Question about structuring an exercise regimen!

Beth Manoogian

I'm hoping one of the practitioners might offer some insight on this, but curious to see what other clients do as well...

Over the course of the week, I do FSx, Strength Solutions, Peloton cycling classes, and am attempting to get back into running after an injury though am still in the "rehab" phase of this. The Peloton classes are either 45 or 60 min in length, some are more endurance-based and others are more interval-based, and the intensity of my scheduled Peloton workouts is expected to steadily increase for the next 6 weeks. The running, if and when I am able to do it (stupid legs), is currently somewhere in the range of 15 min range with a slow progression.

I am someone that does not have a ton of free time, and also has injuries so I have to be thoughtful about how often and how intensely I work out. I know that if I don't take at least one rest day per week, bad things tend to happen, though mentally, I'd work out twice per day, every day, if I had the time and could guarantee I wouldn't injure myself.

I'm trying to figure out how best to structure my exercise regimen to a) maximize progress (GAINS!) and b) minimize my risk of further injury. After which type of exercise is it most beneficial to insert a rest day? And, if I want/need to combine two workouts into one day, which would be best to combine and in what order ? I'm not trying to break an ankle here...

I've played around with different options but I am wondering what the most scientific approach would be. Thanks!

Susan Horowitz

@Beth Manoogian no one is ever TRYING to break an ankle....it just happens to us talented ones! 😂🤣

Beth Manoogian

Mike Stack

@Beth Manoogian, the answer to your question really depends on how you define "gains;" does that mean reduction in body fat, increase in muscle mass, improvement in some type of performance? Understanding what gains means will help us better answer your question. Let us know and we'll be happy to provide the best answer we can!

Sawyer Paull-Baird

Yeah.. what Mike said. What is the number one priority for you right now? Improved performance with running? Peloton? Muscle gain? etc. That would dictate the advice. Also, what exact number of classes do you do over the course of the week?

Beth Manoogian

Thanks @Sawyer Paull-Baird and @Mike Stack for your responses. My current classes are: FSx x 2/week (Tues/Sat), SS x 1/week (Sun), and then I do two 45 min Peloton cycling classes and one 60 min Peloton cycling class per week. I would like to be able to add in rehab runs 1-3 times per week, 3 might be a lofty goal but these are short runs still at this point. My Peloton challenge that I am doing goes through the week before Christmas. I often work 6:30am-7pm on Wednesdays so Wednesdays are typically my rest day.

In terms of goals, I would absolutely LOVE to be able to run, as it is my favorite form of exercise, but I am not confident yet that this is a realistic goal. I am finishing up a round of physical therapy for my knees, but still having some pain, so I am not sure where that is going but I'd like to keep trying to work on that and find ways to work running into my schedule because it brings me so much joy (and b/c after my first year at AFS, I got a LOT faster and I want the chance to crush more PRs).

My other goals are to continue to get stronger (I FINALLY made it onto the white board in strength solutions, but I know I can do better), and try to prevent injury. I have no Peloton-specific goals, I am doing a "Power Zone" challenge which is based on my FTP and I expect that this will continue to naturally increase the more of these rides that I do. I don't have a target number in mind, I just need to get the rides done since it's a team challenge. Fat loss I know needs to happen but a) I'm not naïve enough to think I can out-exercise a bad diet and b) now that you guys have the last of my Halloween candy I can focus more on making sure my diet is supporting my fitness goals. This has been a stressful year with lots of unpleasant changes at work that have again sapped me of any free time, and I have let myself be less strict with my diet than I should have been. Fat loss will happen as long as I get back on track with that. As for "muscle gain" literally nothing I do seems to increase my muscle mass appreciably so I'm not sure that's a realistic goal, but if you have any other suggestions for that I'm happy to consider them!

Mike Stack

Thanks @Beth Manoogian! That’s helpful.

I think the first thing that probably needs to happen is to prioritize your goals. In reading your response it sounds like you have the following goals: (1) get back to pain-free running, (2) get stronger (which can certainly relate back to the goal of pain-free running), and (3) fat loss (although it sounds like fat loss is not a primary goal based on what you’re saying). So is the primary goal to get back to pain-free running?

