Joanne explained: ‘One to three days post a clear test, begin to increase your heart rate with light walking gentle jogging, stationary cycling, or body weight, but no resistance training.
‘Aim to move for 15 minutes. If you feel good with no reasons for concern you can continue to tougher moves.
‘Aim for 15 minutes for three days at a feeling of no more than seven out of 10. Doing each exercise for 45 seconds before moving on to the next. Repeat three times.’
1. Lunge backwards with overhead reach
1. Lunge backwards with overhead reach: It’ll work your lower body without too much strain
‘Stand tall, then step right leg back and drop in height to where you are comfortable while you reach both arms up above you head, feeling the stretch in your tummy.
‘Return and repeat with your left leg’.
2. Side Lunge with side overhead reach
2. Side Lunge with side overhead reach. Joanne explained: ‘From standing tall, step your right leg out to the right side while reaching your arms above your head and leaning to the right. Going a little further as you feel comfortable, feeling the stretch at the sides of your tummy (your waist). Repeat each side.’
From standing tall, step your right leg out to the right side while reaching your arms above your head and leaning to the right.
Going a little further as you feel comfortable, feeling the stretch at the sides of your tummy (your waist). Repeat each side.
3. Rotation lunge with rotational reach
From standing, step your leg out around to the corner and follow the direction of your step at waist height with your arm, feeling all the muscles around your tummy and bottom. Repeat both left and right.
4. Wall push ups
Hands against the wall and use this to do a push up, or roll the body down to the floor and walk the hands forwards into a press up position
(Options from your knees or toes- or I recommend if you still feel breathless on the floor stay upright).
5. Plank (from knees or toes)
5. Plank (from knees or toes). Joanne explained: ‘With hands under shoulders, reach right hand as far as possible out in front and tap the floor, return and repeat left. Or remain standing and reach your hands around the wall.
With hands under shoulders, reach right hand as far as possible out in front and tap the floor, return and repeat left.
Or remain standing and reach your hands around the wall.
AND HOW TO MANAGE YOUR PROGRESS…
- Use a wearable (smart watch, heart rate monitor) to check your resting heart rate (RHR) although this does have its limitations.
- Checking in with yourself, asking how you are feeling on a scale to 1-10 (trainers call this Rated Perceived Exertion or RPE). This is what Joanne uses with her clients as it gives her a more accurate indication of how they feel.
- Try to create an environment that helps you sleep, taking a nice bath to help reduce stress levels.
- Managing fatigue by ensuring you are getting enough rest as you get back to daily life. You want your body to enjoy moving and not feel exhausted