The Classic Girl's (Ideal) Workout Routine

Plus, announcing this month's book selection!

ANNOUNCING: This Month's Book Club Selection!

I’m excited to share this month’s book club selection! This month we are reading fiction (we switch up month-to-month) and the book we will be reading is…The Undomestic Goddess! Since we have been some doing some major reading, I thought it would be fun to do something more fun and laidback. A quintessential beach read to finish out the summer! And the values align perfectly with what we talk about here. I can’t wait to discuss it with you all!

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Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash

The Classic Girl's (Ideal) Workout Routine

Hello classic crew and happy Wednesday! I hope you all are having a fantastic week. Mr. Baby did NOT sleep well on Monday night, which left me a total mess all of Tuesday. I thought I had slept more than I had…until I started crying because I was holding my son while he fell asleep and all the books tell you that you shouldn’t do that because then he won’t fall asleep on his own and wow, I was spiraling. But today I am feeling just peachy because I slept for about 9 hours and, guess what, Mr. Baby actually slept wonderfully even though he fell asleep in my arms earlier that day. All these rules will drive you crazy, mamas!

But on an entirely different note, today I want to talk about exercising. Many of you have requested content on this topic for a while! When I decided I wanted to write about exercise, I realized that there is actually quite a bit to talk about when discussing working out: the ideal regimen, how to be modest while exercising, why it’s important to prioritize exercise, why toning isn’t really a thing, how to motivate yourself to get to the gym, etc. But today, I thought I’d focus on my current ideal workout regimen - and the reason I say ideal is because this routine is what I try accomplish when I work out, but often don’t get to because because of time. In an ideal world, this would be my regimen that I would complete each week! But it doesn’t always work with my schedule…or I don’t have the energy (if my son doesn’t sleep well, for example). So having an ideal to aim for is very helpful! In a perfect week, I would do everything on this workout list.

One thing to know before I start is that my husband is very interested in the topic of exercising, so he’s the one who taught me pretty much everything I know. I’m very lucky to have him here to help me! This week for example, I’ve decided to really focus on getting back in the gym and he has come with me to help me plan out a routine. He’s also supervising me to make sure I am doing everything safely and effectively. I know not everyone has someone to help them start working out. But in a sense, I’ll be that person for you! Also, YouTube has a lot of great tutorials to help you with proper form.

I used to think that weightlifting wasn’t as important as cardio. I liked cardio more because I could watch a show while I was on the elliptical or something. But weightlifting is really the best thing you can do for your body for a few reasons. One, weightlifting is especially important for woman because it helps prevent osteoporosis. It strengthens your body in a really important way! Two, it makes you stronger. Exercising to lose weight is all well and good, but exercising for the practical purpose of feeling strong is really wonderful and it prepares your body for all the physical tasks you do as a mother and wife that require a surprising amount of strength — holding a baby and moving him around is hard work, and only gets harder as he grows! Strength makes the focus of your exercise less about appearance and more about making your body fitter for handling the things you want to do. I personally like that mentality as an approach to exercise. True, weightlifting reapportions your weight to look better on your body because you’ll hold more of your weight in muscles rather than extra fat. But more than anything, being healthy is the important thing. Now, let’s get into the regimen!

1. Broadly, I try to weightlift 3x per week and walk every day. This is the dream scenario! Going to the gym 3x per week and going for a walk every day is a great schedule. When it’s not incredibly hot outside, I look forward to going for more walks with my son in the stroller. For now, we go for a walk once a week on Sabbath when we attend synagogue and go to our friend’s homes for lunch, and throughout the week when the weather and my schedule permit. But getting to the gym three times a week is the more important goal. Getting to the gym isn’t easy, but if you make it part of that day’s set routine (rather than something on your to-do list that may or may not get done), it’s more likely that you’ll make it there! It’s important to think of it like cooking or your baby’s nighttime routine: the rest of the day is built around it because it’s non-negotiable that you’ll get it done. Weightlifting needs to be done frequently enough that you are getting stronger over time, but not so frequently that your body doesn’t have time to recover, which is why I like the 3x a week approach. I’m not an athlete and I’m not competing in anything, so going to the gym 3x a week is efficient for my goals and the other things I need to do.

