134. Building a Body You Love: How I Create Effective Workout Programming

And then this will also kind of give you some tips on how to set up your own and you can kind of take a look at what I do and why and translate that into your goals , your routine , your life , if you want to . There are a lot of different types of training .

There are a lot of different ways to set up your week for success , as far as how many days you want to work out a week , as far as what you want those workouts to look like . So there's no right or wrong answer . But I think it's important for me to talk about how I do it , because I want to be very transparent about what I'm doing and why .

So I've actually gotten a couple of messages saying like can you do an episode on why you do full body workouts , why you set your workouts up the way that you do , and so I'm excited to talk about that today . So up until the last few years , I started with Beachbody Programming , as you probably know .

Unless this is your first episode , then welcome Hi hello . But I started with Beachbody Programming , as you probably know . Unless this is your first episode , then welcome Hi hello . But I started with Beachbody Programming Before that . I was just a runner . All through high school I was a runner and after having kids I was a runner . I loved to run .

I really didn't understand fitness or working out . I liked to run and I just kind of assumed that if I wanted to look good , I would run . I didn't know anything about lifting weights or anything at all , so I was just a runner . And then I kind of realized that the ladies that had a body that I wanted strong build were working out .

So I started with P90X , loved that , moved into different beach body programs , started to realize that I really loved weightlifting and not so much cardio , and I really liked the way that my body changed with weightlifting and how I felt and even mentally . So I really liked that . I switched from Beachbody coaching .

After that I didn't really want to do the workouts anymore . I just didn't vibe with that . So I went to bodybuildingcom and I really learned to work out instead of following a video like Beachbody has you do . I learned to just take the movements and do them on my own . So that was a shift .

If you are a Beachbody lover or in the past you were and you go from even I have Beachbody ladies start to do my workouts and they're like oh , I'm used to following an instructor in the gym or following a class or following a video on YouTube or the new body workouts , and now it's just on an app where it has the movement and I can listen to a podcast

and I can listen to music and it's . You know it's different but it's exciting and it also taught me , I should say , and it teaches you to do it on your own . You don't have to rely on the instructor , you don't have to rely on the video . You can do it on vacation , you can do it outside , you can do it at home .

Like it takes matters into your own hands and that also created a lot of confidence for me .

So I went from Beachbody following videos to bodybuildingcom and learned how to just execute workouts on my own and then , after that , I really ventured into just this job , this career , for myself and of course , I continued to grow and what these workouts looked like , basically for bodybuildingcom and Beachbody .

They were five days a week and they were more muscle group specific , meaning one day I'm doing buys and tries , the next day I'm doing shoulders and back and the next day I'm doing , you know , chest and core , the next day I'm doing lower body , maybe hams and quads , I you know it's . It's just , it was very muscle group specific .

There was like a leg day and it was an upper body day . So that's very different to what I'm doing now . How this switched was I loved my body then , it was fine , it was okay . But I started to realize that my mind wanders on upper body day . I'm different than a lot of people in this . I love leg day and a lot of my clients do not .

So I think a lot of us differ in that that's fine . I love leg day and a lot of my clients do not . So I think and a lot of us differ in that that's fine . I love leg day . I really can grind and focus and it's exciting and I'm exhausted after I do a set , so the rest times are great .

When I'm doing upper body , I get very , very bored and my mind starts to wander and I'm just thinking like I could just do some squats , I could just add something else in here . So , and it's probably because my upper body just isn't as strong , so it's not like as fun and exciting for me .

But what I started noticing was that I really , really liked full body workouts .

What I started to do was , on my leg days , I would add in some upper body so that I was getting I was training more upper body because it's just not fun for me and , honestly , if there's a day of the week I was going to skip , it was going to be buys and tries , like I don't even want to do that .

No , thank you , it sounds not even worth my time . So I started adding those movements that I don't like those upper body days , if you will onto my lower body days so that I would actually do it .

And so I really realized that , wow , for my brain sake and for my body , honestly , because I was actually doing upper body movements that I would typically just walk away from , to be quite honest , I was noticing my body looked better and I felt better .

I was more excited for my workout when it wasn't just upper body or just lower body In alignment with that . It kind of just worked out to . I guess all the stars aligned it just worked out . Honestly , I decided a couple years ago that I wanted to take a fall and winter and really build . This was completely out of my comfort zone .

I was still focused on being smaller , no-transcript I but I wanted to do something different . I felt like I was stuck and I also just didn't want to take the time to put my own programming together . I wanted to hire a coach or purchase a program that I could just do and not think about it .

What program I started doing was the Booty by Brett program by Brett Contreras . He is freaking amazing . I think his program is still called that .

