I need something else to do...

Don't worry how you start the learnign to run program. Me and my wife started last year and we looked like beached whales trying to run. We couldn't go for more than a minute without stopping and walking. fast forward a year later and my wife has lost 60+ pounds, and I am down 30+ pounds. ( I was down more but have gained some back recently...need to get more active again). We both have completed several 5K races, I did a 5 mile eco-challange and completed a 5 miler road race, while my wife has completed several 10K road races. We just went with a friend (who runs marathons) last Sunday and completed 10K in 58 minutes. We are both now looking to complete a 1/2 marathon in May 2013. Don't worry about what others think of you and just do it for yourself and in no time at all you will become hooked on running...or at leats that is what we found. Good luck with your journey!

right on man!! i'm with you on that one!! results are amazing though..even in a few weeks we see them! if we work hard!

What about working with a personal trainer? They can teach you how to use the different machines and how to lift weights properly. I see one twice a week and he totally keeps me motivated. Knowing that someone is keeping track of my progress keeps me going.

Hello again OP.

Two things here. Despite what a lot of ppl think. The gym is a place where the majority of the ppl there are interested in one thing..... fitness. There is a lot that you have to learn to ignore at the gym. As far as the machines are concerned you are can have your pick at things that will in some way get you to a better, stronger you.

The main thing I want to say is that you seem to have a lot of issues dealing with self and that is what is bringing about your negative outlook on this. I am not sure if you read my post from yesterday but you have to be focused for you. This thing called fitness is HARD and the road is LONG, but you have to make a decision to do it and you have to adopt a "whatever it takes" attitude. There are a lot of ppl who say it is ALWAYS supposed to be fun...have no idea what they are talking about. It is hard work, but the rewards of living a longer life and preventing desease is worth it. You have to ask yourself. Do i stay bored on the eliptical or do i develop some form of disease that is easily preventable (That is very extreme, but I hope you get my point) If you get bored on the eliptical, fine! that is understandable, but every machine in the gym is there to help make you better and improve your cardiovascular system. If believe you are not ready for C25K, that's fine too. Walking is something that can help as well. Please get it out of your head that, tt is not all about the number on the scale. There are times in your journey where you are gonna have gained 3 lbs, but your clothes fit better and that is ok, but you have to do away with this excuse attitude for not doing things, because that is not going to help you on your journey, it is only going to hinder you.

you know, some people have a harder time than others getting it all going. the fact that the OP is here at all, and posting, shows she wants to do something about getting healthier. Does it make people feel better about themselves when they make fun of the OP? Do you feel superior somehow? did you lose all or most of your weight and have quickly forgotten how hard it can be? If you think she is not trying or whatever it is you are thinking, why type that here? jut because she asked a question, you HAVE to jump in and be critical? would you do that in person? at an OA meeting? at a WW meeting? what the heck is wrong with some of you? You say, oh people ask questions and when they get honest answers they say we are being mean. NO, that is not what you are doing. You are not being honest in some helpful kind of way. You are being mean spirited and that says a lot about you as a person.

I'm going to apologize in advance for sounding snarky because I don't wanna be mean. But your post sounds ridiculous to me. I have a Y membership too. I go about 6 days a week. I am 285 pounds. I take all the classes I can. I take H.E.A.T. and I finish dead last but I freakin finish. And all the fit people in the class cheer me on as I finish. I take Ripped and I try as hard as all the fit people. I take water aerobics which allows me to do harder callisthenics like jumping that are hard on my knees out of water. I take yoga. I make myself try new things. I do c25k. (Instead of doing a level a week, try doing each level for a month.) Don't act like it can't be done. If you want it bad enough it can. Saying you know you can't do it is giving yourself a free pass not to even try. When I started in July I couldn't even exercise a full hour. Now I work out 4 hours a day. You have to build up to your goals, you don't just find yourself ready to run a marathon one day. It won't be easy but it'll be worth it. Stop telling yourself you can't do it and laugh in the face of anyone who has the nerve to discourage you. I am doing more than I ever thought I could! I amaze myself sometimes. I crushed my October goals, and that's really saying something considering I set some pretty high goals for myself. In October alone I did 82 hours of cardio, did 201 miles, and burned 69,548 calories through exercise. If I can, you can. If you want it. The bright side to being the heaviest girl in the class? You burn more calories doing the same exercise! Stop worrying what other people think about you. Only 1 person has ever made a rude comment to me. Last week a skinny girl said to me in the warmup of a hard class that if I was that sweaty already I better find an easier class cuz its only gonna get harder. And I let her know I was sweaty because I had already been working out for 3 hrs and had just finished doing 12 miles. I also told her that if she knew how hard it was for someone my size to even walk into a class like that, she would keep her opinions to herself. Shut her up pretty quick. And I did the class with my head held high. But to be perfectly honest, a class doesn't go by when at least one person doesn't tell me what a great job I'm doing. People want to see us succeed. When I do my c25k and jog around the track people give me thumbs up or pats on the back all the time. I'm so proud of what I can do now. What are you going to be proud of in 3 months? Start now. Start small. Work your way up. Show the world you don't have to be skinny to jog. When I haul @$s it takes two trips, but I frickin do it. No more excuses. If you think you can't, you won't.

