What are some good exercises for beginners?

MrsNolan89
MrsNolan89 Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
I am extremely overweight and highly unsatisfied by it. I have decided I want to get on track to a better life for my self and my kids. I just need a little help in figuring out which exercises to start with since i have never really worked out. Please help me.

Replies

  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
    edited October 2014
    Here is a story of a young mum who started her exercise program by doing laps of the clothesline. She went on to lose weight and surprise, surprise, write a diet book. Basically, what I am saying is just start of small and walking is one of the best ways to start. Good luck and I'm off to take some of my own advice.

    "Ten years ago, Melbourne mum Karen Gatt was so obese she could barely leave her own home. At just 26 years old, with two toddler sons, she had spent most of her life on the diet rollercoaster and had tried and failed with every diet imaginable. At her heaviest, she weighed 136 kilos and was unable to do the basic activities of day-to-day life. Depressed and contemplating taking her own life, she decided to give weight loss one last go for the sake of her boys.

    This time, though, she went right back to basics and devised a simple, no-fuss diet plan and began walking tiny laps of the clothesline in her suburban backyard. Why the clothesline? It was all she could manage. She was too large and too embarrassed to walk in public and she was able to hang on to the clothesline when she ran out of breath. At first it was five laps, then six, and each day she added a minute more.

    Thirteen months after she began she halved her body size, shedding 67 kilos without pills or potions and without stepping into the gym once! Today, Gatt has been lovingly dubbed "Australia's favourite diet mum". The inspirational story of how she lost her weight, and her simple seven-day diet plan, became an instant bestseller when The Clothesline Diet was first released in 2002 and it has become one of Australia's most successful weight loss books."

    But please, there is no need to write another diet book, we have enough!! :D

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    Start with just walking. Then add in body squats and pushups. Start there.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • Laughter_Girl
    Laughter_Girl Posts: 2,226 Member
    Congratulations on changing your mindset and thinking about exercise! If you are able, try walking. It is a great form of exercise, and it's generally easy on the joints. I wish you nothing but the best.
  • lindainprogress
    lindainprogress Posts: 129 Member
    whatever you decide to do- just do it. don't wait until you "feel" like it, just do it anyway. before you know it, you will feel like doing it and you will look forward to it. you are stronger than you think you are. and if you find your self asking why? why should I? ask yourself why not? No time? make time, don't have the right equipment? use what you have, floor space and water bottles. dont have the correct clothes? wear what you are wearing right now. in the time it takes to talk yourself out of it and make excuses, you could be done- so just do it and be done with it! you got this, you got this!
  • TiberiusClaudis
    TiberiusClaudis Posts: 423 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Start with just walking. Then add in body squats and pushups. Start there.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    ^^^This...

    Exactly how I started...walking 30 mins a day, then 60, then 90 then 120. That's how I lost 60lbs...it is then that I hit the gym.

    Not that you shouldn't hit the gym as well and lift weights...but walking is a great first step.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Start with just walking. Then add in body squats and pushups. Start there.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    yup, that would be an excellent start.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    Also swimming if you have access to a pool. A great all round exercise without straining your joints. I started with swimming at over 300lbs last March. Bear in mind though diet is more important than exercise in weight loss. Make sure you read the sexy-pants thread stickied at the top of the forum then weigh & measure your food. Exercise is great for health & fitness and becomes fun very quickly! Best of luck :)
  • makingmylifebetter
    makingmylifebetter Posts: 37 Member
    I am also extremely overweight and just starting. I can always tell that someone has no idea what it's like to be extremely overweight when they say, "Start by just walking," as if walking is nothing. Those people, though they mean well, should try taking a walk with a 150-200 pound weight vest on. Your hips, knees, and feet quickly start to hurt. In my case, my legs get numb within just a few minutes from my stomach cutting off circulation to my legs. You get out of breath.

    So what I am starting to do, and what I recommend, is just a couple minutes of exercise, off and on throughout the day.

    Before I get out of bed, I lie on my back and do some hip twists, gentle crunches (as much as my big stomach will allow), ankle circles, and some "bicycle peddling" in the air, with my hands under the small of my back for support. Then I switch to my side and do a few leg lifts, leg circles, and arm circles (one side at a time).

