New at Exercise? Help!

Set attainable short term goals for yourself. Such as walking or jogging for a certain amount of time while your heart rate is in a target zone, or any other cardio exercise that you enjoy. Also set an attainable goal for how many times per week you are going to do it. I believe it takes 22 days of doing something consistently to become a habit. This can work to your favor with exercise.

Most definitely include some form of weight training as well. Again, set attainable goals for your weight training. Even if it's just doing some push-ups and sit-ups, weight training does help you lose more weight than just doing cardio.

Once you have met your goals, make new ones and keep at it. It takes willpower and persistence, but you can do it!

Good luck and have fun with it!

I'm almost always biased towards resistance training with weights to build muscle, but not in this case. There are a few ways you can go with this to make sure you aren't setting yourself up for failure, and they all involve starting easy and building up. At first it can be hard to keep your mind on the long term goal. Something about feeling like you're going to keal over and die because you can't take a full breath can do that. Believe me, we've all been there!

One suggestoin is to do something every day. Yes, walking is great, but do it with purpose and do it with increasing levels of both distance and intensity. The other day I was joking to my wife about all the people who meet up with their friend and walk the same mile every day for their whole lives, always wondering why they don't get fit or lose weight. You need to build things up as you go, from one week to the next, and you'll keep getting better at what it is that you're doing.

Another way to start slow, if you feel that something small every day isn't enough, is to go with harder, longer sessions only 2-3 time a week. Be intense and push yourself, but take a couple days to recover afterward. Then you have the added option to start adding more sessions as a way of progressing.

Many people make the mistake of starting with the toughest things they can currently pull off. Start by giving yourself a little wiggle room. If you think you can walk 2 miles, then walk 1.5, or walk 2 but do it slightly slower than you normally would. This will give you some momentum to work your way up and get better while also getting your body used to what you want it to do.

Once you've seen a difference in your cardio, then you should look into adding resistance training to your routine. The reason I suggest not starting with resistance training is that right now your lungs are extremely inefficient. The oxygen you are taking in to your lungs is not all getting taken in to your blood stream to be used by your body. As your body repairs the damage from smoking and gets used to cardiovascular workouts you'll be prepared to get the most out of resistance training.

In summary;
1. start easy, either by doing just a little most days or going hard just a couple times a week.
2. Make sure to add to your workout every week, either with more time, more intensity, or more sessions.
3. As your lungs become more efficient, add in some resistance training to start strengthening your muscle and joints.

If your reallly hoping to be running, take a little peek into the couch to 5k program. It starts you off slowly and builds over time. And I'd just stay on week one until you are comfortable enough to move past it. Maybe good if yo0ur looking for a bit more structure.

Honestly? Just DO something.
Less thought, more action.

Even if it's just putting on comfy shoes and walking around listening to your favorite CD. Every day, when you find yourself sitting around just say out loud "Well, time to go work out" and DO it.

I agree, except for the fact that many people get into a routine and start doing the same thing over and over. You have to add to your training and do it consistently to continue to improve.

Hi,

I am 32 also, and am just 5ft. I've only really started back into exercise about a month now. I'm not a smoker but last year I had cosmetic surgery for health reasons which has taken a while to get over. I have two little kids aged 5 and 2. I'd exercised on and off previous to this but had never really managed to get anywhere. I'd start to feel stronger and fitter after about three weeks of effort but the weight never seemed to move more than a few pounds and never went under 10 stones.

This summer I got a puppy after looking after a friends dog for a couple of months. I deliberately got a dog that I knew would grow up to need a lot of exercise as I knew that my values would never allow me to deprive her of exercise and that I would have no excuses for not taking her for walks! I went on the scales a month ago and noticed that I was just hovering above the 10 stones mark, the lightest I'd been in years, all thanks to my four legged friend!

I decided that was the time to seriously try to get fit again. I was totally healed from my surgery, my last attempt at getting fit proved too soon and caused me to get injured again. I joined a gym 4 weeks ago today, and go three evenings a week. My husband had mentioned MFP as he used it to put weight on to build muscle, but he said it was predominately a weight loss tool. So again 4 weeks ago today, I started programming in my food religiously, I am a little strict on my calories, I'll admit that, but as I am smaller framed I probably don't need that much anyway. I have lost 7lb's and can see such a big change in the mirror. My problem with exercise before was I'd feel hungrier and end up eating more, even though I thought it was healthy food I was eating, it wasn't! Read labels carefully, better still, eat stuff that doesn't have a bar code on it! Someone told me to eat a small amount of lean chicken and a glass of semi skimmed milk after the gym to curb the appetite, it does work, and doesn't blow too many calories!

Two things happened that have changed my life forever; one, I realised that I don't have to eat everything that is put in front of me or eat until I feel full. (The children in Africa will not benefit by me making myself fat! ) And two, that in order to lose weight I need to accept that I am going to feel a little hungry once in a while. Hunger pangs when I know I shouldn't actually be hungry are just my body's way of letting me know that it is adjusting to a new routine. One website put it as 'hunger is the fat leaving my body!' I totally understand that now and explains why I never made any progress before, I couldn't allow myself to feel hungry at all. Now, I no longer see it as pain but as part of the weight loss process, I never allow myself to get ravenous, just mildly hungry. I reach for fruit not pre packed 'health bars' which are actually full of fat and sugar!

As for exercise now, I love it! I look around at the gym and I seem to be the only one with a big wide smile on my face! Even though I'm working really hard on the CV machine and lifting as much weight as I can on the weight machines or holding that position until my abs and legs are burning. My secret is that I have learned to separate my mind and body by use of a distraction. I've done a lot of NLP training and have been using these techniques to help in many areas of my life. I currently listen to audio books by gurus such as T Harv Eker, Tony Robbins, and Bob Proctor while working out. Find what really distracts you and use it to your advantage. It could be a murder mystery, episodes of friends, or in my husbands case, War of the Worlds, by Jeff Wayne. What ever it is, stick with it.

Decide to change; If this is something that you really want, then set it in stone, write it down, tell lots of people about it, make yourself accountable for your actions, blogging on MFP is a great place to start! There will be people and things trying to get in your way, but its your life and your body, taking control of it is down to you. I hope you find the things that work for you on MFP and can get on with living your life the way you want to, with health, vitality and brand new personal power.

Keep us posted!

Chrystal
AKA Suisho25