Now that summer is here what’s going to happen to your training schedule?

During the summer months you will see that most gyms are far less crowded.  That’s because here in the north east we spend the winter months inside dreaming about warm weather and sunshine.

In many instances staying motivated to train over the summer is more difficult than the holidays because of vacations, BBQs and various other outdoor social events.

I’m one of those guys that has to get outside as soon as the weather turns.  I love to hike, as soon as I smell that spring air I need to be in the trails.

When the weather gets nice people tend to do so much more outside rather than boring indoor-cardio on some machine in an empty gym.

You can hike, go for bike rides, walk, hill sprint, trail run, swim, kayak, paddle board it’s endless.

However, this summer the one thing you MUST maintain is your consistency in the WEIGHT ROOM!!

In the winter I need to stay motivated to get my cardio in and stay at my ideal body composition. I perform various sprint workouts and Hurricanes on treadmills and row machines.

In the summer its the opposite, I’m outside so much doing every activity possible that I need to motivate myself to maintain consistency with my strength training workouts.

I will allow myself to miss a strength workout every few weeks but I’m committed to at least 2 strength workouts every week.

If I can’t help myself from skipping and going for a hike or running a beach Hurricane (by the way Hurricanes on the beach are TOUGH), I make up the workout at another time.

It’s not too big a deal to miss one strength session every few weeks, but if you miss once a week you’re basically eliminating one-third or more strength workouts per month!

That will definitely slow progress and even stall results.

If you’re busy with the family or you enjoy outdoor activities then backing off a high-volume weight training workouts CAN be done in the warm months.

In many cases especially if your over 40 like me It can give your joints a break and serve as a de-load.

BUT I DO NOT RECOMMEND backing off weight training for an entire summer.

It’s a recipe for disaster.

I have these kinds of conversations with many of my members that go away for the summer or suddenly have no time because their kids home from school for the summer.

My biggest concern is the long break from training over the summer.  Because when the Fall comes and they get back into it they’ve lost all gains they made from January to June and are “starting over” so to speak.

If this is you here’s my advice:

Do NOT stop lifting weights altogether or all of the strength benefits you’ve gained will disappear quickly.

Use these tips to maintain a lifting program that you can manage along with vacations, recreation and socializing:

• Continuing to lift weights at least twice a week. You can do full-body workouts instead of upper lower splits to maximize your training.
• Always have resistance bands handy and do an outdoor workout while the kids run around the park
• Take part in outdoor activities that require you to challenge your muscles, like hiking, hill sprints, biking, walking, or  trail running in hilly areas. Try rock climbing or bouldering, roller blading, or playing with your kids outside. The key is that you need to be active every week to maintain or even gain results.
• Shorten your workouts and focus only on full-body or compound movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench presses, and pull ups.

• Stick to a healthy eating plan and eat for your goals – more calories for muscle and increased activity, fewer calories for fat loss..
• Train with a partner or in a structured program like Training for Warriors Mahopac to help keep you motivated and accountable through the warm months.

You don’t want to lose your hard-earned gains this Summer!

How will YOU stay on track?

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