Advice for a *true* beginner?

jessthep1rate

So I have been on here logging since early December and I've lost 16 pounds since then--yay! However I am also breaking a promise to myself, which is that this time I would make sure to incorporate more exercise, particularly strength, so as to build muscle and lose fat. With the exception of a few half-hearted and confused tries, I've done nothing to make this happen.

I've been great my whole life about nutrition and making healthy changes to my diet is really easy for me, but I have always, always, always hated exercise, mostly because I have never been good at most of it. Cardio stuff doesn't bother me much because there is always something I can easily do (when I say easily I mean that yes, I might have to push to continue and keep my heart rate up, but the movement is not difficult for me to do with my body), but when it comes to strength, I am 1) lost, 2) terrible at it, and 3) really unmotivated because of the other two.

I'm asking for advice because as a real, true beginner, I haven't found much that would be appropriate or doable for me. Now obviously I know I can't as a beginner jump right in to heavy lifting stuff or whatever, and to be honest I don't know that I'll ever want to, but after frantically googling for beginners' bodyweight workouts and such, I have tried some of the things thought to be suitable and have found that, wow, I am weak!

For example, while I was pleased that I could even DO push-ups (had never really been able to), I could only do 2 with good form and then the third was awful so I stopped. A lot of the workouts I found had plank and different variations of the plank, but I could not even get into the position properly, let alone hold it or mess around with it. Squats are doable, as are lunges, but I'm most worried about trying to focus on my core (for my abs and also for balance) and my arms/back. Basically anything involving my upper body is super difficult and frustrating!

Is there anything easier for a beginner than things like this? I was thinking about trying to just hold a pushup position for a few seconds at a time while engaging my core, until eventually I can actually pull off something like a plank, and going from there. I also bought a 2.5 lb hoop, and have been using that, which I hear helps with the core and makes your waist smaller, but it worries me because it feels too easy. Everything else I have tried is so incredibly difficult for me right now that when I use the hoop I think to myself that it can't possibly be working that well, even if I am a little sore the next day.

Eventually I will join a gym and probably have a few sessions with a trainer, but right now I have no job and no money, so please, does anyone have suggestions for things I can do right now to start getting stronger and eventually work up to tackling the harder stuff?

Thanks so much!

mamahannick

I really like Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I did it after having my baby last year after not exercising at all for almost a full year. It's hard at first starting out without being conditioned in any way, but it is effective in increasing your overall strength and endurance. I recommend it.

Oh, and I got the DVD for $7 I think. Very inexpensive, no gym required.

parkscs

Now obviously I know I can't as a beginner jump right in to heavy lifting stuff or whatever, and to be honest I don't know that I'll ever want to, but after frantically googling for beginners' bodyweight workouts and such, I have tried some of the things thought to be suitable and have found that, wow, I am weak!

I would stop right there - this is incorrect. "Heavy" lifting means lifting weights in such a way that you're pushing yourself so that you can only lift it a fixed number of times (e.g., 5-12 reps). It doesn't matter whether you're benching 85 pounds or 315 for reps - if you can only squeeze out 8 reps at whatever weight you're using, that's "heavy" lifting for you. It doesn't matter how much weight that is or whether someone else would consider that weight "heavy". If you're weak, the way to change that is to lift weights. I don't know anyone that waited to begin lifting until they were strong - rather, they improved their strength by starting a lifting program.

In short, if you want to improve your strength, I would say look into a weight lifting program today. There's really not a good reason you should wait unless circumstances prohibit you from getting to the gym. Don't feel that you "need" to start with bodyweight exercises before moving to free weights.

jessthep1rate

Thanks for the advice and encouragement; I have been considering doing some lifting but right now I just don't feel super comfortable with it and I want to find something that I like enough for it to really be sustainable for me. It might turn out that lifting will turn into that, but for right now I don't want to burn myself out on it and end up hating it. I like the bodyweight exercises I found, I'm just getting frustrated with how bad I am at it! So I guess I don't feel like I "need" to do anything specifically, but I do feel like I need to find something I can do consistently.

Is there a reason for lifting over bodyweight exercises in the beginning? I can see how you'd want to do it as you progress to heavier weights, since, well, your body is only so heavy, but does it work different muscles than I could work with the bodyweight exercises or what? Just wondering.

Also, yes, my circumstances right now prevent me from getting a gym membership, and also buying any equipment, another reason why the bodyweight exercises appeal to me, since I can do them at home without having to purchase anything.