Exercise videos, routines, programs for beginners?

stephiepoo
stephiepoo Posts: 81
edited September 19 in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone recommend any good exercise Dvds, routines, programs for beginners? I have never exercised before but I would like to start. I was thinking of buying a treadmill but I am not sure. What do you recommend for beginners like me?

Replies

  • stephiepoo
    stephiepoo Posts: 81
    Anyone recommend any good exercise Dvds, routines, programs for beginners? I have never exercised before but I would like to start. I was thinking of buying a treadmill but I am not sure. What do you recommend for beginners like me?
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
    Leslie Sansone's Walking to be Fit or any of her walking videos. A friend swears by then, they're $10 here at Costco, I'm going to get one for days I can't go to the gym.

    A treadmill would be good, and you can start the Couch to 5K program which is a walkng to running program, starts you out jogging at 30 sec intervals and then walk. You can look it up on the internet.

    Good luck!

    Oh, and the website here already takes off calories from what you should eat in a day, so be sure to eat back your exercise calories. If you are not going to a gym, I'd recommend getting a heart rate monitor that records your calories so that you can keep an accurate record of your cals.
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
    The weather is warming up. Why spend the money on a treadmill when you have outside to walk in. You can get more variety in the view!
  • naugustyniak
    naugustyniak Posts: 836 Member
    The weather is warming up. Why spend the money on a treadmill when you have outside to walk in. You can get more variety in the view!

    I agree...plus I tend to go farther outside since I can't just "jump" off and quit like I can with a treadmill. Once you get somewhere you have to get back.
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,317 Member
    When I began, I loved Walk Away the Pounds and the early Biggest Loser dvds.
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
    I LOVER LOVE LOVE Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. It's about $15 at walmart or target and it has 3 full workouts on it. It's pretty intense but it gets in your cardio, strength training and abs in 20 minutes! It's very upbeat and makes you want to work hard, but also gives you modified versions of some of the exercises for beginners. I also like it because It shows you a lot of moves that can build a lot of endurance and strength without a gym! Now I incorporate those moves into my workout even when I'm not doing the dvd because I know they're effective!
  • 3babybeans
    3babybeans Posts: 8,268 Member
    My biggest piece of advice for a new exerciser would be to find something that you LOVE to do. If you don't like to do it, you won't continue to do it. I started walking with my kids & that was great until the weather changed. Walking helped build up my stamina & then I was able to exercise "harder."

    My most favorite exercise dvd is TurboJam. If can be modified for beginners & has workouts as short as 20 min. long. The music keeps me moving! I've been doing it since August & still LOVE it!
  • Vanessa1969
    Vanessa1969 Posts: 144 Member
    Leslie Sansone's Walking to be Fit or any of her walking videos. A friend swears by then, they're $10 here at Costco, I'm going to get one for days I can't go to the gym.

    I really like these too, and think they are a good choice for beginners.

    I could see where people would like the 30 Day Shred, but my knees killed me after that one, I personally don't consider that one a real beginners one.
  • mother23ts
    mother23ts Posts: 70
    I like step exercises. You can get a basi video and its a great workout. If you buy the reebok step from target it comes with 2 videos.
  • Aeilm
    Aeilm Posts: 92
    I am in the same boat as you. I (just yesterday) went to amazon.com and typed in workouts for beginners and there are sooo many dvd's to choose from. I ordered a kickboxing for dummies dvd and as soon as I get good at that I am going to buy cardio kickboxing. Then I will move on to something like the 30 day shred. (which in my opinion is NOT for beginners).

    You can also go to you tube and preview parts from the videos to see what they're all about. GL!
  • Angiebabie2
    Angiebabie2 Posts: 2
    i have been doing the turbo jam work out and i love it! i have seen good results from it :)
    but i bought 1 dvd off amazon. i was told not to buy it through the beach body company. i dunno
  • Angiebabie2
    Angiebabie2 Posts: 2
    Leslie Sansone's Walking to be Fit or any of her walking videos. A friend swears by then, they're $10 here at Costco, I'm going to get one for days I can't go to the gym.

    I really like these too, and think they are a good choice for beginners.

