Help me come up with a cardio + strength plan!

_Schatzi_

I am trying to come up with a good fitness plan that meets my needs and I thought- who better to ask for advice than my fellow MFP'ers!

CONSISTENCY is the most important thing to me right now. Because I'm transitioning from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one, it's more important for me to be consistently doing something (ANYTHING!) every day, than it is for me to have really intense workouts.

Because consistency is so important, I purposefully try to not over-exert myself. I don't want to be really sore the next day, because I need to get up and DO something. Being sore makes me less motivated to be active, and (I think) makes me less effective at whatever it is I am doing. [Feel free to debate this point!]

I aim to do 30-45 minutes of cardio 6-7 days a week (treadmill, elliptical, dog walking... less often swimming, cycling, rowing, and horseback riding).

I just recently started adding strength training sessions after my cardio.... this is where I need help. I've become familiar with all of the resistance machines at the gym (the white Galileo ones), and own a set of 2lb and 4lbs dumbbells for when I have to exercise at home. I also learned to do crunches on a stability ball, which is by far the most painful thing I do.

Again, my idea is to not kill myself. I want something that I won't leave me so sore that I couldn't do it again in 24 hours.

So what do you think?

Should I go middle of the road and do light weights every day? Or should I alternate upper body and lower body work outs and do more sets? Or maybe alternate 60 mins of cardio one day, then do 30 min of cardio + full body strength the next day....

Very interested to hear your ideas!