Getting in Shape...Again

A year ago almost exactly my fitness world was knocked completely out of the ballpark when my kneecap came out of place during a run. It was all down hill from there and I'm not getting into all of that again but needless to say I spent the last year not being very fitness minded. Granted, I did join a gym to workout, spin and swim when I wasn't in and out of physical therapy. After the surgery, I literally sat in the recliner for months. Needless to say my muscle mass is pitiful now except for my upper arms from two months of crutches. Physical therapy went until the end of June and so finally in July I could rethink my workouts and decide how I was going to get back in shape and stay in shape without running.

This is my plan, which I have to adapt weekly as to my schedule. I'm two weeks in and its going pretty well. What's nice is that I'm not going to the gym right now because its so nice outside but everything I'm doing can be moved inside when the weather gets colder.

Monday

I do my core workout on Monday. In a few weeks I will add some short cardio on as well and then later some short bursts of HIIT. For now, Monday is a day that if I need to miss a workout I can and just add it on to another day.

Tuesday

I do between 30-60 minutes of cardio and since I'm not running, I walk on Tuesdays. I've found the best calorie burn walking is to do hills. So if you are familiar with Pittsburgh and where we live, I walk Stanton from our apartment through Stanton Heights and down to Lawrenceville and back. It's only a little more than a four mile walk but it takes approximately an hour because the incline is so steep part of the way up from Lawrenceville and on the other side from Morningside/Highland Park.

Wednesday

I do an upper body workout on Wednesday focusing on my arms, shoulders and back. Eventually as with Monday, I will add light cardio and HIIT.

Thursday

Thursday is a repeat of Tuesday with cardio and the time amount. The only thing I change is that I bike (or try to) on Thursdays. Right now, I'm riding Dennis' bike since I don't have one but I'm not sure how long I can do that because it sucks. I might even go rent one of those ones that are all over the city.

Friday

I do a total body strength workout on Friday.

Saturday

Same as Tuesday and Thursday, although on Saturday I swim! My favorite cardio day! 

Sunday

Sunday is supposed to be a rest day but I think I'm going to start doing yoga again at the gym. I need to improve my flexibility again and hopefully it will help me relax.

I'm not perfect. So believe me, there is rarely a week that goes by  that I get some sort of a workout in everyday. Sometimes I do more than on on the weekends to make up for a lousy week. I'm happy with getting a workout in five days a week.

Alright, let me know if you want to work out sometime together!