Do you remember your first workout program?

ninerbuff

I do! I was 14 years old and really tired of being skinny. I read a lot of comic books back in the day and ALWAYS saw the ad for "Charles Atlas body" on the back covers. I finally broke down and got.
The first time I tried it, I locked my bedroom door and went through each and every exercise. I wanted to make sure that no one knew my "secret" of new found muscle!
After not seeing any results in 2 weeks, I quit. Lol, I expected to see massive results after spending $15 hard earned dollars (mowing lawns) on a program that promised results.

Charles Atlas is still advertising the same program till now. I got mine back in 1978. It's $45 to learn "dynamic tension" exercise which is nothing more than isometric exercises that are free on the net now.

Anyone else?


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

vim_n_vigor

Well, I participated in plenty of sports starting very young, gymnastics, basketball, etc as soon as I was old enough to join the teams. I started off with running. From 7th grade on, I ran distance events in track, so my first real workout programs would have been based around running. My freshmen year, our coach had us on a year round running and weight training program, so that would have been the first time I had anything organized outside of seasonal.

ArroganceInStep

My first program that I actively sought out (i.e. not something my coaches just told me to do) was StrongLifts 5x5. I was pretty old, 23 I think. My earlier workouts were all sort of adhoc and/or stuff cooked up by my coaches. StrongLifts was the first routine that I sought out and tried. I still use it and love it.

hanna6774

Jane Fonda........oh dear, definitely showing my age!

BAMFMeredith

Omg yes. It was basically one I made up. I was 17 and starting college and I was on a musical theater scholarship. I was taking dance classes 5 days a week and was feeling tons of pressure to be tiny (lots of lifts and stuff in musical theater, and you can't get thrown in the air if you weigh too much!) so I was ridiculous. An hour on the elliptical, bike, or treadmill 6 days a week. 500 crunches a day. Ballet twice a week, Tap 3 times a week, Jazz twice a week. Plus school, and I was living in the dorms so I walked to all my classes on my hilly campus (I went to a small University that basically sits on top of a hill with the dorms all on the edges so basically you're always walking up-hill to class). I think I weighed MAYBE 105 lbs and was a size 0...I weigh 153 and am a size 10 now, and I'd take where I'm at over that ANY day. I was so unhealthy! But I thought I was in such great shape because of all the cardio I was doing (nevermind the fact that I was eating maybe 1000 calories a day).

I sure was tiny...I gained a bit and got up to probably 120 by the time I was a senior in college....then I got pregnant and it alllll went down hill. So glad I'm on a real, sustainable, and NORMAL fitness routine now!!

hikeout470

jeez, I was a figure skatng kid, so I can't remember a time in my life that I didn't have a workout routine

kace406

I grew up active....sports, running around outside, being a kid, BUT my mom was one of those ALWAYS on a diet and exercising and I felt like I should be too (bad message to send to a kid, IMHO). Anyway, I distinctly remember my friends and I rocking out to a Barbie Fitness video. It had a cartoon Barbie leading the class and real tween and teen girls in the cast (including a young Jennifer Love Hewitt). Any ladies remember this one?

FitN50s

The first one I did on a regular basis was a morning TV show - Morning Stretch with Joanie Gregans. It was 30 minutes and I did it every day after I got my husband off to work and before the kids woke up. Yep, I even had the shiny leotard, terry cloth headband and leg warmers.

My all time early favorite was Callanetics by Callan Pinkney. I still love the results in flexibility and long, lean muscles that workout gets.

Edit to add - I just checked and Callanetics is still going strong! I think I might have to order the DVD, since when I did it it was on VHS, lol.

reneegee23

A Suzanne Somers (VHS) workout I took from my mom.

kdiamond

I asked for this for Christmas when I was 10.

TwtyMami35

I grew up playing Volleyball, Softball, and Running Track. As an adult, I tried the Richard Simmons workout first. ECK! Horrid! 5 years ago, when getting back into the groove of things, I did Hip Hop Abs.

amyindm

I distinctly recall doing the Buns of Steel videos in my friend's basement. This was sometime in high school. Ha!

Edited to add: I don't know if this qualifies as "workout program" but I was in 2nd grade and our school had an afterschool track program. At practice we had to run around the perimeter of the school grounds a bunch and I found it horrible. So after a few laps I just ran home and told my mother I was done with running. I never imagined I would love it as an adult. ; )

meshashesha2012

HA! Good lord.

