My Workout Routine - How I Stay Fit, My Favorite Workout Items, and More

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I’m coming at you with another reader request today and I’m sharing my workout routine!  For the last few months, I have received countless DMs with random questions about my workouts, how I stay fit, how often I work out, which workouts I do, etc., so today I’m going to try to answer all of your questions.

Before I get started on the actual workout information, a few notes to answer some of the miscellaneous questions I received…

First of all, I have always been a very active person.  Growing up, I did cheerleading, softball, cross country, and tennis (although, tennis was short-lived), and when I wasn’t playing organized sports, I was outside playing with my friends, swimming, walking, rollerblading, riding bikes, building forts in the woods, and playing street hockey.  In other words, I’ve always had a lot of energy and I’ve always enjoyed moving my body… it’s just not in my DNA to be sedentary.  I was definitely an outdoor kid as opposed to an indoor kid growing up.

Second of all, I’ve always been a very self-motivated person, so it’s not hard for me to make myself get up, put on my tennis shoes, and get in a workout.  I know not everyone is that way, and it takes many people a lot of mental effort to drum up the motivation to work out, but that’s just not me.  I legitimately enjoy working out, and that’s enough for me to keep the workouts going consistently.  I love the endorphins.  I love the feeling of pushing my body to the limit.  I love feeling accomplished after a workout.  And I love the energy that working out gives me.  I honestly feel yucky if I go a long time not working out, so that’s why I stick with it.  I always feel my best when I work out consistently.  Period.  Yes, there are days when I don’t want to, but most of the time, I do it anyway on those days because I never regret doing the workout.  I do, however, usually regret not doing the workout when I skip.

Third of all, I no longer work at a corporate job, so I do have more time to work out than a person who works 40+ hours in an office.  However, I did work full-time for 19 years prior to that, but I still made the time for working out because working out is a priority to me.  Toward the end of my sales and marketing corporate career, I was going to the gym on my lunch break a couple of times per week just to make sure I got in my workouts, because it was literally the only free time I had each day since I had small kids that demanded my attention for the rest of the day after work.  There were also plenty of nights where I was getting in workouts at 9 PM after putting the kids to bed and getting all of the things done that I needed to do.  I have always hated waking up early and I’ve always been a night owl, so I prefer to workout in the evening anyway.  But my point is, where there’s a will, there’s a way.  You just have to make the time if working out is truly a priority to you.  Wake up 30 minutes earlier, stay up 30 minutes later, or squeeze in a workout on your lunchbreak (if you can), even if that just means getting out for a walk around your office campus.

Fourth, I have found that having my Apple Watch has really encouraged me to push myself even harder because I’m able to see my workouts quantitatively.  I love being able to see all of my stats during and after a workout – active calories burned, total calories burned, times, speed, pace, etc. – and I love trying to beat my own records.  Apple also allows you to share your workout data with any other friends who have Apple Watches, and that’s also encouraging.  I share my data with a handful of friends, and if I’m ever having a day where I just don’t feel like doing a workout, it’s always motivating to get a ping on my watch alerting me that one of my friends just finished a workout.

Finally, I have always been naturally thin.  I address this only because many people have DMed me to ask specifically how I stay so thin, but the honest answer is – because I was born this way.  Yes, I do work hard to build muscle and stay healthy, but honestly, a lot of it is genetics.  I know that’s not the answer that most people want to hear, but just know that it hasn’t always been a fun thing for me to be thin.  I actually hated being thin in my teenage years because I was gawky and awkward and I had no figure whatsoever, and I was often picked on because of that... I cannot even tell you how many times I was asked if I had an eating disorder growing up, too.  I even went so far as to ask my doctor how I could possibly gain weight healthily at one point because I hated being so thin.  Now that I’m 40 and I’ve had two babies, I’m obviously grateful for those very genetics that I used to hate, but for about 10 years of my life, it was not fun.  