    I could see where people would like the 30 Day Shred, but my knees killed me after that one, I personally don't consider that one a real beginners one.

    yea when i did the 20 day shred my right knee felt real bad after. so i do the ab work in it but nothing else.
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
    I tried a dozen videos when I decided it was time to get off the computer. The only ones I could do was Yoga Zone and Classical Stretch. I started off with one of the 20-minute yoga routines with classical stretch and did it every day for a week.

    It got me comfortable enough to keep moving and eventually doing more. I wanted to start slowly and build up as I got stronger so this worked for me.

    Are you looking for something like that or a video that will kick your butt until you can finish it?
  • leeanne1317
    leeanne1317 Posts: 21
    I have quite a few Walk away the pounds DVD's and do them 4 or 5 times a week, I love them and while they can be easy to do, there are other WATP's which are more challenging, the 4 mile is good and I have the 5 mile as well but haven't attempted it .. yet :wink: . using these DVD's with weights also increases the challenge.

    I have a couple of 'sweating the oldies' and the first 'Biggest loser' DVD but I haven't done either one in a loooong time :cry:

    You could try going for walks and maybe every 5 minutes at your regular pace, speed up for 30 seconds or one minute for a power walk
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,317 Member
    While I did WATP and BL at the beginning, my fave is Turbo Jam (Cardio Parties). However, I felt I kind of needed to build up to them a bit. I did a few other videos for a few weeks, then I started TJ.
  • Tamishumate
    Tamishumate Posts: 1,171 Member
    do you have "on demand?" lots of easy getting started ones there, that is a great place to start!
  • mom24qties
    mom24qties Posts: 112
    do you have "on demand?" lots of easy getting started ones there, that is a great place to start!

    I have on demand through Directv, but they do not have any exercise shows I can download. I found this out after I set it up and sent them an angry email to which they basically replied they can't please everyone so they offer the "popular" stuff. :mad: :explode: :mad: :explode: :mad: :explode:
  • stephiepoo
    stephiepoo Posts: 81
    Thanks for the input everyone.

    It got me comfortable enough to keep moving and eventually doing more. I wanted to start slowly and build up as I got stronger so this worked for me.

    Are you looking for something like that or a video that will kick your butt until you can finish it?

    Yes I am a total beginer so I need to start slow.
  • Vanessa1969
    Vanessa1969 Posts: 144 Member
    Yes I am a total beginer so I need to start slow.

    I needed to start out pretty slowly too, I have some pretty serious knee issues so many of the videos that people like here are too hard on them, and I found the WATP series were very good for me.
    I started out with the 2 Mile Walk, but quickly went to the 3 Mile with Abs. I made my own resistance belt with bungee cords (yes, I am pretty broke) and I find it easy to make the exercises more intense once you get used to the moves.
    It is pretty easy to incorporate hand held weights into the routines as well, if you would like.
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
    Thanks for the input everyone.

    It got me comfortable enough to keep moving and eventually doing more. I wanted to start slowly and build up as I got stronger so this worked for me.

    Are you looking for something like that or a video that will kick your butt until you can finish it?

    Yes I am a total beginer so I need to start slow.

    Yoga Zone Total Body Conditioning (sounds intense but it's for beginners and the first one is really gentle)
    Classical Stretch

    I did the first 20-minute yoga routine and then the classical stretch. At first I did yoga in the morning and stretch in the afternoon for the first week or so. After a week I started to be able to do both in the morning. Later on I did both 20-minute yoga videos in the morning and the classical stretch in the afternoon.

    Every few weeks or so I got these fitness boosts where I really wanted to do more. So I started to take on more intense routines like Sarah Ivanhoe's Yoga Burn and some of Rodney Yee's Power Yoga.

    After the 5th week, I decided to take on P90X and am doing that now.

    I highly recommend protein drinks after workouts or a meal with carbs and protein in it, especially once you start to crave more exercise.
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    Gaiam videos! My favorites are yoga vids with Rodney Yee ( his voice is soothing) but there are a big variety and you can get most at target for 15 bucks or less if on sale.
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
    Gaiam videos! My favorites are yoga vids with Rodney Yee ( his voice is soothing) but there are a big variety and you can get most at target for 15 bucks or less if on sale.

    Rodney Yee (even his beginner videos) was hard for me at first. I was able to tackle his routines after about 3 weeks with Yoga Zone which is going for $11 with shipping on eBay.

    Depends on how much of a beginner you are, hehe. I was mostly sedentary before I started working out.
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