and we want to be in the habit of hydrating. With that said, remember these two simple rules:

Don’t workout on a full stomach (I like to workout 1.5 – 2 hours after my pre-workout meal)
Eat lean protein before your workout and simple carbohydrates afterwards. (Example – Chicken breast w/ steamed veggies before, bowl of healthy cereal afterwards)

That’s it! Try and eat a small meal right after your workout, ideally 20-30 minutes after you are done if you can, but at this early stage of your “Heroes Transformation” we just need to start getting in the habit of remembering the following sequence: lean protein – workout – simple carbs.

If you take a little time to find the best method to schedule your workouts, not only will you find it easier to stay committed to your fitness routine but you will get more out of your workouts! I promise.

Drop me a comment below and let me know what your schedule looks like; also Sign up for our free newsletter! so that you don’t miss new workouts and diet tips as they go live, and follow me on Twitter for my exclusive #FitnessFriday health tips!