The Workout Routine
A much requested, but probably unsatisfying, deep dive
I work out a lot and because of that I am like fairly visibly muscular. A lot of people want to know my workout routine because of that, which is fine. But here’s the deal.
I am not working with a trainer for any specific fitness or aesthetic goals
I do a lot of different kinds of exercise because I like it, and not to achieve any specific fitness or aesthetic goals
There are probably better ways to meet any specific fitness or aesthetic goals that you have, but I don’t have any
I work out like a lot, and if you’re a beginner, you should not attempt to do all of this exercise in one week
Weekly schedule
With all of that so very much in mind, here’s what a typical week looks like for me if I don’t have to miss anything.
Monday
AM: Lower body weightlifting
PM: Yoga or cardio based class, if I do anything
Tuesday
AM: SPENGA
Wednesday
AM: Spin
PM: Upper body weightlifting
Thursday:
Super variable, this week it’ll be a 75-minute yoga in the afternoon, but could be another spin or SPENGA, a pilates class, whatever.
Friday:
AM: SPENGA
Saturday:
AM: Heavy full-body weightlifting
Exercise routines
I actually fuck around a lot with my weightlifting routine because again, I have no specific fitness or aesthetic goals, so I’m just doing whatever I want. There’s probably a more effective way to do it. I don’t really care. But anyway here’s what I actually do for each of these exercise sessions.
Weightlifting/strength training
On a weekday weightlifting session, I do a combination of strength and muscle growth work. For strength work, I do 5 sets between 3 and 6 reps. Once I can do 5 sets of 6 reps for a weight, I move up the weight. For muscle growth work, I do 3 sets between 8 and 12 reps. Once I can do 3 sets of 12 reps for a weight, I move up the weight. There are exceptions, like calf press and bicep curl, where I’m working a little muscle for a ton of reps.
This is a lot of movements! Don’t do this many movements if you aren’t used to it!
Lower body
5x hack squat
3x leg curl
3x leg extension
3x single leg press
3x hip abduction
3x hip adduction
3x back extension
5x high-rep calf press
Upper body
5x chest press
5x seated row
3x lat pulldown
3x shoulder press
5x high-rep bicep curls
5x high-rep tricep pushdown
5x high-rep lateral raise
For the Saturday session, I’m just doing heavy weights on big movements.
5x sled leg press
5x bench press
5x seated row
3x bulgarian split squats (not a typo, since this is a single leg movement I do not want to spend 300 years doing 5 sets, which is really 10 sets, of split squats)
5x assisted pull up
5x shoulder press
You may notice I don’t heavy deadlift or barbell squat. I don’t want to.
SPENGA
SPENGA (SPin, strENgth, yoGA), is a 60-minute group exercise class where you do 20 minutes of spin, 20 minutes of strength (usually a circuit), and 20 minutes of yoga. It’s basically a perfect workout and I love it. The strength content changes every day, so sometimes it’s a full-body dumbbell based workout, sometimes a lower-body kettlebell thing, or an upper body TRX thing, or maybe core focused using the bosu ball. It changes every time, and the weight that I use during a SPENGA session is typically much lighter than I would use in regular strength training. But this gives me a chance to hit some movements that I don’t normally do.
Spin
This is 45 minutes of straight high-intensity cardio. I usually go super early in the morning because there’s free coffee afterwards.
Yoga
I usually do hot or warm yoga because that’s mostly what’s available around me. I do a variety of styles at multiple different studios with multiple instructors because I truly do like a little bit of everything. I kind of want to start learning to head stand.
Other options
My friend Disha teaches Les Milles BodyCombat and so I go to that sometimes, which is like cardio boxing. I also like an occasional mat pilates. Solidcore is fun but it’s expensive and beginner sessions are usually at bad times, so I hardly ever go.
How do you afford it??
I have ClassPass. I have the 48 credit plan at $99/month, which is enough for all this stuff where I live. I used to have a regular gym membership that was $85/month, and there was just a lot less flexibility in what kinds of classes I could do at the times I wanted to do them, so I found it worth it to pay a little bit more every month for ClassPass.
I didn’t make this post to shill, but if you want to try ClassPass, you can get a free trial with 20 bonus credits at this link. If you end up becoming a member, I get $20 off my fee the month you do that, for full disclosure. But the free trial is fun, you can try basically everything available in your town with 50+ credits.