But essentially this is something that I really fell in love with and started to tweak a little bit for my own goals , and now this is exactly what I found to work for my own life and I'm going to kind of get into this . So what I typically do it's five days a week is what I set it up for .

I was also finding that in my five days a week as far as like if I had to miss a day , like I said , the days I was going to miss were going to be the buys and tries . When we were doing P90X , if I was going to miss a day , it was that stinking yoga that was hour and 30 minutes long . I'm like I'll just skip that , right .

So if there was a week where I couldn't work out five days a week which was pretty common a couple of years ago because my kids were just in all kinds of stuff and it was super busy I started noticing that I was consistently missing a workout every day and I'm like I just or every week .

I need to get it to four days a week so that I can consistently do them , and then , if I can get in a fifth , perfect . And so I also realized , by doing four days a week , I wanted them to be only full body . So by doing this Booty by Brett program , what he has you do is you do three , basically compound movements .

We're going to get into these three days of compound movements and then two days of glute work . It's Booty by Brett , right ? That's his very main focus . Of course , he's very , very well-rounded and I built an amazing body during the time that I was doing his workouts .

The only thing I didn't like about it for myself was that it was continuously progressive overload , and so that's why I have taken that concept and what really worked for me and I've pulled things that I really liked from his programming and things that I liked from my programming and other programs that I've seen , of course , and made this really , really work for

myself .

So what happened was when I was because these are very heavy compound movements that I was doing in his programming and this is how you build muscle you lift very heavy , okay , so it's progressive overload , week after week after week after week , and then , of course , a deload week in the beginning , and then you progressive overload again and again and again .

I was squatting very heavy , I was hip thrusting very heavy and I was doing these . Every other day was a glute day , isolation moves , so very small movements , but it was a lot of posterior chain , meaning the backside of my body .

I injured Myself essentially I wouldn't say maybe injured , like it's not a technical injury , I don't think I pulled at something or whatever , but I became very unflexible and my glutes , my hams , my back , I had a lot of back pain , like it . Just it was too much for me and I had to scale back somehow .

So what I essentially took from that programming and things that I liked was I loved having my compound movements on certain days and I like having my isolation movements on certain days . So let's talk about that really quickly .

So foundation and accessory days is what I started calling my own workouts , foundation days mainly being compound movements and accessory days mainly being isolation movements . These are the two main classifications of exercises compound exercises and isolation exercises . A compound exercise is one that uses multiple muscle groups at the same time .

So we're talking about the squat . It uses many muscles right in your legs , your lower body , so it's using your quads . It's using your hamstrings . It's using your calves . It's using your glutes . It's also using your core , your abs . It's using your lower back . So a squat is a compound movement because it's working multiple muscle groups at the same time .

Other compound movements are , like you can squats , deadlifts , lunges , pull-ups , push-ups , bench press , shoulder press , overhead press , back , rows , dips , lat pull-downs , lying pull-overs I need to do those more often actually . So those are compound exercises , compound , using more than one muscle group at the same time .

Benefits of compound movements just to get kind of detailed here , because we love our compound movements . This is how you're going to build your body . This is how I recomped . This is how you get stronger . This is how you gain that fitness quality . Compound movements are so good for you . You burn more calories per exercise because more muscles are being used .

Obviously , it allows you to work more muscles in a short time frame because it increases the efficiency of your workout . For me , doing squats and then doing a bicep curl after that's going to be harder than just doing buys and tries a day . For me , it just that works so much better . I love the feeling of that .

Compound movements can also help to improve coordination and balance . They help to improve your joint mobility and stability , even just during the day . Right , a lot of people throw a hip out or hurt their back because they're just bending over to pick something up .

When you learn to bend over in proper form in a squat , in a deadlift , in a single leg deadlift , these are movements that you do every single day . That can help you . It also increases your heart rate during strength training , which helps the cardiovascular system win-win . So you're breathing very , very heavy when you're doing these movements .

So , yeah , it can kind of be like cardio . People always think lifting weights isn't enough . It is , if you do it the correct way . It also allows you to exercise the same muscle group for longer periods of time with lower levels of fatigue .

I love that because I really want to be able to work my muscles longer and even more days in a row , than just having these isolation movements or having an upper day and a lower day .

I want to be able to maybe do squats every or work my legs I should say work my glutes a little bit four days a week rather than just two days a week , and these exercises help with that . And compound movements also allow you to lift heavier weights and it allows you to build strength quicker because you are able to lift heavy .

