In Ask Coach Tony, you can put my Operation Melt coaching to the test by asking me questions about how to achieve your goals.
Because a question asked by one is often a question had by many, I am regularly sharing these answers via the Operation Melt blog.
Amuse-Bouche Before we jump into today's post, I offer you this "dad joke" as a light "amuse-bouche" to entertain your mind before we get serious. Like any other amuse-bouche, you may hate it, but it is worth every penny you paid for it, right? Why do people love the way the earth rotates? It really makes their day!
A Look Behind The Scenes: My Real-life, Practical Exercise Routine
Coach Tony: I have been a follower for a while, and you used to share lots of details about your personal fitness journey. Over the years, you have intentionally shifted focus, but I miss having that glimpse into a real-life fitness routine. Could you please share a glimpse into your daily/weekly exercise routine so we can see how you stay fit?
You are absolutely right about me shifting the focus of the Operation Melt blog. The blog that started out as being all about me and my journey evolved to focus on helping you with your journey to achieve your goals. This evolution means that I share fewer details of how I continue my fitness journey … though I work some occasionally.
I’ll start by saying that my exercise routine focuses on three main categories of exercise:
- Walking
- Running
- Lifting
Each of these areas contributes to my overall fitness picture differently:
- Walking is intended to keep me moving and, to some extent, entertained as I explore my neighborhood and city and indulge in people-watching.
- Running is about really challenging and pushing myself using a hard workout (while getting faster and “better” at running).
- Weightlifting is about cross-training, muscle development and a different way to push myself (lifting heavy brah!).
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention a crucial fourth category: rest. Since I embarked on my weight loss journey, I went big on exercise to compensate for my previously sedentary lifestyle. Unfortunately, I have never been good about deliberately including rest in my routine and frequently end up in “over-training” status. While I am getting better at incorporating rest into my routine, I still have some work to do.
Ok, enough about the categories… let’s talk about my routine.
The anchor point around which I build my weekly routine is my #Sweaturday long run. Every Saturday morning, I go for a long run of five or more miles, usually 10k (6.22 miles) or more. The only time this doesn’t happen is if I plan to run a race on Sunday (approximately monthly), in which case I will likely do yoga on Saturday instead.
Using #Sweaturday run as an anchor and my personal rule of not running on consecutive days, I will work in two more runs each week. I usually do an easy run on Monday and a more challenging run on Wednesday with my run club (both are about 5k distances). I also try to work in some short speed work some other time through the week (intervals of sprints paired with waking or slow runs). On average, I run between ten and fifteen miles each week.
After figuring out my running schedule, I build a plan for weightlifting. This plan varies based on whether I am in Columbus, with access to my gym (The Fitness Loft), or at Indian Lake, where I only have limited equipment at home.
In Columbus, I have a personal training session once per week (usually Tuesday) and a solo workout on Thursday or Friday. My training session usually focuses on chest, shoulders and arm exercises; my solo session focuses on arms, back and lower body.
At the lake, my solo workouts use bands and dumbbells. I do one workout focused on arms and upper body, and another focused on arms and lower body.
You may have noticed that all workouts include arm exercises – that’s intentional. In May, I set a goal (yes, a SMART goal) to work on building my biceps, and I have already seen an increase, so it’s working.
The final part of my exercise regime is walking.
When do I walk? Almost constantly!
I walk for coffee, chat with friends on the phone, attend work meetings, go to lunch or dinner and listen to podcasts and audiobooks. I walk a lot. It’s not a vigorous form of exercise, but it is movement.
My walking and running result in an average of 12,000 to 20,000 steps daily and sometimes even more!
So… when do I rest?
I try to make Sunday a full rest day unless I have a race. On rest days, I focus my “exercise” time on my coaching clients: preparing session agendas and recaps and doing weekly reviews and check-in emails.
Am I entirely satisfied with my routine? Not exactly.
- I’d like to increase my weight training to three times per week.
- I would also like to get more planful and deliberate with my running and start embracing a formal training plan.
- I would also like to potentially decrease my total exercise load and get another rest day.
Despite these potential upgrades, I understand that my workout plan, like every other part of my life, is a work in progress. I adjust it often, including listening to my body and changing things when my body needs that. I’m also not afraid to cut a run short when it sucks (like ninety degrees with two thousand percent humidity)!
One last thing to share is that I regularly try new things, experiment and mix things up to find my sweet spot of workouts and to keep my routine interesting. For example, just last week, I started working to boost how much anaerobic exercise I am doing. So I decided to try jumping rope for the first time in thirty years… it went just as well as you would expect, but I’ll keep trying.
There you have it… this is the workout routine that works for me except when it doesn’t.
How did I create this routing? Like many other facets of life, my trick to building the ideal routine has been to follow my six-step process to project managing your life:
- Set SMART goals: I know what I am trying to accomplish, why and how to measure it.
- Build a plan that works for you: I have a routine that works for what I want to do now, and I adjust it often.
- Measure progress everyday: I track my exercise, measure aerobic and anaerobic fitness, measure running mileage and average fast pace and take regular measurements of my biceps.
- Expect and plan ahead for problems: there are times when I’m not feeling my regular routine and am ready to mix it up and leverage my self-motivation techniques to keep me on track. When I am not on track, I forgive myself and get back to it when I can.
- Don’t go it alone: I don’t do anything that matters to me alone. I work with a trainer, run with a running club and seek lots of input and ideas for my routine.
- Enjoy the journey: I have lots of ways to keep my exercise routine interesting, and I have fun with it. I’m not only exercising to achieve a specific goal; a healthy life of fitness and exercise is my goal. Plus, you can ask my wife how many times I randomly flex and talk about the gun show… life’s better when with laughter!
Do you have a workout routine that works for you? I’d love to know what works for you.
Don’t have a routine yet? I am a Master Life Coach and a Health coach, and I can help you use project management to set your goals and build your plan. Let’s talk! Please visit the Operation Melt coaching page and submit a non-obligation inquiry form.
Ask Me Anything!
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Meet Coach Tony
My name is Coach Tony, and I am a coach, author and project manager on a mission. I am working to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.
I almost allowed one of my biggest life goals to die without ever being attempted for forty years. My goal almost died, not of failure but of loneliness. But, I took a risk and leveraged a simple, logical process that helped me wildly exceed my goal.
I transformed my life, and you can do the same with the help of Operation Melt.
Operation Melt provides engaging, practical content and hands-on coaching to inspire, motivate and equip project managers and other left-brained high-achievers to pursue and accomplish their biggest goals.
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