Any "easy" exercises for a beginner?

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OliveCarsey
OliveCarsey Posts: 78
in Fitness and Exercise
I am looking for things I can do in short amounts of time- I am a stay at home mom of two but i also care for 2 other kids, help care for my grandma who has dimentia and can't ever be left alone (the level of care she needs is equal to a 3 yr old). I am really really out of shape- walking around the block takes me about 10 mins and is about a half mile, i am a little winded at the end but not bad- I have a treadmill but can't seem to walk on it for more than 10 mins at a time without being really really winded. i would love some "easy" exercises to start. Thanks

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  • LazyHairyBear
    LazyHairyBear Posts: 35 Member
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    You could simply do your everyday stuff at a more vigorous level. If you are cleaning the house do a little dance as you go along, or really put your back into it and try to wash the window quicker than you normally would. Also do not give up on your treadmill, if you keep going you will eventually be walking on their for much longer without becoming breathless.
  • roseydo
    roseydo Posts: 6
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    I agree with the above. Everything you do, try to put a bit more effort into. Do you have stairs? Try going up them a bit faster. I don't always have time to excersise on a regular basis so I stick my music on and blitz the house or maybe have a boogey round the livingroom with my toddler. No one can see me look like a wally if the curtains are closed. :-D. Keep going sweetheart. You're doing great.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Walking is a great exercise - don't worry about how much you can do right now.
    If you can do 10 minutes - fantastic. Do that every day for a week. Next week walk for 12 minutes, then the week after, for 15.
    If 15 mins is the most you can spare at a time, 2 that twice a day once you work up to it.

    There are lots of other things you could do with the kids - what about a game where you play music and everyone dances like a crazy thing until the music stops... then you have to stand still like a statue until the music starts again. If you control the music, you can make the timing suit your fitness levels :)

    Wii is lots of fun if you have access to one - your kids would love it too.

    Don't feel that "exercise" has to be doing a specific DVD or program - as long as you are moving your body more than usual, you're doing something great for yourself.
  • thedancingleper
    thedancingleper Posts: 158 Member
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    It's really corny but Claudia Schiffer's Perfectly Fit series eased me into exercise when I was just beginning and was completely out of shape. It's divided into 4, 30 minute workouts. I did one a day when I was first starting out. There are a few hard moves in it, but I would just skip them at first or not do as many repetitions.
  • BohemianCoast
    BohemianCoast Posts: 349 Member
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    If you have stairs in your home then set yourself an alarm to spend a minute walking up and down stairs as fast as you can each couple of hours. It doesn't sound like much but it's enough to get your heart rate up especially if you're out of condition. It's 30 steps from the bottom to the top of my house and three times up and down is enough to completely wear me out.
  • tammyc226
    tammyc226 Posts: 158 Member
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    I agree with all the posts here and would also suggest buying a leslie sansone DVD. She has these great workouts that are low impact, easy for beginners and you basically walk a mile in 14 mins
  • sss1966
    sss1966 Posts: 110 Member
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    Walking is great, and when I first started, my Wii console was a god send, wii fit had lots of exercises, that you can do when you feel like it, or if you have a bit of free time without the kids, or they can join in too!"
  • ZoeyRobinson
    ZoeyRobinson Posts: 301
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    Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home and Walk Away the Pounds DVD's are great and cheap. You can buy online or at most target stores.

    www.hoopnotica.com has great adult hoops and dvd's and its fun and effective.

    Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred is 30 minutes each day.

    Gunner Petersons Core Secrets can be done in 20 minutes.
  • richx83
    richx83 Posts: 334 Member
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    your block sounds perfect for walking, get a stop watch and time yourself around the block to get a base time and then repeat this trying to beat your base time target.

    As your fitness improves your speed will improve and pretty soon in the same amount of time you will probably be able to do 2 blocks :smile:

    This is how i started btw :smile:
  • pruittsells
    pruittsells Posts: 2
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    Hi Don't worry about what you can't do, just do something. Anything is better than nothing, dancing around with the kids, I do jumping jacks and squats whenever I can. I started out doing counter push ups now I can do a few actual push ups. I had a c section 5 months ago so I know what you mean about the treadmill, I had to start walking slowly on an incline and now I can jog and fast walk eventually you will be able to do it. The body is an incredible machine sometimes its our mind that gets in the way. Way to go, keep up the good work!
  • SorchaRavenlock
    SorchaRavenlock Posts: 220 Member
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    I started with walking and Leslie Sansone videos, both are gentle exercises and don't require going to a gym so don't take too much time.
    I'll also second the Wii Fit, very good for small blocks of time as long as you leave it set up in front of the TV.

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