These are compound movements , working your entire body essentially , and so it just it increases your strength faster . Isolation movements , on the other hand , tend to focus on a single muscle or muscle group . So a good example of this would be a bicep curl . Technically , when you are standing doing a regular bicep curl , you are recruiting your triceps to help .

They would be a helping muscle group . So you're working your bicep and your tricep , but it's not a compound movement in the sense that you're not working five different muscle groups at the same time . So isolation is what I do for accessory days and that helps to break it up .

So right now , currently , to kind of bring this back to what I'm doing , just to kind of explain I wanted to give a little technicality there as to what they're called . So I and even this , this goes into Fit Club . So I personally do three full body foundation days . This is nice because these are my foundation movements , are my compound movements .

So I'm doing squats , I'm doing deadlifts , I'm doing chest press , I'm doing back pull downs , I'm doing compound movements on these days Mainly . I will also sneak in a couple isolation movements at the end just to kind of wind down my workout . I'll kind of chill out a little bit before I stretch .

So my foundation days are three days a week and , yes , I do always have a day in between my foundation days . So I'm going to do a very big heavy compound foundation day and then I'm going to have an accessory day or a rest day . I don't ever not , I shouldn't say ever I hardly ever do them back to back .

If I miss something , we're going out of town and I have to , I will , but it's going to be hard because those are my heavy days . Then I have two accessory days in between . So three foundation days and two accessory days . My accessory days are also full body mainly , but they are smaller movements .

So I'm working my biceps , I'm working my triceps , I'm working my glutes , but with very , very simple movements tricep kickbacks , I'm doing bicep curls , I'm doing a glute bridge is still working your glutes and your hamstrings , but it's not working so many things at the same time . Or maybe donkey kickbacks .

So very , very small muscle groups lateral raises , things like that . Smaller muscle groups , smaller movements . This is still a very productive workout . It's just not working my main muscle groups . So it gives my large muscle groups , it gives them time to rest and recover while still working on muscles that I want right .

This works very nicely because if there is a day or a week where I can only get in three days of workouts , I'm still going to hit my compound movements , I'm still going to hit my foundation days and get in . That's going to be a full week of working out .

If I can only work out three days a week , that is enough to change your body , that is enough to build muscle . But you need to be doing the right things . You can't just be doing bicep curls and tricep kickbacks and a couple core movements and go for a run three days a week and expect to build muscle . You have to be doing compound movements .

So if you are looking to improve your overall strength which I was and am and get in an efficient and functional workout which I always am , then a workout full of compound exercises it's going to be what you need . Those are my foundation days .

So I do those three days a week If I have goals , and if you have goals that are more specific , then isolation is often what's going to get you there . So you want to be doing compound movements for your overall health , to build strong body . I've talked before about an hourglass shape .

You want to build out your shoulders and you want to build out your glutes to make your waist seem smaller . These compound movements are exactly how you're going to do that . And then we're going to add on some lats and we're going to add on some shoulders .

We're going to add on some biceps and we're going to add on some calves those types of things to really work those smaller muscle groups , because they matter . You want them to be shaped as well , but those aren't the foundation of your body and those aren't the foundation of your workouts .

A program that incorporates both of those movements compound and isolation is what you really really want . So this is what I absolutely do . This is how I'm able to work out three days a week sometimes .

This is how I'm able to work out four days a week sometimes because I would do my three foundational workouts and one accessory day , and then , if I can work out five days a week , I'm doing my three foundations and I'm doing both accessories . This is also how I make my Fit Club membership work for so many people .

So previously in Fit Club I was kind of doing it how everybody wanted it to be . I was doing the five days a week , the separated muscle groups , and that worked until I just honestly felt a disconnect from myself with the programming because it does absolutely work .

But a lot of people can't work out five days a week every single week , and then they're finding that they're missing a day and they're like I can't ever make this up , I'm not catching up and honestly it just kind of made me feel like like shit . I was like you don't even have to work out five days a week Like I'm . I have girls that are in college .

I have girls that are new mamas . I have girls that are working and new mamas and they have teenagers and we're I mean we are busy people and honestly , you don't have to work out five days a week and so I'm like why don't I just have my clients work out like I'm working out and it's worked out really , really well ?

So that's how I set up my Fit Club Actually currently in Fit Club , just because I do change things up a little bit , I get bored with things , my clients get bored with things . I will almost always keep in Fit Club and for myself our three full body functional movement days . So our foundational days okay , those will always be there .

And if I have clients that can only work out three days a week , I'm like that is what you should do . This month for our power programming , we're doing our three foundational full bodies and an upper day and a lower day . So if you can only work out three days a week , you're still doing your foundations .

