Exercising for beginners...

Good Morning-

I would stay start off slow and steady. Begin with Cardio about 3 times a week, maybe look into getting in on some classes to mix things up. Weights are also important to burning fat and toning up. I recommend investing in a magazine called Oxygen. It is a work out magazine specifically for Women. I used that 5 years ago and lost almost 30 pounds at home. Since I gained some of that weight back (by not exercising or watching what I eat (hey I am a mom and during that time I went back to school too and life just simply gets in the way sometimes)....I am utilizing that tool again once my subscription resumes. I have found that this website is also a great tool as well to really track what you eat and get a pretty good idea of the calories in. Lastly, if you are serious and committed look into a heart rate monitor tracking device too. It will help navigate your calorie burn. I have also downloaded an app to my phone called Endomondo. It will link with the Polar Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor, which can also be linked to my fittness pal too.

Best of luck to you and your goals. Remember slow and steady wins the race.

I don't know if you are into running or not but the Couch to 5K Program (aka C25K) is a really great program for beginners. It is an 8 week program with walk/run intervals. Whether or not the elliptical is better than a treadmill depends on your personal goals. I'll take the treadmill over the elliptical any day, but I'm also training for a 10K and it's freezing outside so I'm a little biased.

When I made my way back into fitness I sat down with a pencil and paper and wrote down some fitness goals that I wanted to accomplish...these included short range and long range goals and I updated them regularly. This really helps to focus in a fitness plan to meet those goals...otherwise you're just kinda blowing in the wind.

Your fitness goals should go beyond the obvious calorie burn...you have to realize that at some point you will be at maintenance...and your exercise can't all be about the calories. Burning calories is just a nice bi-product of your fitness that allows you to eat more whilst getting the same results.

Does the gym offer a free consultation with a trainer or on-site associate to show you how to use the equipment? Most gyms do and usually you can also pay extra for additional training if you would like. At the very least someone who works there can give you some pointers so you don't over-do it or hurt yourself.

I prefer the eliptical or taking Zumba for my cardio. If your gym offers Les Mills classes, BodyPump is a way to get into weight training while having fun and being in a class setting if the machines or free weight areas make you nervous still. Then there is BodyJam or Sh'Bam, which are dance-based classes, also a lot of fun. CXWorx is a resistance-band class, there is BodyStep, BodyFlow (yoga).....they really have a lot of great programs.