Just before the pandemic, in January 2020, I decided to start working out again. I've been at it ever since. The peak of my workout period was probably summer 2021. By that time I had lost over 45 pounds from where I was 18 months prior and I was exercising up to about an hour a day. I was also eating a pretty strict keto diet and not going out to eat or getting takeaway hardly at all.
More recently I've not been quite as diligent, but I have found a routine that I call my "good enough, better than nothing" workout. I still workout 6, if not 7 days a week, but not quite as intensely as I was doing. I've also been eating vegan for about the last year which has contributed to about 15 pounds of weight gain (more carbs). Now it's more about maintenance and long-term goals. I want to work out today in such a way that I can do so again tomorrow.
Something I started incorporating in 2023 is yoga. It's a practice that I hope to develop as the years go on. I typically do yoga first thing in the morning, and only for about 15 to 20 minutes, but I try and do it every day. Right now I'm using a couple different apps and attending an in-person class a couple times a month. I hope to get comfortable enough and familiar enough with it that I can improvise or plan my my own yoga sequence without having to rely on an app.
Once a sufficient yoga session is complete, depending on the day of the week or what I did the day before, I'll do either some strength training/conditioning or some type of aerobic/cardio activity. Minimum of ten minutes, but quite often longer.
I got rid of a lot of the equipment I had accumulated over the last three years, but for strength training I still use either Y-Bells, a steel mace, a shena pushup board, Lebert fitness bars, a kettlebell, a Bala beam, a Bala ring, or dumbbells. One thing that's different from before is I've lightened the weight. For example, I'm no longer using a heavy kettlebell or a heavy steel mace or clunky clubs or meels. I'm down to just one steel mace (at eleven pounds), and the kettlebell I sometimes use is a lighter one at just 18 pounds.
For aerobic/cardio when outside I either run (new in the last year), bicycle, or walk. Nothing crazy...I run for like two miles (20+ minutes), or bicycle for 6 to 7 miles (30+ minutes), or walk for 2 to 3 miles (40+ minutes). Better than nothing. Sometimes I walk/run. For indoors I have a slide board, a rebounder trampoline, a cheapo but effective row n' ride thing, and a ropeless jumprope. These activities are good for getting the heart rate up.
I don't always count yoga at its full time. For example, if I do 25 minutes of yoga I might count it as 10 to 15 minutes of workout time depending on how intense it was. So with 25 minutes of yoga (counted as 15 minutes of workout), I'll try to do another 15 minutes of something else to get to 30 minutes. Good enough.
Consistency is key. Now that I've eliminated alcohol from my life I am more able to keep this on a consistent routine that I can approach with the same mindset and focus each time I do it.
