Pulling It Together — A Sample Week
Don't be overwhelmed by all of your exercise choices. Work at your own pace and increase your amount of exercise as you feel that you can handle it. Start with the walking workout to begin building your conditioning. Add in the resistance training either at the same time, or when you feel ready to begin muscle toning. Stick with these basic conditioning workouts for the first two to four months. When you feel ready to advance to HARDER levels of exercise, move on to the programs in Chapter 15.
If you have any back discomfort, you want to avoid impact and avoid rapid twisting movements. Aerobic exercises to consider include walking, cycling, aqua aerobics or swimming. If you want to exercise indoors, you can try stationary cycling, treadmill walking, cross-country skiing on a Nordic track machine, or using an elliptical trainer.
To give you an idea of how all of these workouts fit together into a weekly program, Table 14-7 shows a sample schedule.
Day of Week |
Cardio-Training |
Toning |
Stretching |
Monday |
Walk |
Total body conditioning |
Total body stretching |
Tuesday |
Walk |
Rest |
Individual stretches |
Wednesday |
Walk |
Total body conditioning |
Total body stretching |
Thursday |
Walk |
Rest |
Individual stretches |
Friday |
Walk |
Ab blaster or yoga, Pilates, core routine |
Total body stretching |
Saturday |
Rest or easy walk |
Rest |
Individual stretches |
Sunday |
Walk |
Rest or individual core exercises |
Individual stretches |
Work at your own pace. You will benefit by adding in more core or yoga and Pilates exercises or stretching on a daily basis, but it's not essential. Listen to your body and incorporate the exercises that feel good to you into your daily schedule. You'll soon be amazed by the transformation that you begin to experience in body, mind, and spirit.
