Posted by Marianne in Articles, Other, Workouts | 25 Comments
Weekly Training Journal 1 | My Training Routine
Hey everyone,
As some of you will know from recent updates, I have been training more often in the gym these last few weeks and I am loving it 
I still try and do one home workout per week (and this will be increasing again soon), but I have also been doing more HIIT Cardio and two Kettlebell Classes per week (time permitting). I have been asked to provide you with a Journal/Log of what I do in the gym, so I will try each week to write a summary of what I did.
What I won’t do is write out a program because honestly that takes time (and Trainers get paid for that), so it’s not very fair to expect me to write out a whole program of my own training (for one I don’t write myself a program, I have it in my head), and another thing is I don’t advise you to blindly follow what I am doing, at the level I am doing it without proper training, progression etc – plus I know my training probably needs more organisation. This is very important! If I was to write out how to progress and advice on weights, sets and reps, it would take a lot more work. The purpose of this journal is to show you an example of the exercises I am currently working on. You need to gauge what is important to YOU right now.
If there is anyone out there who IS wanting a full Progressive Strength Program for home training combined with gym-based work, then stay tuned because I might just have something in the pipeline 
with a certain Beautiful Badass! *cat out of bag* 
Now on with the first installment of my Training Journal. I am starting with a look back at last weeks training. You will see that I did way too much!
Monday
I trained twice; session 1 was a Short Gym Circuit, session 2 was a Kettlebell Class.
My gym circuit consisted of 3 rounds of the following:
- Bulgarian Split Squats (R1: 2x 10kg DBs x 12 reps, R2: 2x12kg DBs x 10 reps, R3: 2x15kg DBs x 6 reps)
- Single Leg RDLs (each round with 2 x 20kg KBs x 6 reps)
- Single Leg Hip Thrusts (each round 12 reps)
Then I alternated between Weighted Dips and Weighted Chin-Ups.
- Chin-Ups: BW x 8 reps, 5kg x 4 reps, 7.5kg x 2 sets of 2 reps
- Dips: BW x 10 reps, 5kg x 8 reps, 7.5kg x 6 reps, 10kg x 4 reps (PR), 12.5kg (PR) x 2 sets of 2 reps
Tuesday
Kettlebell Pyramid Circuit Workout
Wednesday
Trained twice again (bad of me I know!). Session 1 was 20 mins HIIT on StairMaster, then session 2 was KB Class in the evening.
Thursday
Partnered up with a friend and busted out an awesome strength session of the following:
- Front Loaded Reverse Lunges – SET 1: 35kg x 12 reps (warm up), SET 2: 40kg x 10 reps, SET 3: 45kg x 8 reps, SET 4: 50kg (PR) x 5 reps, SET 5 (PR): 55kg x 3 reps
- Glute Bridges – SET 1: 90kg x 12 reps, SET 2: 100kg x 12 reps, SET 3: 110kg x 10 reps, SET 4: 110 x 10 reps
- Standing Barbell Overhead Press (eek) – SET 1: Bar only (20kg) x 10/12 reps, SET 2: 25kg x 7 reps, SET 3: 27.5kg x 4 reps (shoulders busted with this one)
- Dips – SET 1: BW x 10 reps, SET 2: 5kg x 8 reps, SET 3: 7.5kg x 5 reps, SET 4: 10kg x 4 reps, SET 5: 12.5kg x 3 reps (PR)
Friday
Rested
Saturday
Survival Deadlift Challenge and learned to Bench Press.
- Sumo Deadlifts – SET 1: 60kg x 8 reps, SET 2: 70kg x 6 reps, SET 3: 80kg x 4 reps, SET 4: (challenge set) 85kg x 12 reps, SET 5: 90kg x 3 singles, SET 6: 100kg x 3 singles.
- Bench Press – SET 1: 20kg (bar only to learn) x 10 reps or so, SET 2: 25kg x 8 reps, SET 3: 30kg x 6 reps, SET 4: 35kg x 5 reps, SET 5: 40kg x 3 reps – these felt awesome, so I will be trying them again soon!
Sunday
I know I know, crazy week’s training. I went to the gym AGAIN!
- Back Squats (box) – SET 1: 40kg x 12 reps, SET 2: 45kg x 10 reps, SET 3: 50kg x 6 reps, SET 4: 55kg x 4 reps, SET 5: 60kg x 2 reps, SET 6: 65kg x 2 reps
- RDLs – SET 1: 40kg x 10 reps, SET 2: 50kg x 6 reps, SET 3: 50kg x 6 reps
- Glute Bridges – SET 1: 90kg x 12 reps, SET 2: 100kg x 10 reps, SET 3: 110kg x 8 reps, SET 4: 120kg x 5 reps
- Chin-Ups – MAX REPS attempt x 9.5 AGAIN!!, then SET 2: with 5kg x 3 reps, SET 3: 5kg x 2 reps
- Taught someone glute bridges
Then filmed Kettlebell of Belfast City | Titanic Quarter Workout. But I only got in one round.