I was 13 and it was the summer before high school started and I wanted to try out for volleyball. We got a list of things that we would be evaluated on and i started working on them.

some of the things were able to run a 2 miles in less than 20 minutes, being able to do 40 pushups, 40 situps, 40 burpees, 40 squat jumps and a bunch of flexibility stuff like holding a superman above a certain height, being able to touch your toes. one of the weirdest was being able to stand up from a seated position on the ground without having to use your hands.

that summer i worked on all of that. my workout partners were 2 of my cousins one who was a boxer and the other played college football. That was also my first foray into weight training, although i didnt reguarly start doing it until college when i played rugby.

oh yeah i easily made the volleyball my freshman year since I was super fit, but I was really bad at the port and ended up switching to soccer

cowgirlslikeus86

Billy Blanks original VHS Taebo series. Think I was 14. Just bough some of his newer DVD's a few days ago and am already impressed with my muscles and over all muscle soreness. I can run 10 miles like it's nothing but I can barely make it through a 60 minut Taebo DVD. LOL!

jingles47

Beginners Pilates... I did it and thought , I don't even feel that challenged. The next day I felt like someone had kicked me in the ribs. Oh and I couldn't do some of the exercises without laughing. I just now finally can do the seal. You grab your ankles and roll back . It's supposed to massage your back. I'm almost ready for the next level.

antoniosmooth

WOW my first workout program. My first workout occurred when I was in the 3rd grade. I got the crap beat out of me in a school fight, so as soon as I got home I started using my father's weight. It wasn't much of a workout at that age but it did shape fitness in my life.

My first workout program was during my junior year of high school. Here was the program...

Bench press 120lbs
Barbell Curl 50lbs.
Lat pull down 100lbs
Dips 15 reps
Seated Row 130lbs
Run 400 meters

That was sooooooooooooooo many years ago

MrsLVF

step class

tageekly

Yup - this (from 1988):



I'd like to add that it's now available on YouTube...

ninerbuff

I remember when "Aerobicise" was on TV!!!! All the dudes would just watch as these 3 females would just do pulse squats and the camera just revolved around them!!! If you haven't seen it HERE IT IS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UJ69fkkBVo&feature=related

Also the "oldschool" ESPN Bodyshaping show!!! Kiana Tom always had my eye.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

FitN50s

I remember recording Mousercise on VHS for my daughters. They watched me work out and wanted to do it too.

WhitneyAnnabelle

My sister had the Cindy Crawford VHS. Enough said.

WhitneyAnnabelle

I asked for this for Christmas when I was 10.

That is AWESOME

jolarocknrolla

Sports Illustrated wourkout set of 3 DVDs with Elle McPhereson, Cheryl Teigs and Rachel Hunter!

sonyachan

Started doing Denise Austin's PBS aerobics show every day when I was about 12 or 13. She taught me a lot. Still love her.

momof8munchkins

Cher VHS. step aerobics. oh boy that was a long time ago..

onewithwings

Jane Fonda workout cassette tapes and book! :noway:

nomoreplaying

Jane Fonda workouts are young compared to my first workout place. It was called Living Well Lady, no men allowed. We wore those crazy looking one-piece things that look like a baby's one-sie, the way they were made, full cut, actually made us look fatter. But i was skinny, had gone from 108 to 132 and i thought i was fat. i'd kiss the ground right now to weigh 180.

Frankenbarbie01

Jane Fonda....the aerobic workouts!! ON VHS!!! LOL
"...grapevine...and take it to the back.....in place....5-6-7-8..." Bahahaha!!! (but I lost 25 lbs!!l...I should dust that off!! LOL)

britexmom

Jane Fonda........oh dear, definitely showing my age!

ha, ha....me too. i was sixteen and i didnt have a leotard so i wore a swimsuit with tights under and legwarmers so i could look like her...lol

ninerbuff

Jane Fonda was a classic.........................and Cindy Crawford even had a video out with HORRIBLE form on many of the exercises she did!!!

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

sevencallmemom

It was a country line dancing aerobics video when I was about 15. LOL Full of Yee-haws and grapvines, if I remember right.