Sample Routines

Warming up and cooling down are essential (and underrated) parts of any workout!

• Warming up preps your body for activity by raising body temperature and increasing blood flow to your muscles. 

• Cooling down allows your body to slowly recover.

• Together, warming up and cooling down help reduce stress on your heart, improve your performance, and reduce your risk for injury.

Warm-Up

1. Try doing less-intense versions of the actual movement itself!

• For example, when I lift, I do warm-up sets with lighter weights that progressively get heavier until my working sets.

• Alternatively, for an exercise like a barbell squat, you can use a PVC pipe to mimic the bar.

  • I prefer to sit at the bottom of a squat with an unloaded bar and work through my full range of motion (ROM), but the PVC pipe is even lighter!

2. Here's a low-impact warm-up that can be done seated or standing!

3. Here's a 5-minute full body warm-up by Caroline Girvan!

Cool-Down

1. Do whatever you were doing, but at a decreased intensity!

• For example, if you were on a run, take a 5-minute walk.

2. Check out "Mobility" for a couple routines!

3. Here's a reliable 5-minute stretching routine by Bowflex!

4. Here's a longer 13-minute stretching routine by FitnessBlender!

Machines

• The key difference between machines and free weights is that machines decrease technique demands (you don't have to worry as much about stability, coordination, or form). 

  • Machines are generally more useful for beginners or people looking to isolate a certain muscle group. They're also arguably harder to injure yourself with during use.

  • Free weights tend to give you more options (they don't lock you into a single movement path) and more opportunity for compound movements that engage your stabilizer muscles. 

• In my opinion, with proper form (to avoid injury and maximize your gains), both free weights and machines are great parts of an effective training plan depending on your goals.

Beginner-Friendly Machine Workouts

1. For a basic, modifiable full-body workout,

• Check out the website for the Fitness Center's machines organized by target muscle group 

• Choose 2 machines from "Legs", 2 machines from either "Chest" or "Back", 1 machine from "Arms", and a core exercise from "Core/Abs"

• Do 3 sets of 8-12 reps on the machines you chose with 1 minute of rest in between sets.

2. For a targeted muscle group,

• Check out the group's relevant section on this website, choose 4 machines

• Do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps on the machines you chose with 1 minute of rest in between sets.

• Don't forget to warm up beforehand and cool down after!

Some splits to consider:

• PPL: Push, Pull, Legs

• • Push

    • Muscles: chest, triceps, front/middle deltoids (shoulders)

    • Exercises: chest press, shoulder press, chest fly, etc.

  • Pull

    • Muscles: back, biceps, forearms, rear deltoids, traps

    • Exercises: rows, curls, pull-ups/chin-ups, lateral raises, etc.

  • Legs

    • Muscles: glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves

    • Exercises: squats, leg presses, targeted machines, etc.

• Upper Body & Lower Body

  • Upper body: chest, back, arms

  • Lower body: legs

• *Core work has a place in any routine!

A sample beginner-friendly leg day:

• Bodyweight squats (4x12)

• Leg press (4x12)

• Seated hamstring curls (4x12)

• Bodyweight lunges (3x12 each side)

• Hip abductors (4x12)

Cardio

• To be honest, cardio is my least favorite thing to do but it's one of the most important ways to stay healthy. 

  • I used to swim and play a lot of volleyball growing up, but nowadays, my favorite things to do for cardio are 5-10 minutes on the Stairmaster post-lift, skating, walking trails, volleyball, and running away from my problems.

1. Hop on a treadmill, elliptical, or even a Stairmaster in Section III.

• I like to watch something or study notes on my phone during cardio to distract myself.

• Adjust speed/intensity to your own liking! 

  • Sometimes I do intervals, other times I keep a steady, moderate-to-high pace.

2. Go on a walk/jog/run around campus. 

• Woods Creek trail and back-campus are my favorite places to go, but anywhere works.

• Walking around campus/downtown Lex at ungodly hours is really peaceful.

3. Take a mat into Section IV and follow a HIIT training video.

• Dumbbells aren't allowed in Section IV, but the blue mats are hung up right near the entrance!

4. Visit the Natatorium (located by Third Year) during open swim hours!

• You can easily find open swim hours on the official W&L website or Campus Notices emails.

Beginner Calisthenics

• I recommend poking around r/bodyweightfitness (especially their recommended routine) if you're interested in getting into calisthenics!

  • A couple Instagram creators whose content I follow are @struckbyluck_, @hybrid.calisthenics, @tylerdcalisthenics_, and @littletfitness!

• If you're just looking for something bodyweight and easy to do anywhere:

  • Adjust intensity (reps, time under tension, etc.) to your own ability!

  • See "Core/Abs" in Section I for more info about planks, hollow body holds, bird dogs and dead bugs.

Basic Floor Calisthenics Routine

• Warm up beforehand

• 3 rounds

  • Bodyweight squats

  • Push-ups* 

  • Plank (failure)

  • Lunges 

  • Lying Leg Raises

  • Pick 1: Hollow Body Holds, Bird Dogs, or Dead Bugs

Intermediate Calisthenics

• Building strength, balance, and mobility can help you learn some cool skills!

• Here's an idea of what one of my skill days might look like.

Lizzy's Calisthenics Skill Routine

• Warm up

  • I give my hip flexors and wrists special attention during warmups to avoid injury.

• Choose 5 of the below exercises for 3 rounds:

  • Hollow body hold (failure)

  • Planche progression

  • L sit progression

  • Handstand progression

  • Single-leg squat variations (ex. pistol squat)

  • Pull-up* progression

  • Dip progression

  • Bird Dogs or Dead Bugs

Progressions

• Progressions are incredibly important in the calisthenics world because they achievably help you build strength towards a goal movement. 

  • And even after you get the movement, they're still super useful! For example, I follow up my unassisted pull-ups with band-assisted pull-ups to get more volume in.

• *Check out my Instagram for progressions towards exercises like a push-up, a deadlift, and a pull-up (coming soon)!

Mobility

• In the long run, mobility (your ability to move freely and purposefully) is key to keeping your body pain-free and your quality of life high. I wish I got on my own fitness journey sooner, but if there was something I especially wish I started earlier, it would be this. 

  • Even if you're starting from ground zero, something is always better than nothing! The smallest bits of effort done consistently add up to good progress.

  • Make sure you don't push yourself too hard or fast.  You can feel the difference between "good" pain (discomfort) and "bad" pain (injury), so listen to your body.

• Add in some basic movements to decrease your risk of injury and up your game for other active movements!

Where to Start

• In most people, the main priority areas to focus on would be your ankles, hips, shoulders, and thoracic spine (T-spine).

  • See the page for Section IV for a video featuring a routine for these 4 main areas!

  • Note: as someone working on calisthenics, I've found that my biggest limiting areas mobility-wise have been my quads, hip flexors, and hamstrings.

• Also, we spend a lot of our day sitting down. Odds are, the average person will have tight and/or weak upper/lower quads, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, and calves. Depending on your posture, that can very well be the case for a lot of other muscles in your torso and even your arms. 

• Check out "Section IV: Stretch & GroupEx" for some full routine videos I highly recommend, and check out my Instagram for my own mobility routine (coming soon)!