What I didn’t do were any front squats, so I will have to do them this weekend and see any improvements from the last time … I will be a Quadzilla!!
I hope this is helpful in some way
One thing that I noticed is that my work-sets start way too low, so I end up doing far too many sets. That said, I respond well to high volume like this because my nervous system get really fired up and I could go on forever when I am in that mood. I will tinker with the sets and see if it improves my top weights by not risking fatigue.
Cheers
Marianne
Intermittent Fasting:
Learn and Train:
Im anxious to see what u and the rest of the Beautiful Badass ladies have in store! Keep up the great work!
BEAUTIFUL BADASS?! BRET CONTRERAS? ASS GUY? I MEAN GLUTE GUY..LOL BRET IS GREAT! AND YOU ARE AWESOME! : )
I’m talkin the creator of Beautiful Badass … Ms Nia Shanks.
This is great, thanks for posting. I’ve really got to structure my training schedule so this will really help.
Have a good weekend.
Thank you so much!! Really useful
Thanks for sharing this ! I know I asked for it:). It was mainly to see how often you do it and what type of training. Keep doing it if you don’t mind !
I will Satya. It will actually help me keep track of things. I’m so lazy when it comes to actually measuring my progress in all areas – I just love to keep training
Hi there,
I’m a fairly fit but feel overweight 60 year young lady. I train hard every session I do.
yesterday I bench pressed 40k and rom deadlift 70k x 5 each I feel great tday but would love some advise on losing body fay so I can show off these muscles ….please help xx
It can be a slow process Reedie, because you don’t want to go into an extreme calorie deficit to achieve the fat loss as this would be at the expense of your muscle and strength. However you can try to cycle the calories, so you eat more on the days you do more and less on rest days. Eating in a deficit or fasting 2 days per week can be a good way to help lose body fat. As long as you are training well, resting appropriately and eating mindfully, you will hopefully see a reduction in body fat. That being said, I would warn you that hormonal conditions at 60 years young MAY make losing body fat more of a challenge. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try
Keep doing what you’re doing with the weights, because you are a true inspiration for us all!! xo
This post is interesting to me. I too would love to know how to put on muscle, but lose fat at the same time.
I LOVE that Reedie is 60 and training like a Bad Ass. An inspiration for sure!
I am 40, quite long and lanky (5’7.5″ tall and 119lbs) so putting on muscle has not been an easy task for me.
I put on 15 lbs during my 1st pregnancy, and only 12 during my 2nd. It is NOT easy for me to put on weight, so I am SO moved and inspired by this site to lift heavy.
With that being said, just because I am thin, does not mean I have a nice body. I am pretty proud of some of it – I’ve worked hard, got my flat stomach back, but my behind and back of my thighs I HATE. HOW do you get rid of fat there, but build muscle?
Of course I am utterly amazed at your workout log. You are a BAD ASS!!!!
Hey Gina! Sorry it took be ages to get to your question.
Here’s the problem your question poses: In order to build muscle you need to be in a calorie surplus – in order to burn fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit. These two goals contradict each other in terms of training too, so there is no easy way to do both at the same time. However there is hope for you. From what you describe, it sounds like you are a typical hard-gainer as you say it is difficult for you to gain weight. Therefore here are a few tips:
1) Put fat loss out of your head and focus on building muscle, because I do not believe fat is your issue – I think you just need to tighten things up.
2) eat more calories than you burn
3) do less cardio – restrict any cardio you do to 20 mins MAX and only do it at most twice per week.
4) Lift weights and ensure your focus is progressive overload – don’t be afraid to go heavier.
If you are resistance training (and going heaver with a lower rep range) your body will start adapting and it will build more muscle with the additional calories you provide. Being a hard-gainer means that you have a naturally high metabolism, so any cardio will just burn off the calories you need to build muscle – which is why I want you to keep cardio to a minimum.
When you are training with weights, focus on compound exercises, like squats, deadlifts, glute bridges, push ups, pull ups, overhead presses, rows and dips (or variations of these), try to lift challenging weights which keep the reps lower. This will make you build more muscle. Eat more calories in the form of fats or protein. It may only need to be 300 kcals extra per day that will see you gain. Also, ensure you have plenty of recovery days. Train smart, not more often, because remember that you will burn more calories the more you train.
