I have already created a beginner rotation but this one is a little different. It is made up of Jessica Smith only workouts. The reason I created both of these rotations is due to cancer treatment. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2018. I had a mastectomy in March, had chemo from April to July, radiation from August to October. It has been a rough year for me! However I am on the uphill climb now and doing great. But things got very bad for me, especially during radiation. From what I’ve read, most people do not have terrible side effects from radiation. So I got to join that small percentage that had very bad radiation side effects.
The first beginner rotation I created was just a guideline for people–I did the workouts in it but I didn’t follow it as laid out because during chemo my energy and strength fluctuated. I actually followed the rotation below–what is listed is what I did. I was in such poor shape I had to reduce my workout time to 30 minutes a day and do very easy workouts. However, after radiation ended I started to improve. I felt better every week and now I am feeling great–100% again, though I do not have the same strength and endurance as I did pre-cancer. But I am on the road to building myself back up.
This rotation is a build up rotation using Jessica Smith workouts. It is progressive; it starts with her easiest workouts (Walk On workouts) and builds up to some of her hardest–Walk Strong 3. In addition, once I started feeling better I started increasing my workout time in the mornings, so the rotation starts with 30 minute workouts then builds up to 45 minutes. I generally worked out longer than 30 minutes on weekends, regardless of how crappy I felt and, since I had a lot of doctors appointments, on days I had morning appointments I worked out longer than 30 or 45 minutes on those days, too. That only happened in the second half of the rotation though, when I was feeling stronger. So, in the rotation below, there will be some variations. There are several ways you can make this work for you if you want to stay with the 30 minutes a day time limit. Most of the time I extended workouts by using add ons or doing two 30 minute workouts back to back. You can just do the main workout (always the first workout listed–except on Sundays, Day 7) and skip the add on/extra workout. Jessica does have one 40 minute workout I used. Also, she has some programmable Walk On workouts that I programmed for workouts longer than 30 minutes. In that situation, just program a 30 minute workout. On Day 7/Sunday, the main workout is frequently a yoga/flexibility workout. On those days I used the cardio workout as a warm up so it is listed first. If you are keeping your workouts to 30 minutes a day, do the yoga/flexibility workout. If it is a short yoga/flexibility workout (less than 30 minutes) then you can warm up with one of Jessica’s 10 minute workouts or swap it out with one of her 30 minute yoga/flexibility workouts–she has a lot. (All but one of her YouTube workouts listed below are approx. 10 minutes long and one of the DVDs listed below is full of 10 minute walks.)
Finally, in most of the strength workouts I list the weights I used in the review. If the workout was reviewed prior to February 2018, ignore those weights! I did not lift weights that heavy this year. In fact, when I pulled out my Walk Strong 3 workout cards recently, I was rather in awe of how strong I used to be. I cannot lift that heavy anymore. I used lighter weights than what is listed in the reviews for many of the exercises. However if it was reviewed this year (most of the Walk On workouts) then what is listed is what I was able to lift when I reviewed it.
9 weeks is an odd length for a rotation, but it was a build up for me. I now feel strong enough to move on to other trainers–Cathe’s intermediate workouts, Kelly Coffey-Meyer and some other trainers (I’m giving Tracie Long a try). You obviously do not have to stop at 9 weeks. Walk Strong 3 is an excellent program with lots of workouts and you can just start following the rotation calendar that comes with it. And keep supplementing with her Walk On workouts! I love those things! I intend to continue using them. I am about to start doing doubles again and I plan to use Jessica’s Walk On workouts as my doubles workouts, even when I am doing much more intense workouts.
****Update: I just discovered Jessica has “master” rotation calendars that she updates periodically when she produces new DVD workouts. So you can also check there for more ways to combine your Jessica Smith workouts: Walk On Master Calendar and Walk Strong Master Calendar. ****
I own a lot of Jessica Smith workouts (with more on the way!). If you are a beginner (and I assume you are if you are contemplating doing this rotation), variety makes working out more fun. However if you don’t have all of the DVDs I list in the rotation and you don’t want to purchase them, you can substitute with one of her other similar workouts, either from another DVD or from her huge collection of free YouTube workouts (she has a lot more than what I list below).
Notes:
Acronyms used below: WS=Walk Strong, JSTV: Jessica Smith TV (her free YouTube workouts)
Day 6 & 7 was Saturday and Sunday for me, so those days will almost always have longer workout sessions.
