15 min of exercise… thought I was going to die. Advice?

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  • lewisdeanhughes
    lewisdeanhughes Posts: 10 Member
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    Frequency is the key!
  • JennifersW8
    JennifersW8 Posts: 2
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    I recommend walking, take the stairs when you can, park far away from stores and get walking in that way. Little things add up. I weigh twice what I should and I can now go almost an hour on the treadmill and do weightlifting the same day without feeling like I'm going to die. You can do this, but don't think you have to do it all at once. Baby steps, OP.
  • csontos
    csontos Posts: 76 Member
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    I live in Florida in a kind of not so nice area (Yay student living) so by the time it's cool enough outside to walk, I kind of worry about safety (8 women were just raped in my apartment complex... Sooo yeah.)

    When you are ready to try, take a self defense class (they probably offer them at the university).
    I'm graduating this semester and moving to Georgia in May in preparation to start my master's program in the fall, so I'll definitely look into it at my new university. I'm definitely going to find a nicer area to live though, haha.
  • Sharonks
    Sharonks Posts: 884 Member
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    Another vote for walking. If that is painful on joints then do it in a pool. The water will support some of your weight and keep your joints from hurting so much. Resistance from the water helps. A lot of water aerobics classes can be modified to not be so strenuous when you start.

    Wii Fit is actually kind of fun and is a good beginner workout. A few years ago I got really sick and after a year of spending much of my time sleeping they decided surgery was my only hope. Abdominal surgery is no fun to recover from. About 2 months after surgery I started walking slowly and doing a little Wii Fit. 4 or 5 months later I was walking at 3.5 miles per hour for a few miles and doing yoga. Then I started to run. For now, my exercise is running, walking, and heavy lifting. When I graduate from college in June I will have time to take up yoga a couple times a week and I'm thinking I would like to do some kind of martial arts.

    BTW, I'm 48 and started running at 46. I hadn't run since I was about 20. My older sister started running in her mid 40s and runs marathons (12 of them in 2012 including the Boston Marathon). If we can do it so can you!
  • Kirk_R
    Kirk_R Posts: 112 Member
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    I am in total agreement with the folks recommending that you just go out and walk to start and those saying you don't have to work so intensely.

    Every spring I see new folks trying out running. I'll see them during the first or last mile of my runs. I can hear them approaching long before I see them since they're breathing like they're about to die. They're practically sprinting for the mile or two that they're out. I only see them for a week or two at most before they quit. They're simply trying too hard and are the ones who say running is just too difficult.

    It's ok to go slow and take it easy in your workouts. Once you've got a base of fitness you can put some harder work in.
  • joanthemom8
    joanthemom8 Posts: 375 Member
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    Well, I haven't read all of the replies, so I may be repeating what someone else said. But I would start out easier and work my way up. Many people give up too quickly on exercise, because they start a level that's too difficult for them, and then they don't want to keep going. Start with maybe a 15 minute walk - maybe a brisk walk - depending on your fitness level... That's how I started running.... couldn't just "run" I had to work up to it (with the C25K program). Anyway, my motto is "baby steps".
  • Buddhasmiracle
    Buddhasmiracle Posts: 925 Member
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    one classic beginner mistake is thinking that exercise done for purposes of burning calories has to be done at a breakneck pace. that's a recipe for burnout after a couple of weeks. all you need to do is start moving more. instead of trying to go as fast as you can on an elliptical for 15 minutes... or do as many jumping jacks in a row as possible... or jumping rope doing fancy rope tricks for 15 minutes, you can simple go for a walk or jog at a casual pace that you can sustain for much longer. a half hour or hour of walking at a casual pace can burn a surprising amount of calories for somebody who is 80lbs overweight. forget that silliness about "the ideal fat burning zone" for your heart rate. if you want to start getting that weight off, pick exercises that you can do frequently without burning yourself out doing. walking. jogging. swimming. etc.


    +1
    If you read through some of the success stories, you will see lots of people started out with walking and gradually built on that.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Be proud of your fifteen minutes. When you can do fifteen and still feel okay, do twenty. Then twenty-five.
    We all start somewhere.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    You did it congrats!

    It will get easier, keep at it.
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
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    Well done for getting started! It's not easy!

    I started exercising at the end of January (I had not been active for 6 years). It was exhausting and horrible at first, I was so stiff and my entire body was constantly cracking. Here we are in the 6th of March and I wouldn't call myself fit but I'm getting there! Workouts no longer make me feel like I'm going to drop dead and I've even started jogging. It takes time and patience, you will get there.

