Your Perfect Workout Routine Looks Like This

No one wants a workout routine that sets you backwards or leaves you feeling rubbish, but when it comes to finding the best workout routine for you, it can be hard to know where to start or how to tell if you’re getting it right.

While there isn’t one universal, perfect workout routine (where’s the fun in that anyway?), Sweat trainer Ruba Ali is a strong believer that there are a few boxes your ideal routine should check, no matter how long you’ve been training, what your goals are or what life stage you’re at. 

Spoiler alert - how your body looks isn’t one of them.

Listen to your body

One of the things we most love about Ruba is her appreciation for the uniqueness of the human body. Her Thrive program has been designed to help you do exactly that and is the exact routine that helps her feel her best, but as a trainer, one of her biggest pieces of advice is to learn to trust your own body.

“We’re all designed individually and beautifully unique. There's not one body that’s identical to another, we’re all so different, and that in itself is proof that there is no one size fits all with fitness,” she says. 

“We can advise based on science and experience, but I always tell my clients - I can advise you, but if you find that something doesn’t work for you, don’t listen to me. Go through the trial and error process and find what works for you and do that. The more you enjoy it, the more you’ll stick with it, and the more of a lifestyle it’ll be for you.”

At the end of the day, fitness feels different for everyone, so if you need a permission slip to change things up and try a new program, training style or trainer, this is it.

Assess your energy

It’s natural to think of the effectiveness of a workout routine in terms of the physical results it produces for your strength, fitness, mobility and body composition. At the end of the day though, if a workout routine did all of those things but left you exhausted or it took over your life? No bueno.

Ruba has been there, done that and experienced the burn out to prove it, and she can’t emphasise enough how important it is to focus on how you feel. Your ideal routine is ultimately one that will elevate your energy.

“I looked the part but I really didn’t feel the part,” she says, speaking to the chapter of her life when her intense training routine led to her burning out and overhauling her fitness philosophy. 

“I felt drained, exhausted and unenthusiastic. When I started following a more flexible program, I felt like myself again. I felt energised, passionate and excited to get moving. The difference was like night and day.”

“Now I really believe in feeling good. My social life was negative, I was exhausted most of the time, my life wasn’t balanced. This last year I really wanted to put everything in order and actually feel healthy and be healthy and taking that time was absolutely necessary. Finding that balance isn’t always easy but it’s definitely doable and so worthwhile.”

Let fitness elevate your whole life

Finally, your best workout routine should have a positive ripple effect across your life, without taking over your life. More isn’t always more.

“Balance, rest and socialising are so important,” adds Ruba. “Whether you’re a mother or a student or you’re working, find a way to make fitness part of your life, not the whole thing. It’s a piece of the puzzle.”

You’ll know you’ve found the sweet spot when your workouts feel like an opportunity to honour your body and tap into a sense of power and self-belief that every other area of your life benefits from. If fitness is squashing out your social life, your hobbies, your downtime or taking a toll on your mental health, it might need a little adjustment.

“When you’re thriving, you feel energised, you feel passionate, you feel grounded, you feel very empowered. You have this renewed energy to move in a direction. You have clarity, you have focus. That’s what it really feels like to Thrive,” says Ruba.

It’s your time to Thrive

Ruba’s Thrive program is available exclusively in the Sweat app now, with three weekly workouts combining functional strength, HIIT, mobility, and cardio. She can’t wait to be your trainer and to help you feel more empowered, enriched, and ready to take on anything.