Exercise Specialist Kirill gives us a glimpse into his fitness routine!*
*Disclaimer: This workout log is not intended to serve as advice. Goals, individual experience, training age, chronological age, and medical history vary between individuals. Consult with your doctor, followed by an Exercise Specialist prior to exercise.
Introduction
An exercise plan can change week-to-week, month-to-month for a variety of reasons. These include travel, illness, work, family, weather, motivation, priorities, etc. Personally, I try to stay consistent with my workout plan each week, but there is always the understanding that it won’t always be perfect. Here are my current goals when I exercise:
- Maintain my health physically and mentally
- Increase my strength week-over-week either through the load I’m using, the amount of repetitions I do, or noticing how much energy I have left at the end of the workout
- Increase my cardiorespiratory endurance for a possible marathon in June.
Exercise Plan
My exercise plan is for 5-6 days per week. I perform aerobic exercise 3 days a week, resistance training 2 days a week, I usually attend a yoga class, and I always spend as much time outside as I can with my wife and family. This usually looks like going on walks nearby, or venturing to a new hiking spot most days.
With the snowy weather in Minnesota, doing outdoor specific exercise like running is not my preference so most of my specific exercise is at a local gym. Below, I will outline my workout plan in terms of days because I don’t always complete a certain workout on a specific day of the week.
Another disclaimer: Everyone can have a different plan due to a variety of reasons. It’s not recommended to follow this plan. Refer to your Exercise Specialist for your specific exercise plan.
Warm-Up
All of my workouts begin with a 10 minute warm-up on a piece of aerobic equipment of my choosing followed by dynamic and static stretching specific to the workout. Depending on time, my cool down includes breathing exercises to recover my heart rate, stretching areas that feel tight, and using the sauna for 5 minutes
Day 1 – Aerobic base building
This first day can be boring because currently it’s on the treadmill. The goal for this workout is to develop my cardiovascular aerobic endurance. The better I develop this base the more intensity I can build into my workouts for the hour and it assists in recovery.
- 60 minute low-moderate intensity cardio on treadmill. Heart rate ideally stays below 160 bpm. Most recently this is a 6.5mph pace on the treadmill at a 1% incline on the treadmill.
Day 2 – Total Body Resistance Training 1
Currently, I do total body workouts. Since I am only resistance training 2 days a week, I make sure I get as many muscle groups and movement patterns done as my time allows. My goal during these workouts is to do them pain free and increase my strength.
- Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15 repetitions
- Lying Glute Bridge: 3 sets of 15 repetitions
- Barbell Back Squat: 5 sets of 5 repetitions
- Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets of 8 repetitions
- Machine Leg Extensions: 3 set to fatigue
- Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extensions 3 sets of 15 repetitions
- Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets of 20 repetitions
- Standing Dumbbell Overhead Shoulder press: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Day 3 – Anaerobic Speed and power
On this day, my goal is to increase my anaerobic speed and power. Anaerobic means with oxygen and at a certain intensity cardio workouts become anaerobic where more muscle is involved. Research shows that these workouts help promote muscle mass improvements and body fat loss more than the aerobic long-term steady state endurance workouts do.
- 30 minutes vigorous intensity of the treadmill.
- 60 second sprint at >9mph at a 1% incline
- 2 minutes of jogging at a recovery intensity which is <5.5mph at a 1% incline for me.
- Repeat 10 times
Note: A 1% incline is recommended whenever using the treadmill. When the treadmill is at a 0% incline it’s as if you’re going down hill. A 1% incline mimics walking/running outside.
Day 4 – Total Body Resistance Training 2
This is my second total body strength day. On this day, I perform different and opposing movements as the first day. This is due to a desire to stay balanced. Again, my goal during these workouts is to do them pain free and increase my strength.
- Body Weight Plank: 3 sets of 1 min
- Side Plank Side Leg Raise: 3 sets of 20 repetitions each leg
- Barbell Deadlift: 5 sets of 5 repetitions
- Pull-Ups: 4 sets of 10 repetitions. Each repetition involves a 3 second lower or eccentric phase
- Machine Seated Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets to fatigue
- Cable Bicep Curls: 3 sets to fatigue
- Dumbbell Reverse Lunges: 3 sets of 10 repetitions each leg
- Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 15 repetitions
Day 5 – Anaerobic Threshold
On the final day of the week my goal is to increase my anaerobic threshold. If I end up doing the marathon, the recommended pace is just below your anaerobic threshold (AT). The AT is the point where our body switches from using mostly fats for fuel to mostly carbohydrates. Our body has limits for how many carbs they can store in our liver and muscles. There are times where people “hit the wall” in their workouts. It’s usually due to a lack of substrates or “fuel” necessary to get through the workout. By increasing the anaerobic threshold, I can exercise for longer and a higher intensity to complete the marathon at a respectable pace.
- 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity on the treadmill
- 4 minutes at 7.5mph at a 1% incline while keeping my heart rate below 165 bpm which is my measured AT.
- 4 minutes at 6.0mph at a 1% incline
Conclusion
As the weather gets nicer outside in Minnesota, my hope is to increase the duration of my runs and do a possible practice marathon. The gym I go to limits people to an hour on the treadmill; however, I will still complete my 2 days a week of strength training. I switch up my workouts every 3-6 months to manage boredom and therefore, it is more than likely my strength training will look different in the coming month.
On the weekends and/or the days I am not completing a specific workout, I always find an activity to do. In Minneapolis, we can go on biking trails, there are pop-up yoga classes, and other fitness events that are easy to find. Additionally, there is great access to trails around the numerous lakes in the state that I enjoy to walk around.