I would also suggest creating a good group of supportive friends on MFP and ditching the community forums. You don't need snarky comments from the many bullies on MFP who think they know something and who try to get you on the defensive.

If you have good friends, they'll usually just respond with advice when you put your question in a status update.

Meet with one of the trainers at the Y. They were great when I started. Showed me the machine and some of the other equipment. I have gone to couple of classes but was intimidated so haven't gone back. If you are up to 30 min on the elip that's great. I started doing only 10 min but I'm up to 30 min. I found that I like to read as I work out. Didn't like the music and don't like TV. If you like to row...do it.

Thanks to those who actually attempted to answer my question instead of stir up drama.

I'll ask them about that rowing machine. I always thought it was odd to have it out in a spot away from the rest of the equipment... Is rowing good cardio anyway or is it more of a strength thing?

It's a fantastic OVERALL workout

Thanks to those who actually attempted to answer my question instead of stir up drama.

I'll ask them about that rowing machine. I always thought it was odd to have it out in a spot away from the rest of the equipment... Is rowing good cardio anyway or is it more of a strength thing?

It's good cardio - as far as strength goes, it's probably as good for your arms as the elliptical is for your legs. The higher the resistance, the more of a workout you will get.

I recommend starting strength training (as other have said). You don't have to worry about bulking up, and I think you will be very impressed by how it actually will help you slim down.

And, take a bunch of classes until you find one you like. Try them all. You never know what will work for you. The only other advice I have is take the word "can't" out of your vocabulary! You CAN - it may take longer and it may be harder, but it's worth it.

Don't underestimate the benefits of walking the neighborhood. Pop music in your ears and its very enjoyable. Swimming is great exercise and easy on the joints. Bike riding can burn plenty calories and provide cardio. Maybe you can bike to the Y and go for a swim. :-) Good luck, hope you find what works for you.

I'm going to apologize in advance for sounding snarky because I don't wanna be mean. But your post sounds ridiculous to me. I have a Y membership too. I go about 6 days a week. I am 285 pounds. I take all the classes I can. I take H.E.A.T. and I finish dead last but I freakin finish. And all the fit people in the class cheer me on as I finish. I take Ripped and I try as hard as all the fit people. I take water aerobics which allows me to do harder callisthenics like jumping that are hard on my knees out of water. I take yoga. I make myself try new things. I do c25k. (Instead of doing a level a week, try doing each level for a month.) Don't act like it can't be done. If you want it bad enough it can. Saying you know you can't do it is giving yourself a free pass not to even try. When I started in July I couldn't even exercise a full hour. Now I work out 4 hours a day. You have to build up to your goals, you don't just find yourself ready to run a marathon one day. It won't be easy but it'll be worth it. Stop telling yourself you can't do it and laugh in the face of anyone who has the nerve to discourage you. I am doing more than I ever thought I could! I amaze myself sometimes. I crushed my October goals, and that's really saying something considering I set some pretty high goals for myself. In October alone I did 82 hours of cardio, did 201 miles, and burned 69,548 calories through exercise. If I can, you can. If you want it. The bright side to being the heaviest girl in the class? You burn more calories doing the same exercise! Stop worrying what other people think about you. Only 1 person has ever made a rude comment to me. Last week a skinny girl said to me in the warmup of a hard class that if I was that sweaty already I better find an easier class cuz its only gonna get harder. And I let her know I was sweaty because I had already been working out for 3 hrs and had just finished doing 12 miles. I also told her that if she knew how hard it was for someone my size to even walk into a class like that, she would keep her opinions to herself. Shut her up pretty quick. And I did the class with my head held high. But to be perfectly honest, a class doesn't go by when at least one person doesn't tell me what a great job I'm doing. People want to see us succeed. When I do my c25k and jog around the track people give me thumbs up or pats on the back all the time. I'm so proud of what I can do now. What are you going to be proud of in 3 months? Start now. Start small. Work your way up. Show the world you don't have to be skinny to jog. When I haul @$s it takes two trips, but I frickin do it. No more excuses. If you think you can't, you won't.