Now that we’ve covered all of that, I’m going to share the basics of my workout routine.  Many people have asked if I have a specific schedule, and the answer is not really.  I do aim to get in a variety of workouts each week to ensure that I’m not doing all cardio or all strength-training, but I do not have set days for set workouts.  Most weeks lately, this is what I have aimed to do…

Cardio 3-4 times

Strength 1-2 times

Stretching 1 time (+ stretching before and after all other cardio and strength workouts)

And I’ll do any random combination of the following any given week:

Cardio

Cardio is my absolute favorite, so that’s why I aim to do more cardio than anything.  Most of my cardio workouts are not organized/structured workouts using an instructor or anything like that.  They’re all just workouts that I make up myself.  My favorite cardio workouts are as follows:

 

1. Outdoor walks – I usually try to get in 2-4 miles, and I walk around my neighborhood.
2. Outdoor runs – I usually try to get in 2-3 miles, and I run around my neighborhood.  I have a love/hate relationship with running, and running is the one thing that takes more mental energy to get myself psyched up for it.  I haaaate the actual running for the most part (although, sometimes I do like it?), but I LOVE the way I feel afterward, and I also feel like a running workout pushes me more than any other workout.  And y’all, I am not a fast runner.  I used to be, but now that I’m older and I also have asthma, I’m just not as fast as I used to be.  My pace is typically 11-12 minutes per mile depending on the day.  All that matters is that I’m doing it, though!!
3. Indoor stair stepper – I try to do 30-60 minutes on this stair stepper.  I purchased it from Amazon years ago and I couldn’t love it more.  In addition to getting a good cardio workout it also provides an excellent strength workout for legs and glutes… and arms if you use the arm bands!  And you can do it while you watch TV!  I do this a lot during the winter when I can’t get out for outdoor walks and runs!
4. Indoor mixed cardio – I try to do 45-60 minutes, and this consists of running up and down the stairs in my house, doing jumping jacks, running in place, dancing, and however else I feel like moving my body that day.  It’s basically my free-style of working out.
5. Outdoor swims – During the summer, one of my very favorite workouts is an outdoor pool swim!  My parents have a neighborhood pool that is rarely used, so I’ve been taking the kids for the last few summers, and I love swimming the length of the pool and back over and over again for 30-45 minutes.  Swimming is seriously the best workout because it works your whole body and it’s a great cross between cardio and strength training.  Plus, it’s low resistance, so you don’t have to worry about injuring yourself.
6. Dance – During Covid I did dance workouts almost every single day because they were so much fun!  I absolutely love The Fitness Marshall on YouTube and all of his videos are free.  My very favorite video by him is Booty Army Sweat Session… I’ve done this video so many times I can do these dance routines in my sleep!  It gives you a great workout, too!
7. HIIT workouts – occasionally, I’ll do a random HIIT workout via YouTube, but I don’t do these very often.  I’ve never found one that I truly love, so there’s not one specific workout that I do over and over.

 

Strength

Strength is not my favorite… I’d much rather be doing cardio.  Haha.  Therefore, I don’t do as much strength training as I should.  I try to aim for strength training two times per week, and I’ll usually do a combination of the following:

 

1. Arms workout #1 – Last year, I really started focusing on my arms because they were not toned or defined at all.  For whatever reason, extra weight tends to gather in my upper arms before it gathers anywhere else, so my arms were actually pretty flabby and weak.  I found this workout, and I’ve been doing it consistently for months (3-4 times per week in the beginning and now 1-2 times per week), and it has slimmed my arms down dramatically.  I also now have some definition there that wasn’t there before so it’s exciting to see results like that.  I’m still not fully where I want to be, but I’m going to continue working on it!  I've also recently started wearing my Bala Bangles on my wrists to maximize my workout.  Those things are amazing!!  They really take any workout up a notch!
2. Arms workout #2 – I also love this workout.  This was actually the first arms workout that I started doing, but I have been doing the one above far more than this one.
3. Squats – I loooove squats, and sometimes I’ll just do a quick workout incorporating one of the arms videos above + a whole bunch of squats. 
4. Abs – I have this abs balance board, and I’ll do an abs workout with this while also incorporating traditional abs training like crunches, the bicycle, etc.
5. Pilates – For a while there, I was doing various Pilates YouTube videos, but again, I haven’t found a specific person/video that I love, so I change it up whenever I do these.  I rarely do Pilates, though.

