Creating new exercise routines because of life changes

On a short hike we too early last summer

When we lived in Atlanta I had a private Pilates session each week, walked on very hilly streets, went up and down the stairs in our house carrying laundry from the second floor bedroom to the basement, did lots of yard work, and used a stretch DVD occasionally.

It wasn't perfect, but throw in the occasional massage and physical therapy and I was ok with it. The Pilates, stairs, yard work and hill walking seem to have made a big difference.

Now I live in a single level home, do no yard work, walk on an almost level sidewalk and do the stretch DVD or go to a yoga class about once a week. That needs to change although I am quite happy doing no yard work!

There have been other times when I have had to change up my exercise. I spent a year recovering from an illness. When I came home from the hospital I could barely walk through the main floor of our house and the stairs were out of the question. That time I focused on slowly increasing my walking. Another issue was three surgeries in 18 months that left me with problems lifting that still limit the amount I can lift to 20 pounds or less. And of course there were the injuries and joint problems that let to PT with my fabulous Atlanta physical therapist who worked closely with my Pilates instructor.

So it is definitely time to tackle this again to retain my strength, flexibility and endurance not to mention take off some of the inches that have crept on these past 10 months.

To start I went through all the classes and facilities available here in my community plus some in the surrounding town and online to come up with these options.

Strength Training: We have a gym available plus several classes that include strength training along with aerobics and of course there are gyms and Pilates studios in my town and the hand weights I already own plus YouTube.

Right now the gym and hand weights appeal to me although I will be checking out the Pilates studio too.

Aerobic Fitness: Walking, gym treadmill and other equipment, outdoor swimming (S. Cal remember), water aerobics and a number of classes as well as YouTube.

Right now I would pick walking and seeing if the gym has equipment to make up for the lack of hills although if I walk further they are certainly nearby.  When it warms up I promise I will get in the pool to swim laps and try out water aerobics as they seem to have fun.

Flexibility: Morning stretching class, yoga classes, my favorite stretching DVD and YouTube.

Sports as Exercise: For free in my community are golf, racquet sports, water volleyball and probably some others that I can't remember right now.

I do love horseback riding but it is out of the question due to those 3 surgeries. Hiking would be ok though and water volleyball looks like fun. DH has become a Pickleball fanatic after wandering by when they were playing but that is not for me.

Bodywork: Massage, chiropractor, physical therapy if needed.  I have found an orthopedic massage specialist who is fabulous and met someone who says she has a great physical therapist.

So how to start?

I don't seem to keep up with large goals these days so I think I need to plan this out week by week and just put one foot in front of the other both literally and figuratively!

This coming week:

Today I did my stretch DVD and ordered a variety of walking shoes to try on.
Monday - schedule massage and gym orientation, get name and contact of PT for future use, use hand weights and take a long walk
Tuesday - yoga class & shop for some exercise clothing
Wednesday - I have my annual physical scheduled and I can walk to that. Use hand weights.
Thursday - stretch DVD
Friday - walk
Saturday - yoga class

I'll let you know how I did.

I would love to hear how you have put together and keep adjusting your exercise routine.