Recommendations for a Beginner

Well I am a huge fan of Beachbody products because there are so many to choose from. I wouldn't suggest insanity because it may be too much stress on the ankles and because you are a beginner. You could try slim in 6, Power 90 (a toned down p90x), Maybe even Hip Hop Abs..Let me know if you have any questions. Lindsay

I'm a complete beginner too and over the past few days have been looking for information on this site and also searching on Google.

Some sites that I will be using, and you may find beneficial, are as follows:

http://www.fitnessblender.com/ - this is pretty good because you can search for exercises based on difficulty level, area of body etc. There are quite a few low impact exercises on here.

- BeFit on YouTube

http://hasfit.com/beginner-workout-program/ - HASfit - this page will show you a beginner's exercise schedule which you may find to be of some benefit

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/ - Beginner body weight workout

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZj19AUU5I - Fitness Blender. This is the link for the beginner workout, but it's worth looking at all their other videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0fJ2lu0Er8 - Jayme Bales workout. I managed to do around 10-15 mins on day 2 of my workout.

There's also the 30 day shred - links for levels 1-3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pc-NizMgg8 - Level 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxvLerfthAA - Level 2
http://www.4shared.com/video/MBFrHyg0/30_day_shred_level_3m4vff.html - Level 3

I started using Hannah Waterman's Body Blitz DVD (you may not have heard of her if you're not in the UK) and did this last Friday & Saturday for 30 mins (I'm absolutely knackered by then!!). Today I attempted level 1 of the 30 day shred and I really really struggled with this...I could only do 11 mins and had to stop (I don't think I was breathing correctly, and the jumping jacks finished me off). I'm now thinking that I'll perhaps start with some 'easier' exercises on Fitness Blender. I am also going to incorporate core work, basic yoga and stretching into my workout (I can't touch my toes at the moment, that's how inflexible I am).

A week ago I hadn't even come across Insanity, P90 etc and looked into this a bit, but think I'm too unfit so will perhaps do these in the future.

Re strength training, I want to increase my fitness levels a bit before I start incorporating this. The following link has helpful information:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1012300-beginners-strength-training?hl=beginner+strength&page=1#posts-15508067

The only problem for me with some of the recommendations in the above link is that they require equipment i.e. barbells, bench etc and I have no equipment other than dumbbells.

Hope the above does help you.

Wizzyocean P90X and insanity may be too intense right now but there are some other programs you might like. You will get an actual schedule on what exercise to do on what days. My sister would also like to start but is a little worried about the extreme workouts. Like I mentioned before Slim in 6 has had awesome results. If you have a facebook there are many pages where you can talk to people about the workouts. Motivation and support is very important!

Well I am a huge fan of Beachbody products because there are so many to choose from. I wouldn't suggest insanity because it may be too much stress on the ankles and because you are a beginner. You could try slim in 6, Power 90 (a toned down p90x), Maybe even Hip Hop Abs..Let me know if you have any questions. Lindsay

sounds like she is a coach selling these programs... be aware!

I am not a beach body coach and I am doing P90X right now. I am about 60 pounds overweight, in terrible shape and will turn 50 in a few weeks, but I can still do it. There are only 3 of the DVD's I can do all the way to the end right now, but I get further in each DVD every time. I can't do all the exercises, so I sub in something I can do when they are doing things I can't. I use the bands instead of weights and that helps. I am making progress. I find it a little light on the cardio so I might do Zumba or Just Dance on the WII to burn some extra calories if I think I need it. My only issue is the length. It is really hard to fit in the whole 50 minutes sometimes, but after I do this one, I want to try the new P90X3 that is shorter. I watched my husband do this and it did wonders for him, though he is much fitter than me and he got faster results as he wanted to build muscle while I want to lose fat.

I think that when you are just starting to incorporate fitness into your routine, the most important thing is to find something (anything) that you WILL ACTUALLY DO ON A REGULAR BASIS. If that's walking slowly around your neighborhood, do it. If you can only commit to a gentle yoga video, do it. If you want to go to the gym and do the elliptical for 20 or 30 minutes, do it.

What matters at the beginning is creating a fitness habit in your schedule and building consistency. When people jump into things that are too hard, or that they don't like but think will give them rapid results, they tend to quit. Notice how the gyms were super crowded the first week in January, but they're back to half empty now? That's because people jumped in and started programs that were too hard or they didn't like.

Just commit to doing the easiest and most enjoyable thing at the beginning, and do it on a regular basis. Once you have built the habit, you can focus on increasing the intensity and duration, and hone in on the workouts that generate the best results.

Good advice here. Just start something easy and then build from there!