Spring 2022 exercise routine
Spring 2022 is the semester in which I try to stay afloat while dealing with the grief and all the practical issues surrounding my mother’s death. I also have a number of injuries behind me, and the realization that I need to take it easy with running if I don’t want my hip or knee to start complaining. The joys of aging! By all means, my routine is different from what it looked like last year.
My current focus is on building up core strength, keeping my heart healthy, and avoiding injuries. The total volume I’m putting on myself is limited – but it is enough to get in some movement. I walk my commute at the moment, so on weekdays I get 20 minutes of walking as well. My oncologist has prescribed 30-60 minutes of movement per day, and I think I get to the lower end of my “prescription”, if I count my walking commute as well.
On a weekly basis, my workouts currently look like this:
- Monday: 20-30 minutes of strength after work
- Tuesday: run (20-ish minutes) in the morning
- Wednesday: 20-30 minutes of strength after work
- Thursday: run (20-ish minutes) in the morning
- Friday: 20-30 minutes of strength after work
- Saturday: run and strength or yoga, or go for a hike in nature
- Sunday: run and strength or yoga, or go for a hike in nature
I would like to find the time for longer yoga classes, as these are always more satisfying than short flows – but so far, I have not been able to add these longer sessions to my schedule. My morning runs happen at 6:10am, as I have moved away from waking up extremely early as I try to reduce my sleep debt.
For this season in life, this moderate schedule serves the purpose. I miss lifting heavier weights, but my focus at the moment is on remaining free of injuries and just getting through these difficult months until everything is resolved.
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This Post Has 2 Comments
This is awesome Eva!
I wish I managed to fit in exercise everyday. I definitely don’t, and am constantly sleep deprived and exhausted. Do you exercise at home? Any tips for managing exercise routine and mom-life? Many thanks for sharing this. xx, Silvia
Thanks for your comment, Silvia!
I’ve just had another two week hiatus in my exercise routine, after a few more personal setbacks that left me just feeling too bleh to do anything I usually enjoy.
I exercise at home, using the audiobased app Aaptiv (which used to be better, but I haven’t found a replacement yet that has better strength training programs, EkhartYoga,, and the occasional YouTube exercise video.
What has worked for me so far, is to keep my workouts short (20 minutes – the time it takes me to boil water for pasta or potatoes to start preparing dinner) – it’s better to do something than nothing at all. If I want to do a longer run, I’ll try to fit it in on the weekend. I also involve my daughter. She either joins in (she likes yoga), or she just jumps around me. The key for me is to just hurry up a bit when I get home and change to my workout clothes instead of starting to clean and organize, so that I can get it done.