What does your current training look like?
As for your trouble areas, I think you will notice a huge improvement in them by just following the advice above. Once you have more muscle on your frame, you will “tone” up your legs and butt. I don’t think you need to worry about fat loss. Focus on muscle gain and you will see better results
Try this approach for 6 – 8 weeks and then measure your results. Keep me posted on your progress and feel free to contact me if you need any help or you are worried about anything.
Does this help?
Thank you Marianne! This helps tremendously!
I have been more focused on fat loss as I thought that would help my problem areas more – but I see from your advice I should focus instead on heavier weight training.
I’ve recently been adding heavier weight training to my routine, and now will do so even more. I like to keep my strength training to 3x a week. I am a big yoga person too – I do that as well 3x times a week as it keeps me sane, flexible and I am a BIG believer that it prevents injury.
I am going to keep you posted on my progress and chart my results. I did post to you last week that I deadlifted my bodyweight and I added 5 more lbs this week, and will do so each week.
Thanks again for the advice. YOU RULE!
Great stuff Gina, I look forward to hearing your progress
Hi Marianne,
For starters that weeks training is fairly impressive!!:)
In the last 6 weeks I have got into kettlebell training and am really enjoying it. I have started with a 6kg and am now looking to increase the weight. Would you suggest going to a 12kg? I am thinking the jump of 6kg may be too much? Or should I go for a 10kg? Also, eventually I would like to have 2 kb’s the same weight – again would you suggest 12 or 16kgs for this?
Thanks
Hey Kat,
I’m trilled that you are enjoying your KB training! Normally people progress in 4kg increments, so 10kg makes the most sense. However, 12kg would probably serve you better in the longer term – so if possible I would test a 12kg to get a feel for the jump in weight and assess whether you think it’s too much. With regard to the double KBs – I would agree that 2 16kg Kettlebells makes the most sense. After the 12kg, you can progress to the 16kg and use a combination of a 12kg and 16kg in many double KB exercises, until you are ready for the double 16kgs. However it might be worth considering a single 16kg and use the money for a 20kg ?? Just a thought. It all depends on how you intend on training with them. You can do most of my workouts with just 1 KB, or double up mis-matched pairs
Thanks for your reply. I just can’t wait to be at least using 16kg kbs, but I know I will get there eventually! I came across your blog when looking on you tube for exercise ideas to do with kbs, and you have been such a great motivation ever since, so thanks heaps for what you do!
WOW girl you have superb recovery! Do you have a low level of stress in your life? I could never bounce back from a training regime like that these days! Training heavy more than 3x/wk and my performance plummets.
Oh I sure have stress in my life; I find training a great way to deal with it sometimes – especially right now. Considering I usually only train 4 times per week, this was excessive for me
Thank you Marianne so much for sharing this with us all! I have been so bored with my strength training and it is nice to see something new, well thought of and not just done “because that’s the way it’s always been done!”
Would be most grateful if you could keep these coming! xx
Hi Marianne,
Stupid question maybe, but in Monday’s workout are those the total number of reps or did you do, for instance, 12 single leg hip thrust for each leg and 12 Romanian split squats for each leg?
Thanks,
Nik
Yes, that means reps per side
So I did 12 reps each leg.
Hey that’s awesome. I really struggle with Romanian split squats, my balance is lousy.
Just thought I’d share my gym (barn lol) session with you ask your opinion on it.
Chin ups +7.5kg 8, +10kg 5, +12.5kg 3, +15kg 2
Dips (same weights and I super setted them) 8, 6, 5, 3
Barbell overhead press 45kg 8, 50kg 5(inc 2 pushes
) 55kg 2.5 pushes! lol
DLs 85kg 8, 105kg 6, 125kg(1.5xBW) 3
Felt like a good session, what are your thoughts?
Thanks as always.
I think it was a good workout! You got a lower body pulling exercise, upper body push pull. Don’t worry, your balance will improve, as will your OH Press
Mine is slowly improving. Some of it’s fear with me … fear of failing – but you can always push press it and negatively lower it 
Keep up the great Barn Workouts! Love’em!
In this article you mention full Progressive Strength Program for home training combined with gym-based work. I am very inetrested in this type of program. Can you point me in the direction of this article, I could not find it?
Dominique, this is a product Nia and I are working on (although it was put on the back-burner for a while), we are still planning to do it.
However I do design programs for people. Check out my services page at the top of the site. Or email me at mvk_82@hotmail.com if you are interested.
Cheers