If you can work out four days a week , I'm changing it . You're going to do an upper day , a lower day and two foundational workouts . This is just something I'm doing for the power programming . It's mixing it up a little bit .

I do have clients that like an upper day and a lower day and I think it's kind of fun to mix it up , but these are still very much accessory days , because on the foundational days they're doing heavy squats , heavy deadlifts , things like that .

So on the lower body day and the upper body day it's not so much chest press and things like that , it's those accessory muscle groups . But anyway , I hope you get the gist there .

I wanted to just explain how I'm doing that , what that looks like , because I just think a lot of ladies on Instagram , especially , and I think I guess just a lot of people in general , do a five-day split and you don't have to do that . I actually got better results . This is something I want to talk about too .

I got better results when I did this full body programming , partly because I enjoyed it . So I probably put in a little more effort , to be honest , also because if I had to miss a day , I didn't feel bad . I could honestly put both of my accessory workouts into one workout , because they're accessory , they're not getting my heart rate up as much .

They're hard , yes , but it's smaller muscle groups , so I could do both of those on one day if I needed to , something that I found for myself with having autoimmune issues , and I think you'll really like this .

If you are someone who has autoimmune issues or if you just struggle with fatigue , if you are kind of stressed , depressed mental health stuff , if you have body aches , any kind of that stuff all ties together for me . That's why I kind of lumped it together .

But I would find that after a lower body day I would be so sore that I could hardly walk , and for one . You're not supposed to be that sore after a workout , especially after working out . As long as I have been Two .

Then if I had something to do the next , yeah , I mean like if you're in the beginning of your workout phase , if you're in the beginning of your fitness journey , you're going to be freaking sore . Don't get me wrong . But you know , 15 years in I should not be not able to walk . That's not a sign of a good workout , that's too much .

And so for me personally , I knew it was just my body not able to recover .

When I started doing these full body workouts , I noticed that I could do a set of heavy squats and then I could do a set of heavy chest press , so that I'm giving my legs a break , and then I could do a set of heavy deadlifts , and then I could do a set of heavy dead lifts and then I could do a set of heavy back pulls .

So my legs are getting extra rest . So even if I'm doing three or four let's say , three lower body movements that are heavy , compound and three upper body movements that are heavy and compound , then I have a day of accessory work in between . Then the next day I'm working again heavy three leg movements , heavy three upper body movements .

I'm recovered and I'm able to lift heavy consistently . For me it really helped with my aches and my pains , it helped with my recovery and that was really important .

And I find that with a lot of my clients when they come to me and they're struggling with soreness or just , you know , getting things done and how they feel , and we have like a lot of diet issues , gut issues , digestion issues that play into these things , and so that's another reason I think these full body workouts really really worked so well for me ,

because I was able to rest and recover and my body just felt so much better doing it this way and I noticed like damn , I'm not . Yes , I'm super sore . I was almost more sore though , because I was lifting too heavy . I didn't need to be progressively overloading that much .

So I kind of scaled back and I also kind of incorporated instead of just doing the glute work on the two days a week and the other booty by Brett programming I changed that to accessories because I wanted to work my glutes , yes , and isolation movements , but I also wanted to work my biceps and my triceps and my core .

So I definitely shifted things to work for myself and I just I've loved it so much . I think this is maybe year three , maybe four , that I've done it this way and I just I've loved it so much . I think this is maybe year three , maybe four , that I've done it this way and I just love it . I don't see myself going back to any other way .

Really , I feel really confident . Even if I work out three days a week , I usually can get in four . But even if I did three days a week and then I just if I was a runner and I liked to run , or a lot of my clients will do two workout classes a week and then they can do my foundational workouts three days a week .

It really , really helps you to be able to get the body you want , work the muscle groups that needed to be worked , shape your body as well as enjoy running , biking , workout classes , cycle whatever . So it really just works . And so I wanted to explain my own programming , a little bit of the scientific methods behind it , but also why it works for me .

A lot of this . Obviously , I'm unfucking your fitness , so a lot of this is what works for me . It's not necessarily the science behind it . If I'm like I feel better doing it and I'm getting results , that's all I genuinely care about .

Yeah , I understand there's compound and isolation , but if I'm feeling great doing it and my body's looking great and why would I change it ? Right ? This fits into my life , it fits into my routine and I like how I look and feel . So just something to think about .

If you're wanting to incorporate this into your own workouts , I've explained to you what compound and isolation movements are . You can do that for yourself . You can do them on the same day , it's just I don't . And then , if you are looking for a program to follow that follows this method , you can join my Fit Club membership .

This is exactly what we do inside of that . You can go to my website to sign up for that and , yeah , I hope this is really helpful .