Suggestions for an "exercise beginner?"

Sweetredpoison

Hi all. I'm looking for suggestions in how to incorporate exercise into my daily life. I'm a graduate student writing my thesis and working full time so long walks are not ideal. I'm still intimidated with the weights at the gym and my attempt at running is more or less fast walking. Any suggestions? Is a 20 minute walk at 3.2 speed enough at this point?? Would yoga DVDs help? :ohwell:

PRMinx

I have a pretty busy schedule and I've found that if I work out in the morning (6am), I get there more often than not. Then, my workout is done and the day will be what it is - and I don't have to worry about missing a workout because of a meeting or deadline. The trick, of course, is to train yourself to get up early AND to get enough sleep to stay focused.

At the gym, do what you can do. Push yourself, but don't scare yourself. Endurance, speed and strength come in time. Schedule an appointment with a trainer or manager at your gym to walk you through some weight exercises. Then, at least you will know what you are doing which should make it a little less intimidating.

I love yoga and I think it's a great addition to a broader workout program. It helps with mobility and some strength. I would not, however, rely completely on yoga for a high calorie burn.

JTick

My best suggestion is to get over your fear of weights. :flowerforyou:

You can knock out a really solid beginner lifting program in about 30 mins 3 times a week...I really feel it would be the best return for your investment. You can squeeze in any kind of cardio you like here and there, but I think you'd really like the results lifting will give you.

TheMrsCole

I would suggest to start with a program like C25k for cardio. As far as your pace, everyone is different. My normal pace is 4.0, I am 5'7" however I know people my same height who walk at a 3.4 or so. Do what works for you!

As far as C25k, I have asthma, have never been a runner, and in the beginning I could only job for about 30 seconds before gasping for air. I am on week 7 now and ran 35 minutes straight and wasn't even breathing very hard by the end. Not sure how it works but it does.

I started weight training by using Stronglifts 5x5. However if I go to a gym in the middle of the day I won't do it because of how self conscious I am. So I found that if I go early in the morning there are less people and I can get right to it.

bcattoes

When time is short, I'd ditch the gym and go for calisthenics at home. You save time traveling to and from the gym and you can improve fitness and burn a good amount of calories with of jumping jacks, lunges, squats, pushups, tricep dips and mountain climbers.

Sweetredpoison

Never heard of the C25k or Stronglifts!! thanks for the suggestions its much appreciated.

Kara52217

I just got the FIRM EXPRESS DVD Set.. 20 minutes 3x a week and it is a one month program with a different set of DVD's for each week.

That might be what you need... I got it on Groupon for $20 so not sure what the "normal" price is

Sweetredpoison

My best suggestion is to get over your fear of weights. :flowerforyou:

Hhm.. where do I begin?? 5lb weights? :laugh: Any program suggestion other than stronglifts 5x5

Sweetredpoison

I have a pretty busy schedule and I've found that if I work out in the morning (6am), I get there more often than not. Then, my workout is done and the day will be what it is - and I don't have to worry about missing a workout because of a meeting or deadline. The trick, of course, is to train yourself to get up early AND to get enough sleep to stay focused.

Oh.. so not a morning person! But you're right I can train myself to be. I think i'd rather workout at midnight..

TeaBea

Hi all. I'm looking for suggestions in how to incorporate exercise into my daily life. I'm a graduate student writing my thesis and working full time so long walks are not ideal. I'm still intimidated with the weights at the gym and my attempt at running is more or less fast walking. Any suggestions? Is a 20 minute walk at 3.2 speed enough at this point?? Would yoga DVDs help? :ohwell:

Walking speed should challenge you to have a cardio effect. People of different heights will have different speeds. I can walk just over 4 MPH on a treadmill (no terrain issues). But this speed didn't happen overnight. If you're just about out of breath, you're walking fast enough.

Yoga has many styles. The yoga I do is good for balance & flexibility. For any kind of strength you are looking for some form of "power" yoga. Pilates is good for resistance training, great for your core.

Sweetredpoison

I just got the FIRM EXPRESS DVD Set.. 20 minutes 3x a week and it is a one month program with a different set of DVD's for each week.

$25 bucks on Amazon not bad at all. This actually seems appealing to me. It looks like each DVD is 30 minutes. THANKS for the suggestion!!!

SezxyStef

My best suggestion is to get over your fear of weights. :flowerforyou:

Hhm.. where do I begin?? 5lb weights? :laugh: Any program suggestion other than stronglifts 5x5

There is starting strength and New rules of lifting for women on amazon.