OP, PLEASE listen to this. Nobody said it better. I suggest you become friends with her & grow together. You're so lucky to even have a Y membership -- I can't afford it even living frugally & never spending one cent on anything that isn't a bill all year long (yes, really). Take advantage of what you have, know that you can win this fight, but that it's not going to happen by you not putting up a fight yourself. There are plenty of workouts on Youtube, on TV, etc. that don't need equipment (30 Day Shred, for instance), & in addition you have your membership so it's really great

Ignore what everyone else is saying to you. You need to work out, no matter how boring it is. It's boring for me, even when I'm blasting my favorite song. But, I know that I need to do it to be healthy. Like another poster said, read a book on the bike or the staircase, & play music & think about how you'll feel afterward. Keep working out & definitely get on that row machine! There are no restrictions to whom uses what machines anywhere -- if there is, the gym can get in trouble for it. Ask for help & get on it another thing I suggest is doing a dance, pilates, or yoga class -- much more fun than exercising & still gets a lot of calories burned. I do belly dance & there are women of all shapes & sizes in my classes, & it's just a great fun challenge! Definitely try it

Lastly, try as much as possible to eat healthy. I know that you said you have problems with your family buying healthy food (as I do too, with a mother whom gets offended at just about anything related to how she raises & supports her home), but yesterday I had a talk with her & told her my goals. She decided to join me & today we had egg whites with chicken for breakfast. She's going to go food shopping soon & buy real (non-canned) vegetables & more egg whites for us, & a lot more variety of fruits. & for what it's worth, I by no means have a relationship with my mother, yet she still agreed to this for the sake of our health.

Let your family know, start shopping with them & picking up the right things! Even if you have to pay for it out of pocket, it's still worth it than a sickness in the future. I'm at risk for a lot of genetic diseases & cancers & I don't let that stop me for anything. Work hard, be happy, & be healthy! Good luck!

P.S. On a side note, I'm a gamer too -- something that I do to exercise while playing videogames is squatting in front of the TV, walking & jogging in place (I did this for 4 hours once playing Final Fantasy 12) & other random things like side twists & such. You can make it work!

I like the row machine. and it is good cardio. the machine will probably tell you how many meters you rowed and you can go to an online calculator to convert that to miles if you so choose. It takes me 11-12 mins to row a mile but I would start with half that at first and work your way up. rowing works muscle groups in your shoulders, back, chest, arms, and thighs. So it's a pretty good workout, but also plenty of places you can end up sore doing too much too fast. It's like the stair machine, I started with 5 mins on that as well.

Exercise isn't always fun. But the more you do it, the more you will enjoy it. I read the thread from yesterday, and I'm not going to make any judgments about you based on that. But I will say, that if you want to succeed, the excuses have to stop.

But I totally understand not liking certain machines. I personally LOVE the elliptical. I could stay on that thing for hours. But I know I need to incorporate more things into my routing, so I hut up the treadmill too which is my ENEMY. But I do it anyway because I want by body to CHANGE. And the only way for your body to change is to CHALLENGE it. Make it do things it doesn't like. It works. Trust me. Also, they have classes for beginners. I worked at a YMCA for 3 years so I know they have beginner level classes. I've seen a lot of classes full of overweight people who were there and trying their best and no one gave them crap, because they respect and admire that they're making that change! You have to want it bad enough.

Hope it works out!

You shouldn't EVER be intimated by a class. You don't how many of those people started of worse than you, bigger than you, more unhealthy than you. Only difference is, they stopped caring about what others thought, and changed their thinking to themselves and the benefits that come from exercise.

Try Leslie Sansone DVDs. She is great and they are great for beginners. You can find some at Walmart. Or how about wearing a pedometer and setting a goal for yourself everyday? I hope you find something that works for you.

Theres a few on you tube aswell.
Also the fitness blender ones have some relativly simple moves, ( but still very effective)

With workout vids/ classes it usually takes me several times before i can even figure out the moves, let alone finish it.
Take a break when you need to and catch your breath/ grab a drink.
Doing a few reps with propper form is much better that trushing to do them all , but being sloppy.


And remember you are not alone