Four weights sessions - Three of them with Carol, one on my own.
Cardio, two days of abs and walking, and one full day off. Carol is VERY insistent about the rest day.
Written down like that, my week looks quite busy. It is - but it has a structure, and each day has its place.
This is what my training looks like at this stage of my journey. It’s tailored to me and the phase I’m in, and it will change as we move forward. It isn’t a programme I’m suggesting everyone should follow. It’s a look at what I do, how the week fits together, and how I’ve learned to be a little more flexible about it.
Monday - Chest, shoulders and triceps
Monday starts with Carol: an hour working on my upper body, focused on chest, shoulders and triceps.
The session includes:
- Flat-bench Smith machine chest press
- Machine shoulder press
- Dumbbell chest flyes
- Dumbbell lateral raises
- Cable face pulls
- Triceps cable pushdowns
After the weights, I have another 30 minutes on the treadmill: a high incline and a fast pace.
So the hour with Carol is only part of Monday’s visit. There’s still the cardio to finish before I’m done.
Tuesday - Abs and steps
Tuesday is a different kind of day. There’s no weights session with Carol, but there is still some work to do.
My abs workout consists of three sets of:
- Russian twists
- Lying leg raises
- Flutter kicks
- Sit-ups
That’s followed by a plank, with a target of at least four minutes. Why four minutes? Why not?!!! 🤣
Then it’s treadmill walking: around 8,000–10,000 steps at a moderate pace and a low incline. This is different from the faster, high-incline cardio I do after my main training sessions.
I call these my non-training days (active rest days) when talking about my meal plans, although “non-training” clearly doesn’t always mean doing nothing, or even resting 🤣
Wednesday - Legs, with a focus on quads
Wednesday means another hour with Carol, this time working on legs with a focus on quads.
The session includes:
- Smith machine or barbell back squats
- Leg press
- Barbell walking lunges, currently at 35kg
- Machine leg extensions
- Leg curls
- Abductor machine
- Adductor machine
The walking lunges deserve their place on that list. Moving around the gym with a 35kg barbell is quite a different experience from walking in through the front door.
Once the weights are finished, it’s back to the treadmill for 30 minutes at a high incline and a fast pace.
Thursday - Upper back and arms, on my own
Thursday is my solo weights session. The focus is upper back and arms, with some chest and shoulder work included.
My usual exercises are:
- Lat pulldown, using a narrow or wide grip
- Seated cable row
- Machine chest press
- Seated lateral raises
- Cable biceps curls
- Triceps cable pushdowns
It’s around an hour of weights, followed by the familiar 30 minutes of high-incline, fast-paced treadmill cardio.
Having a session on my own is part of the routine too. Carol is a huge part of my training, but I also have to turn up and get on with the work independently.
Friday - Posterior chain
Friday brings my third session of the week with Carol. This one focuses on the posterior chain—the muscles along the back of the body, particularly around the hips and legs.
The session includes:
- Trap-bar deadlifts
- Glute drive
- Leg curls
- Hyperextensions
- Single-leg press
- Machine glute kickbacks
- Calf raises
If you’ve followed my recent updates, you’ll already know that the trap-bar deadlift has given me a few milestones worth celebrating.
But the session is more than that one lift. There’s another full hour of work around it, followed by—you’ve guessed it—30 minutes on the treadmill at a high incline and a fast pace.
Saturday - A full rest day
Saturday is my full rest day.
It has a place in the week just as the training sessions do. It isn’t an empty square in the diary that needs filling with another workout.
That’s something I’m better at accepting now.
Sunday - Abs and steps, usually
Sunday normally follows the same pattern as Tuesday: the abs workout, a plank, and around 8,000–10,000 treadmill steps.
But “normally” is an important word.
As I write this, there’s a storm blowing outside, and I’ve decided to stay home. Today’s abs and steps can wait. I’m back with Carol tomorrow for chest, shoulders, triceps and cardio. A year ago, I would probably have stressed about that decision. I might have spent the afternoon feeling that I should have gone, even after deciding not to.
Today, I can see it in the context of the rest of my week. I’m still committed. I know what’s planned for tomorrow. Missing this particular session doesn’t undo the work I’ve been putting in.
Being comfortable with that feels like progress too.
Food follows the shape of the week
My nutrition has a structure alongside my training.
I have two meal plans: one for my main training days - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - and another for the other days. My training-day plan has slightly more calories.
I’m not going into the exact numbers here because those are specific to me and my current phase. The useful thing to explain is that my food and training are planned together.
Tuesday and Sunday may still involve abs and plenty of walking, but within this arrangement they use the other meal plan.
Friday is check-in day too
Each Friday, I also upload:
- My weight
- My waist measurement
- Front, side and back progress photographs
That gives us a regular record to review alongside the training itself.
There are the numbers I’m lifting, the measurements I’m recording, and the photographs showing how things are changing. Each captures a different part of the journey.
And then there are changes that don’t fit neatly into an upload - like being able to take an afternoon off without worrying that I’ve somehow lost my commitment.
Structure, with a bit of perspective
This is a substantial part of my week. It takes time, planning and a willingness to keep turning up.
I like having that structure. I also like understanding it well enough to adapt when I need to.
Some weeks will bring a new personal best. Some will be about getting through the planned sessions. Occasionally, a storm will mean staying indoors and moving on with the week.
There’s room for all of that.
Still becoming.