I finally found a way to make exercise work for me.

Only strength, yes. I do however try to do it very deliberately, slowly, focusing on form and getting the right chain of motion activated. I try to be really present and stopped half-assing it by using momentum or lean-ins, or whatever I ended up doing when I was still overwhelming myself with a standard workout.

Two of the exercises (pull/push) are for upper body (back and front). One (leg press) for lower body. If I absolutely feel like it, I can do all of them in one session, but usually I just do the upper or lower.

I don´t think it´s so important how the 3/2 is distributed. For me, it´s logical to do 3 upper body workouts, simply because most sedentary people still use their legs more than their upper body strength, so that needs more attention. But if you like it the other way around, it´s probably just as good.

This is enough to give me better conditioning and stronger breathing for low-level cardio that I can tolerate, especially walking my dog or doing short errand bike rides. My regimen has naturally prolonged the time that I can do those without wanting to exit the situation, lol. The plan is to just let this trajectory continue, and as soon as spring hits, add on hikes, canoeing, go to the beach more in summer etc. For me this seems the most effortless (not zero effort...) way to integrate more activity.

/r/AutismInWomen Thread Parent