A beginner's exercise plan ~ feedback appreciated

mamatigerj
mamatigerj Posts: 106 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a 53 yo female. I began here in August with 100ish pounds to lose.

During August & September i just focused on logging my foods and staying within the calorie guidelines set by mfp. Last month i started walking every morning. I averaged 1.97 miles per walk. This month i am shooting for 2-2.5 miles per walk. Thus far i have lost 25 pounds. I love to walk, and i don't really consider it exercise, just daily movement and sanity-keeping!

All of that to say that i feel ready to add some genuine exercise to my plan at this point.

I am thinking of doing body weight workouts to begin building my strength. I found a few Youtube videos (As well as the belly dance, which is fun and challenging and just feels good ~ i hope to do it 2 or 3 times a week.)

My questions:
  • Should the body weight workouts be done daily, every other day, or just a couple of times each week?
  • Does this seem like the right approach at this time?

Thanks in advance for any guidance anyone can give.

Replies

  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    For the first little while, I doubt you'll want to do them daily. The first few will probably make you sore (delayed onset muscles soreness or DOMS) and the scale may jump a little from water retention as your body will retain water to help heal the muscles.

    Listen to your body. If you find yourself really sore the next day, just go for a walk that day. What I call an active rest day.
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    Not sure if this will help or not but I started back in April I have 100 pounds and then some to loose. I started walking and doing body weight exercises every other day. I now do body weight exercises and strength training 3x a week and some form of cardio daily. I think your doing a great job keep it up!!
  • Svanel
    Svanel Posts: 6,255 Member
    What kind of bw exercises? Will you be breaking them up during the week?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Can't see your Youtube list (it's private) and I'd be interested in what you've compiled (except the belly dancing).
    I'm in kinda the same boat and have bought free weights and resistance bands, but at a loss as to what to actually do.
  • mamatigerj
    mamatigerj Posts: 106 Member
    @Svanel ~ I guess they are called circuit workouts. Here is a list of the exercises from one of the videos:
    • 5-10 Minute Warm-up, followed by 3 consecutive circuits of:
    • 20 body weight squats
    • 10 Push Ups
    • 20 Lunges
    • 10 Dumbbell Rows
    • 15 seconds of planks
    • 30 Jumping Jacks
    The other videos are very similar.
    I do not think that i would be breaking them up. I would just do one of the videos through each time.

    @capaul42 & @happyauntie2015 ~ Thank you :)
  • mamatigerj
    mamatigerj Posts: 106 Member
    @grmckenzie ~ Oops; sorry! Here are the links (i hope):
  • Charis50
    Charis50 Posts: 181 Member
    The approach suggested by @happyauntie2015 is excellent! Also, if you're a beginner, try to focus on developing proper technique so that you get the most value from your strength training and reduce the chance of accidental injury.

    The belly dancing sounds fun! I'm going to go check YouTube for options now. :)
  • Svanel
    Svanel Posts: 6,255 Member
    Looks great to me! That's how i started too - doing body weight exercises till I built up the strength and the nerve to go to the weight room haha :)
  • mamatigerj
    mamatigerj Posts: 106 Member
    Thank you @Charis50 & @Svanel !
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    mamatigerj wrote: »
    • Should the body weight workouts be done daily, every other day, or just a couple of times each week?
    • Does this seem like the right approach at this time?

    What I'd suggest is that rather than using video like that, use a structured and progressive bodyweight plan. That will develop you through persistent challenge, as well as indicating rest days.

    I quite like You Are Your Own Gym, but Convict Conditioning and Nerdfitness also get good reviews
  • mamatigerj
    mamatigerj Posts: 106 Member
    @MeanderingMammal ~ The first video i found was actually at the Nerdfitness site. I will go back and look at the site for what you suggest, as well as check out the others. Thank you!
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Thanks.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    there are a lot of awesome programs on darebee, and they will note in the program if it is suitable for beginners...

    http://darebee.com/programs.html
  • mamatigerj
    mamatigerj Posts: 106 Member
    @tcunbeliever ~ Thanks :)
  • 911Doughboy
    911Doughboy Posts: 80 Member
    Like @tcunbeliever said, darebee is good. I did the HIIT workout off that site for 2 weeks before i fell of the wagon 2 months ago and saw better muscle tone/fitness almost immediately. Combine that with mfp, and its a recipe for success (if you can stick with it). Its free and they have an app. Personally, I feel like the app is lacking alot, so I just downloaded the pdf workouts to my phone. It usually 30-day plans and the definately do have a bunch.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    I'm 55 and wanted to be better at tennis. I started with some timed bodyweight circuits (step-ups, lunges, squats, push-ups, pull-ups, planks and suspension work). That helped my endurance. Then I found the Strong Curves and SL5x5 strength training programs. Those built my strength base and that translated to power in my sport.

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