First Three-Week Rotation

Weights

These workouts are all Joyce Vedral DVDs.  WTME stands for Weight Training Made Easy.  These are all short workouts, pyramid system except I don't believe Dynamic Tension is pyramids.  These are light-weight workouts, which is fine for me starting back up.

Because these are short and light, I will workout six days a week, alternating upper and lower body giving me a 48-hour rest in between workouts. Some of her ab work I cannot do due to lower back & hip problems, so I'll do my physical therapy exercises, kettlebell swings, and planks, instead.  I might squeeze in The FIRM Lower Body Sculpting which is great for my physical therapy: lots of bridge work, leg lifts, floor work and only 30 minutes.

Cardio

My goal is to work up to 12,500 steps per day consistently, with room to grow on that. There was a time I averaged 40,000 steps per day--but that's not my goal now, nor my desire. 12,500 is the long-term goal.  So Zone 2 Cardio is in the works daily as well. 

I have lots of cardio options to choose from.  Rower, punching bag, and Bas Rutten which is a punching bag workout would have to be done on upper-body days. Joyce cautions not to do the rower frequently because it can thwart upper-body gains.  I know it's a very good workout for me as it's easy on the feet, feels good on the back and hips, and really works my abs.

Kettlebell swings are very good for my hips, great cardio, and something I really enjoy.  I don't need a video, but do have the RKS system DVDs I could use if I wanted.  Sometimes my favorite music just works better.

When I sit and read, which is often, it's very important to get up and move. I can walk the bedroom hallway and get a good step count, blast my music, and take short little real walks. I can also do YouTube videos. 

Cardio gives me a little more leeway to do "what I feel like" that day, although a minimum of Zone 2 cardio per day is the goal.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is something I can do daily, and that's the goal. The poses are held longer, sometimes up to three minutes.  I like it for that reason, I feel very stretched out. The other reason it's important is that it is good for persons who have experienced trauma. It's grounding, it brings you into your body and makes you aware. It's calming.  It's amazing.  I can't describe how much better I feel if I've been anxious, upset, emotional, etc., and then complete a yin yoga workout. This is evidence based, and proven to work.  It's said that after 12 weeks of restorative yoga, trauma responses/symptoms can decrease remarkably.  Well, that's a goal for me for sure.

Right now I'm loving Devi Daly Yoga on YouTube. She's very good, and everything feels better physically and mentally when I've finished a practice.  She has a calming voice, and is definitely trauma-informed as evidenced by her wording. My favorites are her videos with bolsters. I love bolster work, as for some reason it really helps my hips more, but also doing child's pose hugging a bolster feels like you're getting a hug.  It's strange, but it's amazing.

Time to CRUSH IT! 

Gulp.

This first week, the goal is to start increasing the step count, say to 9000 (I average around 7000 now), do those weight workouts six days a week, and yin daily.