Dare to dabble
It’s been at least 6 weeks since my last exercise evolution update. One thing I mentioned in my last update was the variation in time spent exercising. I have continued to be biased towards shorter workouts, and combining different short workouts together. But now I am dabbling to promote exercise program evolution. I say dabble because my new exercise choices are outside of what I normally would do. I am committing to the new option for a prescribed length of time at which point I should be able to discern the degree of benefit it provides me.
The danger of the “dabble”.
Sometimes when dabbling you may be trying new activities that your body is not used to. So how do you mediate the risk? By going through the routines initially as an outsider looking in. My suggestion to you is to maintain your “space” by working within your abilities. If you don’t look exactly as pictured, who cares? Be very curious, move slower, smaller, and take advantage of any modifications offered. If you are looking at something that is truly outside of your abilities, then maybe repeat something done earlier in the routine, or just substitute your own movement. Exercise program evolution means more variety, less boredom, and possibly fewer overuse injuries from doing the same thing over and over again.
Tabata yoga
My exercise dabble: “21 day yoga tabata course”.
The course has been more beneficial than I had anticipated. One, as an instructor I like to look at different styles of teaching and presentation. Two, I like to tune in to the anatomical and biomechanical explanations. And three, it has allowed me to reconnect with the benefits of stillness and breath found within a yoga workout.
The tabata part is esentially MIIT(moderate intensity intervals). I don’t think they were sufficient to get the heart rate up to true HIIT(high intensity interval training) levels. See this blog for a further discussion on HIIT or steady state cardio for fat loss.
Here is my exercise evolution update:
Monday to Friday: I walk to and from work (2X25 min)
Monday: Tabata yoga 20-25 min plus steady state jog 25 min
Tuesday: Tabata yoga 20-25 min plus hip/knee strengthening with sliders, leg press, ham curl
Wednesday: Tabata yoga, 2 sessions
Thursday: 10 minute run warm up, Tabata yoga 25 min, interval running on treadmill 20 minutes
Friday: Tabata yoga 25, lower body routine similar to Tuesday
Saturday: HIIT style online class, using bodyweight and resistance bands, 1hr
Sunday: Essentrics full body stretch and strengthening class, continuous movement, 1 hr
Check out where you are on the exercise and physical activity spectrum. We probably have more options now than ever (online, outdoor, indoor gyms) so if you haven’t got started on your goal of daily physical activity, don’t wait any longer.