2. You don’t need expensive exercise classes to get fit. Orange Theory, Pure Barre, Soul Cycle…all of these classes are really expensive and don’t really make you stronger. They trick you into thinking that you have exercised really hard, but in most cases you’re just sweaty and exhausted. These classes don’t teach you how to get stronger, they teach you how to get tired. And you don’t need to waste your money on them.

3. Work out the six major muscle groups. Jacob walked me through this so I would understand what each type of exercise movement does and how they all fit together. There are six major muscle groups to build: glutes (butt), quads (front thigh), hamstrings (back thigh), shoulders, back, and chest. If you work on these muscles, then the smaller muscles (things like the arms) will build alongside them. Often, exercises targeting bigger muscle groups also utilize these smaller muscles and build them up at the same time. Now, I am personally focusing on my back and glute muscle groups. For women, these are often the two muscle groups that look best as they develop.

4. Work to exhaustion to figure out what your limit is. One of the most important ways to build muscle is to actually fatigue your muscles. When you first start weightlifting, you’ll get to a point where you don’t really want to push another rep, and you’ll think that’s the point of exhaustion. Well, I recently learned that it’s not! Often, if you keep pushing, you’ll find that you can do 5,6, even 7 more reps! And that’s huge. Jacob showed this to me when we went to the gym for the first time since I had Mr. Baby. I did the first set of an exercise for my back for 8 repetitions. I stopped at 8 because I felt tired and the eighth repetition was tough. When I did the second set, Jacob watched and kept challenging me to do another and another until I couldn’t do anymore. By the time I hit a wall and couldn’t do more, I had done 17! So when you’re first starting a new exercise (and you’re sure you have the right form and you’re doing it safely), push to exhaustion on a test set. You’ll learn how much you can really do and properly challenge yourself on the sets after that, and you’ll know what your limit is for the next few workouts you do. Once I know my limit, I like to do sets that are two or three repetitions short of my limit.

5. My specific routine. Here, I’m sharing my current routine at the gym. I’m starting my routine over again now that I’m really trying to go to the gym for the first time since I’ve been pregnant with Mr. Baby. Some of these exercises are newer to me because I planned them out with Jacob based on how my body works and what I enjoy doing, but I’m going to try and be diligent about adhering to this exercise routine! Since having my son, I’ve definitely taken some time to recover but now I am excited to get back to it. Currently I’m doing 3 sets per exercise, but if I have extra time I’ll do 5 sets. The number of reps per set is dependent on the weight I’m using! I try to find a weight that will keep me under 15 reps. Then, once I hit 15 reps for all 3 sets, I move up my weight.

   1. Day 1:

      1. Hip thrusts (glutes).

      2. Lunges (quads).

      3. Lat Pull-Downs (back).

      4. Dumbbell Shoulder Press (shoulders).

   2. Day 2:

      1. Cable Rows (back).

      2. Hip Abduction/Adduction (glutes).

      3. Bench Press (chest).

      4. 45 Degree Back Extension (hamstrings).

   3. Day 3:

      1. Hip Extension Machine (glutes).

      2. Quad Extensions (quads).

      3. Lateral Raises (shoulders).

      4. Chest Fly Machine (chest).

If these exercises don’t work for you, don’t worry! You can find others that work out the same muscle groups. But I highly recommend focusing on weight lifting - your body will thank you!

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Welcome to Classically Abby! 

I'm a wife, mama, opera singer, entrepreneur, YouTuber, and your guide to becoming the classic woman you've always wanted to be! Follow me on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter to see how! And together, let's be classic. 

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