Exercise!

Brittany_Ann

I am pretty new to this whole fitness thing. My whole 24 years of life I've been pretty sedentary, and I've decided recently I needed a change. Yesterday, I worked out for 30 mins, and it hurt... BUT IT FELT SO GOOD. I was almost in tears of joy.. Because I made my self get up and do something, and it felt amazing. I still feel a little lost, though. And I have some questions that some more learned people could maybe answer?

Should I exercise before or after meals?

What is the best time of day to work out?

How many times a week is good for a newbie like me?

natersmama

a lot of it depends on you. if you're a morning person, get your workouts in then. personally i hit the gym in the morning for cardio but i dont have enough time when i come home to do my dvd before my son needs lunch and a nap. so i do it at night after he's in bed. for a newbie starting out, i would say you should probably do no more than 3-4 days a wk. and make sure you listen to your body. if anything starts to swell or hurt, REST! food wise, i think i've read it takes your body like a half hour to use your food for fuel. so i have a snack in the morning and get myself and son ready and drive to the gym. then when i come home i'm STARVING so i make a good breakfast. good luck on everything!

TakuraHunt

Welcome to MFP!! It's kindof hard to answer your questions, because that depends a lot on you and your schedule. For me - its sometimes hard to get in a workout at night (I have 2 sons 8, and 1) and I don't have time in the morning because I am always busy getting me and the boys ready for the day. My solution actually hit me when I started MFP last month. I walk/jog about 2 miles on my lunch break at work, and in the evening (after I get my boys fed) I do my Zumba DVD's or circuit training. With my scedule I am pretty much working out between my meals. Its also hard to tell you how much you should workout being a newbie - the best advice I can give is listen to your body!!

jabbogurl

I work out between meals so I have enough energy, but not where my stomach is full and food is bouncing around. LOL

The best time to work out is when ever you feel its best for you. Some people say that right in the morning you should and it will boost your energy and metabolism, but I honestly don't have the desire to wake up early and thus wouldn't do it. I work out in the middle of the day and sometimes late in the evening or night.

I think you should start with 3 days a week to work out and go from there. But on you days off, do something smaller, maybe a few minutes of squats or hand weights or a casual walk or bike ride.

Hope that helped and good luck! :happy: