I understand you get to a point of diminishing returns, but just having the habit of going to the gym and having the stamina to knock down a quick 5k feels like a great base to build off of. I appreciate the posts that I have read here though, it will help me going forward to shift to getting stronger now that I have approached a more reasonable weight and have better stamina.
I have no advice for meal plans or workout schedules, my advice would just be to start. This kind of stuff was never my thing(and still really isn't, I am a huge novice still), but I like it a lot now and it gets easier every day.
That first real 'ah ha' moment when the results start to show up is euphoric, like a natural drug or high. It strengthens and motivates you in some pretty awesome ways. I had that about 3-4 weeks ago when I got back to being able to do 7:30 minute miles which, for awhile, had sagged into the 9 minute range. Once I hit that mark, I switched up to something I haven't really ever done before in my life, which is strength training.
My 'routine' is pretty varied which I love. The days are roughly the same in terms of their focus, but exercises often change week to week while still focusing on the same muscle groups. But, generally speaking, it's:
- Monday -> lower body
- Tuesday -> arms/upper body
- Wednesday -> functional training (mostly floor exercises like crawl holds, side gorillas, hostages, etc.)
- Thursday -> back & shoulders / upper body
- Friday -> core workouts
- Saturday -> more floor exercises (slightly more strength-focused as it includes weights, kettle bells)
I'm primarily using the app Centr, which I started a
thread about the other day. Although it costs $20/month (or $120/year), it provides a full meal plan, weekly workouts, healthy lifestyle content and daily meditation/sleep preparation routines. It also has a dedicated team of content creators who are responsible for providing fresh content each week and consulting with the app's trainers to determine what new workouts are coming.