    In the kitchen, I do pushups against the countertop while waiting for the coffee to brew. I also use the counter to help me balance as I do some gentle squats. I do waist twists, side bends, forward bends. Mind you, these are not all at once, they're scattered throughout the day.

    During my work day at my desk job, I occasionally get up and march in place or stretch.

    Even when sitting in the bathroom, I'll twist at the waist from one side to another.

    Everything is done gently, so as not to pull any muscles. Little baby steps.

    Maybe later I'll get to where I can go walking (leaning against a grocery cart helps), or maybe I'll get some little dumbbells and start to use those when I do some of my home exercises.

    Hope this helps a little. Good for you for getting on it while you're still so young. I'm 60 years old, so you can imagine, I get tired out pretty fast.

    Oh, and also... consider maybe taking some kind of water exercise class in a pool. Don't worry about being heavy... lots of heavy women (apparently) do water exercises, because the weightlessness helps so much. I don't have access to a pool, but wish I did.
  • makingmylifebetter
    makingmylifebetter Posts: 37 Member
    A few more that I thought of. Those who are in good shape may laugh, but trust me, these are helpful for those of us with lots to lose.

    1. Just slowly sit down into a chair, then slowly stand up, then slowly sit down again, and keep repeating that. Doing it slowly helps utilize different muscles and make you stronger.

    2. Bend forward at the waist with knees slightly bent and feet far apart. Reach down as close to the floor as you can, and then twist slightly to touch both hands to one foot, then the other foot, and keep repeating, slowly. Feels really good on your back and the backs of your legs... gets the kinks out.

    3. If you have a step where you live, then use that to just step up, step down, step up, step down. Or stairs... great exercise. Just take it slow.

    4. Reach your arms up above your head, as if you're picking fruit that's a little out of reach. Reach up first with one arm, then another.

    5. Put on some music and dance with your kids. : ) Enjoy them while you've still got them at home!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Walking....if you can't get outside (time of day, weather, etc). Look into "walking" DVDs or YouTube workouts

    These are really low impact aerobics without choreography. The beauty of no choreography is you can always do them at your own pace. These can be as short or as long as you need them to be.

    Leslie Sansone has tons of DVDs....entitled Just Walk, Walk at Home, and Walk Away the Pounds. Many libraries have some of these.

    YouTube walks are free

    Jessica Smith is a sweetie: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jessica+smith+walking+workouts

    Barefoot Fusion and Sunset Barefoot are beginner ones. Jessica also has a couple walking DVDs
  • nerdymathgrrl
    nerdymathgrrl Posts: 270 Member
    I started with Leslie Sansone's walking videos (1 mile to start) and used my recumbent bike. Walking inside (especially if you have carpet) is a lot easier on the joints than walking on pavement. I gradually added time, and as I lost weight I was able to go faster and longer. Best of luck to you!
  • Ainesilver
    Ainesilver Posts: 72 Member
    Mrs Nolan thank you for posting this and the others for the replies. I have been double what I should weigh for decades and have bad knees, ankles and wrists partly due to my weight, arthritis and injures. While have been able to incorporate some exercise into my day, doing more has been difficult because of the problems I have with so many joints. I have been wondering how I could do more or what else I could do without being in severe pain. I am definitely going to try out some of these suggestions.

    If walking is doable, then its a good place for both you and your kids to start. Take a walk around the block with them. Start out slow and gradually increase the distance, use as a time to talk about their day or if they are younger maybe could make a game of it. Count the number of trees you pass or try not to step on any cracks in the sidewalk. Get them invested in your success. The fact you trying to get healthier will make you a good role model for them to follow.
  • makingmylifebetter
    makingmylifebetter Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks to TeaBea for the link to Jessica Smith videos! She is great, I hadn't seen her before.
  • sowrongitsemily
    sowrongitsemily Posts: 25
    erizzatto wrote: »
    I started with Leslie Sansone's walking videos (1 mile to start) and used my recumbent bike. Walking inside (especially if you have carpet) is a lot easier on the joints than walking on pavement. I gradually added time, and as I lost weight I was able to go faster and longer. Best of luck to you!
    ^ Leslie Sansone's walking videos are great! They are a very good workout too, and you can ease yourself into the extra steps she does if you want to just use the video to walk at first. The beat of the music is great for keeping pace.

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