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When I started working out back in March 2018, I didn't expect I'd be passionate about fitness. I was hooked with HIIT, squats, and yoga, followed by an unhealthy obsession with gymwear. No I don't go to the gym to workout but then again, who needs the gym when you have online workouts? Before I knew it, my passion for fitness (mostly exercise) slowly crawled its way into my little space on the internet- my blog, Shash Stash. Hello!

I started posting Workout Burnouts, basically sharing online workouts (fine, YouTube workouts) that I personally found challenging and fun. Each Workout Burnout post contain 1-2 workouts that target certain areas, like a post for upper body, a post for cardio, etc. It has been a while since I put up a Workout Burnout post. I mean, the last update was back in November '18. Why? Honestly, I dunno. Maybe I just felt like something was missing, like it's not showing the whole picture? Maybe doing them made me feel like something I'm not- a fitness guru. Truthfully, posting them kinda felt preachy to me and I felt like I was in no position to do so because 1). it felt like I was stealing their work; and 2). I was a freaking novice myself. So yeah, that's pretty much why I stopped.

BUT.

After 8 months of  thinking and regrouping and getting my shit together, I finally put two and two together. Instead of writing posts about what workouts to do, sounding preachy and shit AF, how about I just talk about the workouts I just did...review style? Like a run down of some sort where I can talk about what I liked and didn't like, what I recommend, etc. It just felt more true and honest to me. Well, in my head at least. And I hope I don't turn this into one big pile of sh--

SO ANYWAY, here we are, the first run of that idea.

Working Out At Home

A little background on my home workout session: I workout back to back for 4 days & rest on the 5th. I workout first thing in the morning and each session a day is about 30-40 minutes (sometimes up to 50 if I'm feeling strong), depending on the workout vid/s I do. I know other people schedule their workouts like Monday-Thursday or M-W-F but I personally prefer my schedule (if you can still call it a schedule) because it feels like a free flowing loop. It's not limiting to say the least. I workout for 4 days straight (or at least try to) and get rewarded with a rest day on the fifth. It works. And I know people workout for 5-6 days a week but I tried that and it didn't work for me and my poor joints.

I know I said back to back but let's be honest- sometimes, I just can't. When I started these scheduled workouts, I'd feel terrible when I missed a day or two. Now, I'm totally chill because I've learned the importance and the true meaning of listening to my body and knowing my limitations. I don't want to damage a muscle beyond repair just because I can't miss a day! I know I can always pick up where I left off. If I need to take a rest day between days, I will and then I'll continue with the rest of my quad sched.

Quad Sched?

I call my 4-day workout schedules "Quads" (hehe pun intended hehe). Exercises on each day varies. Sometimes, the first two days focus on lower body, the third and fourth focus on upper body. Sometimes, first day is cardio heavy, followed by a toning/strength-training session the next day. One thing is constant though- fourth day is YOGA day. I LOVE me a good yoga session or two. I love my HIIT and strength-training days but yoga just gives me peace and calm and the stretch I desperately need after strenuous exercises. Man, yoga is a life changer, I tell you.

I played with this schedule format last March 2018 when I first hopped back the fitness train but only found my groove after three or four months, right when I discovered my strength and weaknesses. Scheduling workouts is fun and therapeutic for me because it lets me know what I'll be facing for the next 4 days and also keeps me on track on the areas of the body I should be working on. Scheduling my workouts also makes me find new workout channels because variety, you know?

ACTIVE RECAP

My little baby of an idea. Active Recap is the newest category of ShashSquats and hopefully more consistent and more personal than its predecessor. Active Recap is where I'll talk-slash-review the online video workouts I did on each quad because 1). I have a lot of feels, you know. I just need to discuss it and let it all out; and 2). I feel like people don't talk about online workout videos enough so I decided to do that myself on a really personal level. 

What to expect on each post: a new quad schedule, my feedback on each workout, what I like and don't like, personal modifications, ratings (maybe?), workout highlight of each quad, workout duration (rough estimate), and links to each workout (because the ones who created these videos deserve a whole lotta credit, you know?) 

My goal is to post consistently every week, with Mondays as my target day. Why Monday, you ask? Well, to start the week right, of course! I'll try my hardest to have a post every Monday but in case I couldn't (ie. life and shit happens), I'll have one up ASAP. I'll try to be consistent as much as possible (the struggle is real!) and have a new quad up each week. 

I can't wait to start this new chapter in the ShashSquats category and hopefully get you, my reader, to be active and get up and try a quad. A new Active Recap post will go live soon- see you there!