Workouts/programs used in this rotation:
Walk Strong 2:
Build Balance + Inner Strength
Walk On:
Jessica Smith TV:
9 Week Rotation:
Week 1:
Day 1: WS #1: Total Body Training
Day 2: WS #1: Brain Fitness Fun
Day 3: WS #1: Lower Body Sculpt
Day 4: WS #1: Upper Body Sculpt
Day 5: WS #1: Cardio Party
Day 6: Feel Good Fusion: Fusion Strength
Day 7 : WS #1: Dynamic Stretch
Week 2:
Day 1 WS #1: Total Body Training
Day 2: WS #1: Interval Mix
Day 3: WS #1: Barefoot Fusion Sculpt
Day 4: WS #1: 360 Abs
Day 5: WS #1: Total Body Training
Day 6: 5 Fat Burning Miles (Belly, Buns & Thighs + Power Posture + Strong Knees & Hips)
Day 7: Feel Good Fusion: Flow Cardio + Total Stretch: Deep Stretch
Week 3:
Day 1: 21 Day Weight Loss: Tread & Shred
Day 2: 21 Day Weight Loss: Low Impact HIIT
Day 3: 21 Day Weight Loss: Cardio Core Walk
Day 4: Walk Off Bell Fat: Strength Training premix (Day 2)
Day 5: Walk the Weight Off: 30 Minute HIIT Walk
Day 6: Walk the Weight Off: Strength Interval Walk + Total Stretch: Total Stretch
Day 7: Walk the Weight Off: 15 Minute Calorie Burst + 20 Minute Chair Stretch
Week 4:
Day 1: Walk the Weight Off: Toning Walk
Day 2: Walk the Weight Off: Pyramid Power Walk
Day 3: Metabolism Booster: Upper Body Circuit Walk
Day 4: Metabolism Booster: Lower Body Circuit Walk
Day 5: Walk the Weight Off: Fat Blaster Walk
Day 6: Walk the Weight Off: 40 Minute Mega Burn + Standing Abs
Day 7: Feel Good Fusion: Flow Cardio + Walk the Weight Off: Healthy Back Workout
Week 5:
Day 1: Metabolism Booster: Total Body Time Saver + Stronger Knees
Day 2: Walk the Weight Off: HIIT Walk
Day 3: Metabolism Booster: Lower Body Circuit Walk
Day 4: Metabolism Booster: Upper Body Circuit Walk
Day 5: 21 day Weight Loss: Cardio Core Walk
Day 6: Walk the Weight Off: Strength Interval Walk + Chair Stretch
Day 7: 5 Fat Burning Miles (Turbo Charged Walk) + Walk the Weight Off: Health Back Workout + Total Stretch: Total Stretch
Week 6: I had doctor’s appointments Days 3 & 5
Day 1: 21 Day Weight Loss: Tread & Shred
Day 2: Walk the Weight Off: Pyramid Power Walk
Day 3: Metabolism Booster: Lower Body Circuit Walk + 5 Fat Burning Miles (Belly, Buns & Thighs + Turbo Charged Walk)
Day 4: Metabolism Booster: Upper Body Circuit Walk
Day 5: Walk Off Belly Fat: Day 1 premix
Day 6: Metabolism Booster: Total Body Time Saver + 21 Day Weight Loss: Low Impact Walk
Day 7: Total Stretch: Dynamic Stretch
Week 7: This week I started working out for approx. 45 minutes every day (longer on weekends); I also had a doctor’s appointment on Day 4
Day 1: WS #2: Boost Metabolism + Muscle: Upper Body Focus + JSTV Upper Body Circuit Walk
Day 2: WS #2: Boost Metabolism + Muscle: Lower Body Focus + JSTV Lower Body Circuit Walk
Day 3: WS #2: Burn Fat & Have Fun: Stride & Step + JSTV Indoor Power Walk
Day 4: WS #2: Boost Metabolism + Muscle: Total Body Focus + Burn Fat & Have Fun: Ready, Steady, Go
Day 5: Walk off Belly Fat: Day 3 premix
Day 6: Walk the Weight Off: Strength Interval Walk + 15 Minute Calorie Blaster
Day 7: WS #2: Build Balance + Inner Strength: Core Control + Yoga Stretch: AM Energy Flow
Week 8: I was off work Day 4 & 5 so I did longer workouts on those days.
Day 1: WS #3: Total Body + Total Body Training
Day 2: WS #3: Cardio Step Jam + JSTV: 10 Minute Interval Walk
Day 3: WS #3: Cardio Interval Step + Streamline Sculpt
Day 4: WS #3: Cardio Hit! + 6 Minute Mile (Mile 4, 6, cool down & stretch)
Day 5: WS #3: Upper Body + 6 Minute Mile (Mile 1, 2, cool down & stretch)
Day 6: WS #3: Lower Body + 6 Minute Mile (Mile 3, 5, cool down & stretch)
Day 7: JSTV: Barefoot Fusion Walk + Yoga Stretch: PM Relaxing Flow
Week 9:
Day 1: WS #3: Metabolic Conditioning + JSTV 10 Minute Toning Walk
Day 2: WS #3: Boogie I.T. + Quick Walk Mix: Powered Up Walk
Day 3: WS #3: Lower Body + Quick Walk Mix: Buns & Thighs
Day 4: WS # 3 Upper Body + Quick Walk Mix: Abs & Arms Walk
Day 5: WS #3 Cardio Hit! + Quick Walk Mix: Happy HIIT Walk
Day 6: WS #3 Total Body + Quick Walk Mix: Steppin’ Strength Walk + Dance Walk + Chair Stretch
Day 7: WS #3: Barefoot Cardio Core + Yoga Strength & Stretch
So good to hear that you are feeling better. Thank you for posting this rotation.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for posting this. You’ve been an inspiration!
Thanks Carol!
I’m so happy that you’re feeling 100%. 😀 I have no doubt that your strength will return.
Thanks Amy!