4 day rotation help please

[kristieschultz]

Hi all,

I accepted a full-time job and in addition to spending time with my daughter I don't know if I can swing working out 6 days a week anymore. Has anyone else encountered this and what did you do? I was thinking that I will shoot for 4 solid workouts per week and much more strict clean eating. Can anyone give me their comments and does anyone have a good rotation for only working out 4 days? Thanks so much for your time.

Kristie Schultz

 

[gogigi]

Good morning Kristie,
I think you doing what works for you is awesome! You could develop a rotation or you could take any rotation and follow it inserting more rest days. You will just finish the rotation a little bit later then planned. Instead of looking at what to do on a particular day look at it as day 1, day 2, day 3, etc...pick up the rotation where you left off after your rest day. That way you are able to pick the rotations you want to follow for different goals without alwyas having to make up your own. Good luck!
Angela:7

 

[teddy16410]

Kristie-
A real upside (I found) When the body becomes accustomed to the 6 on 1 off a 4 day rotation is a great way to keep the body guessing.
I found that when I had to come off of 6 days I was stronger for weight work and actually didnt fatigue in my cardios at all! If you are going all out with every workout it can be difficult to do a 6/1 rotation.
I even did 80-100 minute circuits for a month... took every other day off and got great results. I believe its the intensity and focus and eating that plays a much bigger factor in overall gains than the 6 days on. Just my experience!
Enjoy the freedom a bit and enjoy the time w/ your daughter!

 

[Mocha]

For a four-day rotation, I would suggest something like this:

M: off
T: circuit-style workout (examples: boot camp, Body Max 2, Low Impact Circuit, Cardio & Weights, etc.)
W: off
Th: another circuit-style workout
F: off
Sa: choice
Su: yoga

You would fill in "choice" depending on your goals/ preferences. If you prefer to have an emphasis on lifting and weight work, do something like SuperSets, Muscle Max, or another total-body, all-weights workout. If you really want to build aeorbic capacity, do an all-step workout, preferably with intervals, such as the IMAX's. If you are just wanting a balanced program, or are focusing mostly on weight loss or maintenence, do another cicuit progam. If you have another workout activity you really love, such as hiking, swimming, tennis, skiing, etc., do that on your "choice" day.

I put in yoga because I think it's invaluable to have a solid flexibility training day in any rotation, but I know that many people wouldn't want to bother with it, and with only four days, maybe you would prefer to do something else.

Good luck with your new job!