Hi there! Sorry, I know this is rather late again.
Today I’m gonna talk about my weekly exercise regimen, and in the interests of being honest, I should probably note here that although I always plan on it, I never seem to manage to exercise as often as I should. My weekly plan is simple enough and looks like this: Sunday-rest day, Monday and Thursday- Strengthening exercises, Tuesday and Friday- Aerobic exercises, and Wednesday and Saturday- Stretching exercises. Now keep in mind that EDS causes chronic pain, as well as joint laxity, so exercise is doubly important for stretching and strengthening, but on some days, I just can’t manage to get off the couch (due to pain, or procrastination ;) ) and sometimes I flex my schedule to involve less aerobic, and more stretching, got it? Okay then here is the breakdown for my preferred exercises.
Strengthening:
As crazy as it sounds, this is one of my favorite days, I happen to be crazy skilled when it comes to hula hooping, I discovered this MANY years ago, and I recently discovered you could also hoop for exercise, I use a very light collapsible hoop, but a beginner may want to start with something heavier, I would, however, warn against this for fellow zebras, as I bruised whenever I used a heavier hoop. I hoop for 15 minutes, nothing fancy, just a simple forward and backward motion, then to round off the day’s exercise, I do 15 reps each of three dumbbell exercises with light (2 pound) weights, and a 15 minute walk around the sofa with leg weights (again around 2 pounds). On these days I hope to strengthen my legs, arms, core, and spine.
Aerobic:
These are by far the most fun days I have, as well as the most exhausting. My aerobic workout is insanely simple in theory: dancing! I put in the Just Dance game, (the second one specifically) and dance for approximately 30-45 minutes, I always have my brother participate as well if he's free, trust me it’s way more fun if you aren’t dancing all on your own. Grab a friend or family member, some water (I go for lemon in mine, yep I’m one of those people, but it’s naturally electrolytic!) and lose your mind. My main goals on these days are just to burn some calories and beat my brother's scores ;).
Stretching:
These are the most mainstream, simple, and honestly boring days I have, although I try to do these with my mom, and misery, of course, loves company, seriously though, don’t work out alone, a friend can spot you, and makes the time pass so much faster. On these days, I just flip on a pilates workout video, and follow along as best as I can, skipping the occasional pose, if it doesn't “feel right”. On these days I hope to stretch some of the muscles that I pummeled dancing, so I can start the cycle all over again.
Thanks for reading along! What do you do for your exercises? Please feel free to drop a comment with your routine below.