 

Stretching

I have always been really bad about focusing on cardio and strength and not actually stretching much.  However, stretching is probably the most important thing you can do for your body because it helps keep your joints healthy since it improves your range of motion.  It can also decrease your chance of getting injured while you’re working out and it can also help improve performance.  I did tons of yoga in 2020 during the pandemic, but then fell off the wagon in recent months, so I made it a point this past month to start stretching at least once a week again.  Here are my favorite ways to stretch: 

 

1. Yoga - Oh, I just love yoga, y’all.  I feel like it strengthens, lengthens, and relaxes my body, especially since there is so much focus on the breath when doing yoga.  I used to hate yoga before I started meditating, but now that I’ve been meditating for a few years, I totally understand the importance of the breath.  I found Yoga with Adriene on YouTube during the pandemic, and she is the absolute BEST.  I always found yoga to be intimidating, but she makes it fun and easy and relaxing, and she literally has a yoga workout for anything and everything – yoga for hips, yoga for core, yoga for stability, yoga for beginners, yoga for total body, yoga for healthy energy flow, yoga for lymphatic flow, yoga for strength, yoga for tension relief, yoga for hips and lower back release… and the list goes on.  A few of my favorites are Yoga for Low Back and Hamstrings, Yoga for Core & Booty, Lower Back Love, and Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Relief.
2. Stretching – sometimes I’ll just get out my yoga mat and do my own stretching… that basically just means that I do whatever feels good.  Haha.  I’ve really learned to listen to my body these last few years, and if you listen to your body and do what feels right then you really can’t go wrong.

With regard to workout clothes, after trying many different options over the years, I have found my favorites of everything.  Most are from Amazon, too, which means that they’re all very affordable.

The Best Workout Leggings – these leggings are, by far, my favorite leggings to workout in.  I’ve mentioned them numerous times on the blog because they are just that good.  These leggings are soooo comfortable that they basically feel like a second skin.  They are thin, but not so thin that they’re see-through, they are breathable, they move with your body, and they stay in place.  They don’t ride up or down.  They come in loads of different colors and patterns and they are seriously the absolute best. 

 

The Best Workout Tanks – these tanks are my very favorite to work out in.  They’re thick and the chest is padded so you don’t have to wear a bra with them.  They’re stretchy and they wash well, and the quality is excellent.  They’re so comfortable and they come in a bunch of different colors.  Do size up, though… they run small!  I typically wear a small, and I wear a medium in these.

 

The Best Workout Shorts – I’ve sung the praises of these shorts numerous times on the blog, too, because they are truly the best!  I love the length as they’re short, but not too short, they hit at the perfect spot on my waist (about 1-2 inches below my belly button), they’re made of premium fabric that doesn’t rub or chafe, they have an inner lining, and they have an outside zipper pocket on the back where you can store essentials.  These also come in a large variety of colors so there are tons of choices!

 

The Best Workout Shoes – Nike Air Zoom Pegasus are my absolute favorite shoes for walking, jogging, and running.  They’re lightweight, they add a little bit of bounce to my step, and they’re perfectly shaped for optimum comfort.  This is all I wear when I work out.   

The Best Fitness Tracker – One of these days I plan to dedicate an entire post to my beloved Apple Watch, but in short, I adore this thing!  I wear it every waking second and I'll have one from here on out for as long as they are in existence!

The Best Phone Holder – I've been using this band to hold my phone while I work out/walk/run and I love it.  It's comfy, stretchy, and machine-washable, and it stays in place and doesn't slide around at all.  It's also easy to unzip and pull my phone out if I need it while I'm working out.  I highly recommend.  

And Don't Forget the Wireless AirPods! – I use my AirPods every single time I run because a workout isn't a workout if you're not listening to good music.  Good music always helps motivate me, and I find that I tend to work out harder when I listen to good workout music.

  

And speaking of workout music, be sure to pop over and check out my workout playlist here!  It has so many great songs that will pump you up!  

Many people have also asked me what I eat on a daily basis, and the answer to the question can be found in this post here.  The post is about a year old, but it's still pretty accurate aside from the fact that I've cut out my evening bowl of frozen yogurt/ice cream since then.  

And that’s it, y’all!  That’s all of the details!  I hope I was able to answer all of your questions and I hope you found it helpful.  If you have any other questions, feel free to drop them in the comments, or you can always email or DM me on social media.

Happy Monday!