Making the Cut: 20 Minute Flat Belly & Toned Arms Workout

So awhile ago I wrote a post regarding getting back to working out. I was pumped and ready to go. But all that came to a screeching halt when I started experiencing throbbing knee pain and I had an evaluation coming up. So I took a step back and decided to focus on the evaluation because I really wanted to be done with going to PT. And now that I am done, I have control over my knee and how to get it back 100% again.

I knew I wanted to continue doing the PT program that I was given for awhile still but I knew I also wanted to go back to some kind of exercise. I wanted to test the waters. So I made a plan for two weeks and would see where things would go from there.

Right now I have easy days and hard days of PT (which I talked a little about in the previous Making the Cut post). The easy days are all floor work where I work a lot on that inner quad muscle and even my hips some. On my hard days it's the standing work. It's working on my balance and lunges and squats. I even just recently added in tiny hops because hey I can do that now. I also added in 30 seconds of quicksteps because I have to start somewhere in regards to running. I lack a bit of control with my leg but I just need time and practice and strength - so basically time.

On my easy days, there isn't much to it so I knew I wanted to add in more. I alternate easy and hard days which would mean I would be adding in more exercise every other day. At this point this sounded like the way to go because I would have to ease my way back into exercise. (I am also adding in planks, adding more time that I hold it each time, because it is hard on my knee and I need to strengthen and practice.)

The question was where to begin?

With so much leg strength going on on my hard days, I wanted to add in some arms and abs with my easy days. So I found a YouTube video on POPSUGAR Fitness called 20 Minute Flat Belly & Toned Abs Workout. I knew it wasn't going to be the sweat and burn I was looking for in a workout but it was a start.

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So in case you were wondering I just completed one and a half weeks of PT and this workout and now ready to move on to something else. But this isn't about the next thing. This is about this workout. Although I knew it wasn't going to lose a ton of weight or inches, I still took measurements like I normally do before a workout (although no pictures). I should also mention that I am also keeping track of calories via Lose It. I love Lose It although it doesn't sync with the Garmin VivoFit I wear, I just don't like My Fitness Pal that it doesn't link with. I like to track calories because I seem to stress eat lately and it's definitely not making me feel much better these days. I just like tracking what I'm eating and my nutrients and my workouts.

But back to this exercise, the last week and a half went well. Yes, I mentioned in the beginning that I was planning on two weeks then moving on but I got antsy. I feel ready to start something more. Yeah my leg is nowhere close to where it was before but I'm ready to start pushing it a little more and trying more (which if you read this post then you know I'm not going off the cuff but have been discharged and told to take things as I feel comfortable).

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This wasn't the hardest workout ever but it was a good starting point. Since I get a lot of legs with my PT, I wanted to focus more on my core and arms. It was a 20 minute workout that did just that. I will admit that I wasn't sweating and I didn't feel the burn but it was a start. I started with just 5-pound weights but by the last few times of doing this workout, I had switched over to 8-pound weights which definitely made it harder.

I think I just enjoyed being able to do something more just PT and I am really looking forward to moving on to something more (which I will be posting about eventually so make sure to watch for that). But for now I'm pleased with where I started and can't wait to take on what's coming next.

Comment below: What is your current workout plan? If you have any lower body injury (or like me surgeries) how have you found your way back to exercise?