For cardio/HIIT try fitnessblender.com for free 1000's of workouts for free.

ModernNerd

The best thing you can do is be proactive in educating yourself. Seek out the lovely folks on this site who have more experience, more often than not people are delighted to help beginners as long as you maintain a humble and open-minded approach. Books like New Rules of Lifting for Women and sites like bodybuilding.com are wonderful resources as well, with a wealth of information about nutrition, form, rest periods, etc. Best of luck OP :flowerforyou:

Nialuv24

DVDs would help.
Another suggestion is, if you live somewhere where there are stairs, walk up and down them for 10 mins. Great cardio.
For example. I live in a 3 story house, attic, basement, living area, I would walk from the attic to the basement for 10 mins. You could even incorporate some strengthening moves for a rest in between floors etc.

Sweetredpoison

There is starting strength and New rules of lifting for women on amazon.

For cardio/HIIT try fitnessblender.com for free 1000's of workouts for free.

Books are good! I have to bookmark and write all this stuff down. Thank you.

xmichaelyx

Stronglifts and Starting Strength are the gold standard (although I believe there another that some people have recommended here for women - edit: New Rules of Lifting for Women is the one I was thinking of). Most people start with weights incorrectly and wind up spinning their wheels, sometimes for years. Women in particular tend to do light isolation exercises, when they would benefit much more from heavier compound lifts. Both SL and SS give you a great foundation for fitness and *safety* -- you start very light so that proper form becomes second nature.

Weights are great, and you can certainly get an amazing workout in ~30 minutes, but the important thing is to do what you like doing, and that you'll stick with it.

Also, whatever you choose to do, make it part of your routine. Workout at the same time each time you do it, so that it becomes part of your daily (or thrice-weekly, or whatever) activities. That way the temptation to skip a day will go away.

Good luck!

(If there's a yoga class in your area, that's also a great place to start. No matter what else you're doing exercise-wise, yoga can help you reach your goals.)

corgarian

My best suggestion is to get over your fear of weights. :flowerforyou:

Hhm.. where do I begin?? 5lb weights? :laugh: Any program suggestion other than stronglifts 5x5

I try to hit the gym 3 times a week. I use those 3 days to the best of my ability so on day one I'll do an upper body "pull day", another I'll do an upper body "push day" and on the third I do a leg day. I also try to do 15 min of abs and at least 10 min of cardio (I like the stair master) each time. Sadly I end up spending anywhere from an hour to two at the gym, but I always enjoy my time there.

A beginner breakdown of what I do may be something like this.** This is a VERY basic guid, I suggest as you get stronger adding more**

Push day:
Chest Flys- They have machines for this that may be less scary for you, use enough weight that it feels heavy but dont hurt yourself (3 sets of 15)
Lateral raises- for a beginner 5lb dumbbells are fine. This will work your shouders. start with your arms at your sides and raise them so that you look like a 'T' then lower. (3 sets of 15)
Shoulder press- again there are machines for this (3 sets of 15)
Any tricep machine- (3 sets of 15)
push ups- (3 sets of 10). Start on your knees if needed, but keep at them, and keep striving to do them on your toes!!

Pull day:
Pull down machine- 3 sets of 15
any row manchine- 3 sets of 15
bicep curls (dumbbell or machine)- 7.5-10(dumbbell) pounds should be fine for a beginner, but remember as you get stronger to add weight (3 sets of 15)
Assisted pull ups- there is a machine for this too so you dont have to pull up your full body weight (3 sets of 10)
Back fly- its the same machine as the chest fly, just a different setting (3 sets of 15)

Leg Day: Grab yourself 15lb dumbbells
lunges- 3 sets of 10 (holding those dumbbells)
squats- 3 sets of 10 (holding dumbbells, plese look up a proper squat)
calf raises- 3 sets of 20 (holding dumbbells)
seated leg curls (machine)- 3 sets of 10
leg extensions (machine)- 3 sets of 10
narrow leg press (machine)- 3 sets of 10
(with machines remember to add enough weight that it's not easy for you, but dont hurt yourself)

CelebrityStatus

The nice thing about C25K and Stronglifts 5x5 is that they both have a phone app. I find it so much easier to do my workouts with the app reminding me, because I don't want to miss days and mess up my "schedule". Not sure if it's for all phones, but the Iphone definitely has both and they work really well!