Newbie To Exercise Questions...

AbbeyRysMom

Hi! I have a couple quick questions if anyone doesn't mind answering..

1. I hate cardio. Am I doomed? I physically have trouble jumping around and stuff, lol. I prefer kettlebells, dumbbells and stuff like that.

2. I've been doing Jillian MIchael's Shred it with Weights and its very tough on my muscles... if I'm extremely sore, like its tough to walk up stairs and sit down, can i do every other day while I build strength, or am I un-doing my hard work? I don't want to get hurt.

Thanks for everyone's time, I'm really enjoying these forums!

tehzephyrsong

Short answer: no, you're not doomed. But you can't possibly hate *all* cardio. Have you tried an elliptical? It seems that a lot of people who have trouble with high-impact stuff like running or aerobics are able to use an elliptical with ease. Or perhaps a stationary bike (or a regular bike, for that matter, if you're in the northern hemisphere--summer is coming, get outside!)? Or swimming! That's super low impact and a great workout. This is all assuming that just plain ol' walking doesn't do it for you, because walking is also great cardio. You don't even have to powerwalk, just keep a brisk pace.

You should also absolutely give yourself a day between strength workouts to rest and let your muscles repair themselves. If you're in pain, stop. And real pain, not just "feeling the burn," pain that persists even after you stop moving or that flares up if you touch the area.

AbbeyRysMom

I don't mind the elliptical, but I don't have access to one anymore now that I don't work. Walking is fine for me, But i'm hoping after some strength training I can get back into some more cardio. And the kettlebell workout definitely gets my heart pumping!

thanks for that about the resting a day.. i feel better now. Like i just yelped when my cat walked across me as I was typing this, so yes, it hurts. But by tomorrow (i worked out yesterday) it should dull to a "good hurt" and I can go do another workout. I was just worried that I was supposed to be pushing thorugh it, and that would be tough for me!