The reason I’m so insistent on picking singular goal is two-fold: (1) most adult exercisers don’t have the time to dedicate to achieving multiple goals as the same time. We just have a limited number of hours per week we can exercise and devote to training. (2) Some goals are mutually exclusive. For example, gaining muscle might actually impair your ability to run injury free due to the type of workouts required for muscle gain being inherently damaging to the muscle (causing soreness and fatigue for runs). Fat loss (which requires a calorie/energy deficit) might not provide the adequate nutrition necessary to run well and injury-free.

In our experience, picking one primary goal and focusing all your programmatic efforts on it is the most effective way to ensure it’s achieved. That’s not to say you might not achieve other goals in the process (i.e., getting stronger might increase muscle mass marginally and running more might result in some fat loss), but these goals would be more of a side effect of working towards the primary goal.

With all of that said, what is your number goal/priority right now? If you let us know that it we can provide more specific programmatic direction.

Sawyer Paull-Baird

Hey Beth-

I agree with Mike about prioritizing one goal above others. That decision sort of informs how we would structure your program.

For example, say you decide that getting stronger is your primary goal (you'd want to define that a bit more specifically so you can measure it). We would prioritize your workouts in a way that allowed you to go into your SS classes most rested, and not worry as much about your performance in Peloton.

Conversely, if your goal was related to Peloton, or running, we'd structure it in the opposite way.

When someone is doing as much exercise as you are, there is no way to structure the routine in a way where every single exercise bout is going to be entered feeling rested and ready to perform 100%. You always have to sort of sacrifice intensity in certain areas so you can go all out in the others, else you really risk injury trying to go 100% all of the time.

Does that make sense?

As an aside, if you're really struggling choosing one goal, I would recommend choosing the one that has the most cross-over benefits to the others. Which of your goals, if focused on slightly more exclusively, would potentially have the most broad/wide-ranging effect?

Sawyer

Mike Stack

@Beth Manoogian, I want to make sure we didn't forget about your answer to the question you asked that started this discussion thread. Go back above to my (last) post on defining your top priority in terms of a training goal right now. I'll be happy to provide some insight as to how to best structure your exercise program. No rush, I just want to make sure we don't forget about your very good question. I know it's a question that many clients have and I'm sure many people can benefit from learning how to walk through this thought process logically to ensure they select the right combination of program variables to create the outcome they want from their exercise program! Let us know.

Beth Manoogian

Ummm...do you guys not know me at all? Clearly I want to be able to do ALL THE EXERCISE ALL THE TIME AND EXCEL AT ALL OF THEM. 🙃It's hard to pick one when I like all of it and am competitive and want to improve at everything. Can't my primary goal just be to not get more injured?

I would LOVE to say my primary goal is to run pain-free, but that was my goal when I first came into AFS 3 years ago and if anything I've only accumulated more injuries as time has gone on. So I don't feel like I should mentally commit to that as a primary goal at this point because I think the likelihood is high that I will be disappointed. But I WOULD like to try to work in some short runs to see if I can slowly get back into it with bearable pain. My original question was more, if I do some short runs (15-30 minutes) on the same day as another type of exercise (FSx or SS) would that impede progress in those types of workouts? Or should I add running on my Peloton days, and pretend I'm training for a duathlon? This whole thing might actually be a moot point as my knees have been killing me this week and I haven't even felt like trying to run, which is part of why I haven't responded to the comments above yet @Mike Stack .

Unfortunately, FSX is only offered a handful of times per week and the only classes that work with my work schedule are Tues 6am and Saturday. And the only other day of the week that I can usually guarantee I can go to AFS is Sunday, so by default, that's my strength day. I don't really have a ton of flexibility with those. I've been doing my Peloton bike workouts for sure on Thursdays and Fridays, and then either Monday or Wednesday, or sometimes I do them on Saturday after FSx.