Exercise when you haven't done any for a LONG time????

Check out the DVDs by Leslie Sansone as a ramp up to more stressfull workouts. We have one that has four workouts. One mile, two mile, three mile and four mile.

Now I'm doing 30 day shred but when I started it would have killed me, so the lower impact walking routines got me ready.

Just moving your body through walking will help.

I hear C25K (Couch 2 5K)is a great option. Personally, I just started jogging and worked my way up to 10K "Jogs/runs"

Doing anything is greater than doing NOTHING.

Swimming is great if you have a reasonably priced one nearby, $10 per drop-in gets to be a bit much if you get into it but with the water doing the supporting it's great.

Body-weight exercises may be a great place to start if the pool isn't an option. instead of the dreaded push-up start with something like a "wall pushup" or a vertical pull that will get you started on pull-ups, do what you can handle and work up from there.
there's a picture of wall pushup here
http://www.papafit.com/easy-exercises.html
but since I don't have a picture that I can claim as mine I won't hotlink to it.
It's really that easy to get started.

Don't have to spend money on tons of weight sets / equipment, a can of soup can be a great starter weight, a gallon jug of milk that you fill with water or sand will step you up to about 9 lbs before you'd look at equipment, even then craigslist, kijiji and other second hand type sites ebay and so on can get you started cheaper than the $1 /lb they want for new weights around here.

I started by walking and getting into swimming and water aerobics. Once your body gets used to moving more again, you can start considering bumping up the intensity (jogging, adding in more load-bearing exercises, etc.)

HI guys, was on here a bit last year, went through personal crisis, fell off the wagon, now returning 14 pounds heavier (yes, in just 6 months!!!). My body feels very stiff and sore, I get sore ankles and knees at times (seem random) and I haven't done any REAL exercise for a long time. The thought of doing anything at the moment has my body groaning, but I know I need to get back into it, if not for weight loss, but health.

Any suggestions on what worked for you and how you worked your way up exercise wise? Where did you start and where are you at now?

Thanks guys!

I was in the same boat...or rather I am still there. I work out in small amounts my goal is right now is 20 minutes twice a day. I started at 10 minutes at a time. I could quickly tell that the 10 minutes became easier and it was time to increase the times. So I guess my advice is to start small and to stick with it.

Water jogging...low/no impact and burns a ton of calories! I have been doing it since 1/6 and have lost 10 pounds. I hurt my knee when I joind a boot camp back in June last year and put on an additional 15 pounds in 6 months also, so we were riding in the same boat. I absolutely love water jogging and do it for 70 minutes a night! Good luck and have fun!

I started with 10 minute walks a few times a day when I first started since I had never done any serious exercise. Stationary bikes are also a great option but walking is always free and available anywhere.

This^

Just get back on the horse in my opinion. Yea its going to hurt for a little bit, but then youll be good to go. Also 6 months isnt that long to be off from exercising. You'll be right back to where you were before you know it.