“IT IS A SHAME FOR A MAN TO GROW OLD WITHOUT SEEING THE BEAUTY AND STRENGTH OF WHICH HIS BODY IS CAPABLE.” –SOCRATES
You’ve heard and seen the quote before, and I know it’s a bit cliche. But it’s true. Start taking advantage of your energy and fitness and work your body into your own personal artwork, an expression of your hard work and dedication to yourself. Today, I want to give you all some insight as to my current training and some ways that you can adapt my workouts into your own.
I am currently lifting 3 days a week, with one day of yoga, two days of speed endurance, and one day of “long” endurance. So it usually ends up being lifting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, stadiums and yoga on Tuesdays, a sprint workout on Thursdays, and a long run on Saturdays. For my lifting days, I do a lot of lifts that most gyms don’t accommodate (i.e., snatch, cleans, push press, etc). So what I would suggest, if your gym doesn’t allow power lifting, is to take one major lift each day and work other machine, body weight, or dumbbell weights around it. I’ve made an example lifting routine that will hopefully help y’all develop your own!
Day 1:
Back Squat day – sets of 8, 5, 3, 2, 4, 3, 1. (going up in weight as you go down in reps).
Then do ancillary lifts in sets of 10, 8, 6 (going up in weight as you go down in reps):
-Weighted lunges
-Leg press
-Shoulder press (with dumbbells)
Then do body weight exercises for 3 sets of 8:
-pull ups
-single leg squat
-hanging abs
Day 2:
Bench day – sets of 5, 3, 1, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (start with a comfortable weight for 5, increase close to your max for 1, then choose weight between your first set of 5 and 3 to do the five sets of 5).
Ancillary lifts:
-Incline dumbbell bench
-Lat pull downs
-Tricep Extension
Body Weight:
-push ups
-med ball abs
Day 3:
Front squat day – 4 sets of 3 reps
Ancillary Lifts:
-Step ups with weight
-Jump squats with dumbbells
-military shoulder press
Body Weight:
-Kettle Bell squats
-Burpees (3 sets of 20)
-Planks (front, side, side, one minute each)
erinsimmonsfitness 
You have an amazing body and incredible strength!!! I have no idea how to work my way up to your level!? From your youtube videos it seems that you do cross fit? I do yoga 3 days a week, pilates twice a week, and cardio/ light weights/ circuit training twice a week. Yet, I don’t have great muscle definition. How do I get good results from all my exercise? And what kind of “diet” do you suggest?
I absolutely don’t do cross fit! In fact, I have an article coming soon about why I don’t, so be on the lookout for that! You might want to try increasing your lifting and maybe lift a bit heavier. It’s hard to say, not knowing exactly what you’re doing now, but I would suggest doing weights 2-3 times per week, circuit training 1-2 days (and can even be incorporated with some of your lifting, if you take a look at some of the workouts I’ve posted on here!), and maybe do your cardio before your yoga or pilates classes! I also suggest consuming some sort of protein (I prefer raw protein, like Garden of Life) within 30 minutes of workout out, or else your muscles will continue to break down. One other tip, don’t do cardio AFTER lifting as it speeds up muscle breakdown even further. If you’re going to lift on the same day you do your cardio, do the cardio workout before you lift. As far as diet, check out my meal plan as well as Mayo Clinic food pyramids
I hope this helps!
What is an ancillery lift?
Rachel, an ancillary lift is basically a lift that plays a “supporting” role. For example, squats would be the main lift that targets your legs, however it also uses balance, stability, lower back strength in addition to leg strength. So some lifts to help strengthen those body parts would be abs (for core strength), reverse hypers (for back strength and stability), leg press (for leg-specific strength), and single leg squats (for both leg strength and balance). Hope that makes sense!
Hey Erin, your routine looks well rounded and very sensible. I totally agree about the risk/reward ratio of traditional deadlifts. For most people it’s just not worth it!
Let me know if you would be up for doing an interview for my site BuiltLean.com. We’ve had a ton of impressive people come on the site => http://www.builtlean.com/category/features/expert-interviews/. While the site is focused on busy professionals, I really like that you don’t have the typical bodybuilding workout routine, but opt for something much more athletic. I think our followers/readers could learn a lot from you and your approach. I also think it’s great that you promote the message that women can be strong, fit, and feminine.
The idea would be to do a general profile of you. If you are interested, I can follow up with more info, just let me know where to send it. Keep up the great work!
Hey Erin, do you ever do deadlifts incorporated in this? Thanks bella!
No ma’am! Deadlifts are a very low-reward exercise compared to the potential they pose for injury (lower back, knees, hamstrings). Try power clean drills instead if you can!
Have you ever thought about creating a fitness video showing these routines? or have you already made something like that?
There are some videos on my YouTube (youtube.com/erinsimmonsfitness). I’m in the process of making more, though!