Fine Tuning My October Physical Exercise Plan

2:30 PM Thursday. Early this morning, I fine-tuned my October physical exercise plan. 

• Sunday: Rest Day or 20-40 Minutes of Recovery Walking
• Monday: 10-20 Minutes of Cardio, 30-40 Minutes of Strength Training
• Tuesday: 60 Minute Grocery Ruck
• Wednesday: 45-60 Minute Walk with Jogging Intervals
• Thursday: 10-20 Minutes of Cardio, 30-40 Minutes of Strength Training
• Friday: Rest Day or 20-40 Minutes of Recovery Walking
• Saturday: 45-60 Minute Walk with Jogging Intervals

This keeps my physical exercise program to an hour a day.

The hardest part of this plan could be how to dress and pace myself for the 60-minute walks with jogging intervals. If I start out with just a very small amount of jogging, I could probably get by in my jeans and walking shoes. On the other hand, I might want to think about a fresh pair of running shoes and a special pair of walking and jogging pants. Maybe running shorts would be best for October. I already have some pairs of those.

I didn't want to exercise after lunch this afternoon, I wanted to nap, but I got myself out for 20 minutes of slightly faster walking than I usually do to get my heart moving, and then I finished with 30 minutes of strength training. This was my strength training routine:

• 5# Dumbbell Squat Press: 8 reps x 6 sets
• 5# Dumbbell Chest Press: 15 reps x 6 sets
• Ab Crunches: 15 reps x 6 sets
• 5# Dumbbell Bicep Curls: 15 reps x 6 sets
• 5# Dumbbell Side Arm Curls: 10 reps x 6 sets  

I did this all as a single superset. It's an extremely basic training plan for Month 2 of my strength rehabilitation (During Month 1, September, I followed the same routine as above, but I only trained once a week, I only did 3 sets of each exercise, and my reps were slightly lower). I was doing a lot more back in July of 2024, but I didn't stick with it when my mood bottomed out. My bad cholesterol wasn't going down despite my best exercise and diet efforts, and I had to start with a statin. This caused me to spiral into a depression, and I gave up on all of my exercise for a while. It's taken me over a year to get back to the dumbbells. Now I will try to achieve long-term consistency with a more gradual progression from lighter weights. My adjustable dumbbells go up to 25# each and that is where I want to be with most of these exercises, but it's a long-term goal. Right now, I just need to take it one month at a time. I will have made good progress if I maintain this strength training routine 2x a week through the end of October. 

I think I can track the entire month on a single index card. I've just set up the columns (day, exercise, yes/no, key variable) and filled in the first two days. Maybe I will scan and upload it to a new blog post at the end of the month.

I'd also like to carve out 10 minutes between 8-9 PM for some easy stretching exercises, but if I manage to follow through with that this month, I will likely tackle it under my daily prayer and/or sleep hygiene projects, not physical exercise. 

End 3:43 PM.