I posted last week that for lent instead of giving up something i would commit to exercising every day. 

What’s important to remember though is not every workout needs to be go hard or go home. In fact none of them have to be if that’s not your style.

My goal of fitness is to be an all rounder. To have a functional, adaptable body, with good motor control and awareness that can cope with the demands I place on it. That may be riding, yard work, dog agility or something fun I’ve never tried before. 

That doesn’t come from one set of specific exercises. 

So in my 7 day exercise plan there will be a combination of strength, cardio, stretching, high intensity, low intensity, high impact and low impact activities that give my body the chance to challenge itself but also not overload itself. 

For me that includes X Trainer as my high intensity but fairly low impact cardio. A boxing class as high impact cardio; with a little bit of strength work in there too as there is always a circuit at the end. 

A strength workout to focus purely on moving under load for stability gains. 

A yoga workout for mobility and also mindfulness in connecting with my body and engaging in breath work.

I just added in swimming as another low impact cardio workout. 

Then in between I’ll do what i feel my body and brain needs on the day. So if I feel like jumping on the X Trainer I will, but as was Tuesday I did a 30 minute dance workout on YouTube but it could also have been a Pilates session, another strength workout or whatever I fancy based on how my brain and body feels that day. 

This mix means I can balance hard days and easy days which are essentially rest days but my body really does feel better if I move at least a little bit every day. 

If you prefer to train really hard and heavy then full rest days may be more appropriate for you with perhaps some gentle mobility work to keep you limber. It’s important to listen to your body, maybe go through some trial and error to find what makes you feel at your best. 

Whatever your preferred training style just ask yourself if it fits your goals and if it makes your body feel good and you won’t go far wrong.