#idk what the ideal posting schedule would be but sunday has often been posting day for me so...

[theflyingfeeling]

so idk if anyone remembers anymore but some time ago I described a fic idea in the tags of a post (and then elaborated the idea in a later ask) regarding Olli/Aleksi falling for each other while still being in relationships respectively... yeah, I kinda ended up writing something based off that thought and I just uploaded the first chapter on AO3, I hope y'all will be cool about it 👉👈

[regular-lord-reckoner]

All That Being Said, Here’s My Workout Guide

So, unfortunately I was having a hard time finding good pictures for all the machines I use, plus it wouldn’t really give good insight into how to actually use them, but! I found a YouTube channel that has a lot of good, short instructional videos that show them off, so I’ll use links to those videos for reference! 

For my workout I try to go three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

I’ve heard it’s important to give yourself a day of rest between workout sessions so that’s the logic behind that, also it coincides with my shower schedule (not that I don’t wash up on the days I don’t go to the gym, but still) so...yeah. 

It also works out so that each day I go I can focus on a different part of my body and then I have Saturday and Sunday as my relaxing weekend time, but obviously everyone’s different and if going every day or just once a week works for you that’s ameezing and you do what works best for you! 

So, Monday is arms, Wednesday is abs (and a little lower back), and Friday is leg day! 

For each workout I try to use six different machines and then I always end with some time on the elliptical so that my workout is a little more rounded out, I guess. I’ve gradually worked up to doing 30 minutes on the elliptical (mind you that’s after a full workout already and, well, I’m disabled so I’m doing pretty good, I think) but if you only do ten minutes or if you wanna do an hour it’s up to you, just whatever works/feels best, have at it. 

Just as a note, in the videos I’m listing I’ve noticed for some of the machines the instructor is using machines that are part of the 30 minute rotation or the 12 minute ab rotation, but typically you can still find these machines outside of those rotations, they’ll just be located elsewhere and at least in the case of my Planet Fitness, they’re grouped close to machines that do similar things so if you find one, you’ll probably find the rest nearby 

For Monday workouts these are the machines I use: 

Tricep Press 

Lat Pulldown

Row Machine

Tricep Extension

Bicep Curl

Chest Fly

I will say for the row machine you don’t have to alternate arms, you can also pull both levers back at the same time which is how I do it, but again, whatever works best for you 

Next is Wednesday, ab/lower back day: 

Ab Machine

Ab Machine 2

Back Extension

Torso Rotation

Unfortunately there weren’t any videos for the other two machines I use but I did find pictures: 

(Source) This actually came from a video, but there’s no instruction how to use, just a demonstration, but essentially you just recline, prop your feet up, and use the handles to held guide yourself while using your abs to pull up into a crunch 

(Source) For some reason I can’t seem to find a picture of this machine in Planet Fitness, but...mine definitely has one, so I dunno. Funnily enough, the source is actually from an article about how this is supposedly a bad machine to use, but...Idk. I feel like it works fine and honestly, there are a lot of machines that are “unnatural” in how they move your body and could likely cause problems down the line, I think as long as you’re not going overboard you should be fine, but use at your own discretion, I guess. 

Anyway, you can adjust the seat to whatever height you like, I think there’s a lever underneath the seat or maybe it’s one of the one’s you just grab the seat and move up or down, but either way, you can adjust it however you like. You put your feet behind the weights at the bottom, press your back against the pad, and then once again use your arms to help flex your abs to perform a crunch but this time you’ll be pulling your legs up instead of leaving them in place like you would with the previous machine. 

Next up is Friday, leg day!: 

Seated Leg Curl

Seated Leg Extension

Seated Leg Press

Calf Extension

Hip Abduction 1

Hip Abduction 2

Sometimes I alternate on using the calf extension and instead I’ll do the Glute Machine instead 

And that’s it! 

