^ It's been said many times before in this thread, but your best bet for regaining strength is Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5 x 5. Essentially after three warm up sets with light weights, do 3 sets of 5 reps. The 5th rep on the last set should take you to failure. This requires some trial and error but since you already know your 12 rep max, you can work it down a bit and calculate your 5 rep max
Also, those strap on weights are good for Calisthenic or body weight exercises. Something like burpees, hill climbers, bodyweight squats, spot jogging, jump rope skipping etc. They can add an extra difficulty to your workout. Since your'e doing weights already, don't bother with them.
