Warrior Workouts by Jen

This year, I took on a new role as an elementary school art teacher. My days look very different than they did during the previous 27 years I spent in high school education and administration.

With this change, my workout routine has been a bit more sporadic, and I haven’t been as consistent as I would have liked. Rather than give up on movement altogether, I found ways to fit exercise into my busy day.

The moves featured in this video are simple exercises I incorporate during my lunch break and throughout the school day. They help me stay active, energized, and committed to my health, even when time is limited.

I hope you find a few ideas here that work for you, too. Remember, every bit of movement counts, and sometimes the small things we do consistently can make the biggest difference.

Deep flap breast reconstruction is an advanced, muscle-sparing microsurgical procedure that uses a patient’s own lower abdominal skin and fat to create a more natural-feeling breast after a mastectomy.

I was not a candidate for this type of reconstruction and instead had implants placed. During my recovery, my balance was not great, so I focused on seated abdominal and leg exercises. I quickly learned that a seated workout can be just as effective as exercises done on the floor or standing.

These are some of the movements that helped me regain strength while recovering from breast cancer surgery. I hope they encourage other women to keep moving in whatever way feels safe and manageable for their body and healing journey. 💗

We can plan for tomorrow however we need to be flexible. We never know when a curveballs be thrown our way. Cancer taught me that “flexibility is the key to sanity.”

So many reasons why walking is amazing for our bodies. The AMA recommends moving our bodies 30 min, 5 days a week. This has been proven to reduce side effects of chemo and to decrease the chance of recurrence. It’s just plain GOOD FOR US!

So I’m replaying this video before posting and I misspoke at one point. When I said that it took me about 45 minutes to walk a half hour I said that I had was out of it because of surgeries and anesthesia. What I meant to say was that because of my situation, walking half a mile was a challenge and each day that I got up and I walked I felt myself getting stronger. It won’t happen overnight, but consistency is key. Before you know it, walking will be much easier and you’ll be able to go longer and a little faster.