Now, there are even more machines than just these, especially in the arms department there’s a whoooole other section just for that and like I said, there’s a 30 minute all-body workout rotation and then an ab specific one which are both pretty good, I just got irritated with them because nobody knows how a fucking rotation works and you’d have people jumping in front of you and then using a machine for way longer than the allotted time and so it would throw your whole rotation off because they weren’t following the flow. 

But for the most part, you can find all of the machines used in both elsewhere in the gym that aren’t on a rotation and so you’re free to use them for as long as you like without holding someone else up. 

There’s also a stretch machine I like to use sometimes: 

(Source) 

They have these in the ab rotation, but also in the free stretch area and the little front panel there shows you all the different stretches you can do with it. 

As far as how I actually use each machine I listed I try to do 50 of whatever it is I’m using. So if it’s a bicep curl, I’ll try to do 50 of those at whatever weight I feel comfortable with. Usually I can’t bang it all out in one go with any machine so I’ll usually do like...15, then rest. Another 15, then rest. 10, then rest. Last 10 and then move on to something else . 

That’s just what works for me, again, everyone’s different. Some people set the weight much higher and just do a few, some people set the weight much lower and do a lot, etc., etc. 

It really varies on the machines I use, like for the torso rotation, for example, I set the weight at 135 pounds and I do 50 of them. For the chest fly machine, I set the weight at about 55 or 60 when I’m facing forward and about 40 or 45 when I’m facing the other way. 

I’m generally stronger in my legs so things like the leg curl and extension are 70 or 75 pounds, leg press 100 or 105 pounds, both hip abduction machines about 130 or 135 pounds. 

My arms are probably my weakest point so like bicep curls are still only 55 pounds right now, although the tricep press is like 85 or 90 even though the tricep extension is 50 pounds...Idk. And then again the lat pulldown is 70 pounds so...who knows. 

And some machines I change as I’m doing it, like the first crunch machine I posted a picture of, I start out at an easy 65 pounds for the majority of the workout and then finish at 80 pounds. 

Point being, different machines work different, even if it’s essentially targeting the same part of your body and that’s just how it is, but whatever works best for you, do that 

Do I have the perfect workout routine? Probably not, but it works for me. And again, there are more machines than just these and I’ve changed some of them as I’ve gone along. There’s another bicep curl machine that I used to use before I did the chest fly, but honestly it felt so similar to the other bicep curl machine that I didn’t see the point, but if it’s up your alley that’s cool. 

I’ve found too (and this is probably just me, but) it’s easier if I do my targeted body part workout first and then get on the elliptical. I don’t know why, but it just works better for my body that way because I’ve tried doing elliptical first and I found I was too exhausted to want to continue working out. But again, I’m a disabled bitch so that might just be my stupid body doing its stupid thing. For other people it probably gives them the jolt of energy they need to crush the rest of their work out. Whatever works best for you. 

And obviously this workout guide is Planet Fitness-centric because...that’s where I go, that’s all I have to base this off of (apart from the short stint I did at Curves and the gym whose name I can’t remember from years ago) but there are probably similar-ish machines at other places so maybe this isn’t completely useless if you’re not a PF member! :P 

Lastly, it’s also worth noting that there are trainers at Planet Fitness and even if you don’t want to sign up for a whole program, as best as I can tell they’ll still just walk you around the gym and explain/demonstrate what the different machines are and how they work if you ask. 

They have more advanced training as well, but I’m...not quite there so I don’t really know all that much about it, but if that’s your thing I’m sure a trainer could help show you the ropes. 

So...that’s about it! Again, not by any means the perfect, all-inclusive workout plan, but for right now I feel like it’s working pretty good for me. I’ve been pretty pleased with the results I’ve been seeing (which would probably be even better if I didn’t still eat like a shithead fairly often, but that’s on me) so yeah! 

Like I said in my other post, going to the gym isn’t only about trying to build muscle and lose weight, it’s also about just...being active. It’s good to do something ideally every day, but a few times a week is still better than nothing, so just go at your own pace, do what feels right to you, don’t be afraid to push yourself a little, but don’t feel like you have to suffer and completely exhaust yourself either. 

I hope this helps some and good luck!