Putting it all together

I still haven't found a good solution to post my workout logs somewhere that is easily viewed by readers. I am not sure how many people would want to see that but I thought it might be worth posting my general workout plan -- this is what I'm planning to do in the coming weeks. I find it hard to operate without having at least a loose plan -- it's hard to know how to fit everything in without one:

Sunday: 30 minute run in the morning; 1 hour swim practice in the evenings
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 30 minute run OR 45 minute strength training class (still trying to figure this out)
Wednesday: 45 minute Pilates/Yoga mat class
Thursday: 30 minute run in the morning, 1 hour Pilates Reformer in the evening
Friday: 30-45 minute TRX class followed by 45 minute Group Cycling class
Saturday: Pilates Reformer

If you're just starting out on a workout program, this might seem like a lot of stuff, but believe me, I built up to this gradually. I spent a full year just going for morning walks before I ever tried to run, for example. I plan to do a post later on starting out, but my basic advice is just this: Start with what you like. Start small and work up to more when you're ready. Make it fun.

There are probably also hard-core athletes thinking -- Where are the long workouts? Where are the heavy weights? This time of year, I really just try to keep it fun. For me, fun is doing a lot of different things. And since I don't love to do traditional strength training in the gym, I do it in classes so that I get guidance from the instructor and have other people there to make it social. As far as the runs go, fun is keeping them shorter and picking up the pace a bit -- that also helps keep me from getting too cold.

There are some weak spots here -- just because of the way classes have worked out, I have a lot of strength-oriented things late in the week but not a lot earlier in the week. I think because I'm using body weight and not doing heavy-duty lifting for this strength training, it's probably OK to stack things up and then get my rest early in the week. I don't tend to be very sore after any of these workouts except TRX, which is the most challenging.

This past week I took Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off working out and skipped my Thursday run because I had a cold. I am planning to get a run in this morning but will take it pretty easy since it's been a while.

I know a lot of people don't plan rest days, but I like to have it in the schedule so it doesn't just feel like I skipped a workout. I will sometimes do a walk on my rest day if I feel restless and want some activity.

Oddly enough, I feel like I'm making more progress on weight loss since I scaled back on my long runs. Has anyone else noticed this weird phenomenon? I really think it's a combination of being more conscious of my food intake (no long runs to justify a "what the heck" attitude) and adding in strength training. I'd be curious to know what other people are doing for their workouts. Do you have a plan or just go by feel on a day-to-day basis? Do you stick to one activity or mix it up? Do you plan rest days?