    Little changes will add up quickly. It's all about moving more! :)
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
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    Well, today I tried to work out for the first time in probably months based on my doctor telling me that being obese isn't an option. She recommended that I do 15 minutes 4-6 days a week to start off. I did fifteen minutes today and seriously thought I was going to die. Maybe it's because I'm like 80+ lbs overweight. I did 3 minutes of cardio, 3 minutes of abs, 3 minutes of butt, 3 minutes of cardio, 3 minutes of arms using Blogilates. With about 1-2 minute breaks in between all of those.

    I spent about next the ten minutes coughing and then the next five chugging water. I felt like death.
    Because I moved around for fifteen minutes.
    …

    WELL, needless to say, I'm already dreading exercising ever again based on that. So, what should I do? Start at less than 15 minutes? Turn part of that into something easier? Try something completely different? I literally did all beginner videos.

    Haaaaalp.

    But you DIDN'T die! You lived! This wasn't your spouse or kids telling this story from the funeral parlor, this was YOU. Personally, I'm doggone proud for you. You worked out for 15mins! WOOT!!!

    Look: Don't give up. Keep at it. If it's tough, well maybe it's just tough for now. Every day you do 15 mins, that's a day it'll get easier for the next time. If you're dreading it, ask yourself this: Which do you dread more - 15min of being a workout badass, or a lifetime of obesity?

    Personally? I'm hoping you choose the 15min of daily badass.
  • DNHolbrook
    DNHolbrook Posts: 7 Member
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    Just keep it up and take it slow. Don't chug water either or you'll make yourself sick. Take a good big drink and then sip it. Give yourself a rest day in between. Don't push yourself to do too much too quick or you'll wind up getting hurt or burning out. Your body just isn't used to so much exertion. Maybe try going for walks also. Even really out of shape you can easily walk a mile in 25 minutes. Just get on Google maps, pick a point about a half mile from home and walk there and back, then do 1.5 miles and then 2. At a comfortable steady pace you can do 2 miles in about 45 minutes. Walking is a great easy cardio workout that doesn't put a lot of strain on the body in a short time. Spring is a great time for walking because it's not as cold anymore, but hasn't gotten hot yet. Work yourself up to working out one day, go for a walk the next, and so on. :)
  • sbox11
    sbox11 Posts: 59 Member
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    Well, today I tried to work out for the first time in probably months based on my doctor telling me that being obese isn't an option. She recommended that I do 15 minutes 4-6 days a week to start off. I did fifteen minutes today and seriously thought I was going to die. Maybe it's because I'm like 80+ lbs overweight. I did 3 minutes of cardio, 3 minutes of abs, 3 minutes of butt, 3 minutes of cardio, 3 minutes of arms using Blogilates. With about 1-2 minute breaks in between all of those.

    I spent about next the ten minutes coughing and then the next five chugging water. I felt like death.
    Because I moved around for fifteen minutes.
    …

    WELL, needless to say, I'm already dreading exercising ever again based on that. So, what should I do? Start at less than 15 minutes? Turn part of that into something easier? Try something completely different? I literally did all beginner videos.

    Haaaaalp.

    Find something you enjoy. That's the best advice I've ever been given! If you don't enjoy, you won't look forward to it, and you won't do it. My favorite work out is water aerobics. It's an hour long, but it's so much fun! And it really works! I have about 60 pounds to lose, so I feel you on the obesity saga. I'm there too. The main thing is just to get moving. It sucks to do at first. I had to literally talk myself into doing T25 for the first week, but now I enjoy it. Plus, I just tell myself that I'm only hurting myself and my family if I don't do it. I will live a shorter, unhealthy life and will not be able to play with my son as much as I could if I were healthy.

    Start out for 5 or 10 minutes if that is all you can do. The key thing is not to burn yourself out. Then you won't want to start again. If you do 5 minutes today, try 7 tomorrow, 9 the next day, and so on until you can get to the goal you and your doctor have determined is the best for you.

    One day you will look back and think, "I used to only be able to do X amount of minutes/miles/distance. Now look at me go!" It's a good feeling when that day comes! (Even if it's only an extra 5 minutes from when you started!)
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    Expect hell on day one, I could not last 10 minutes so you're already that much ahead. I started at 3 times per week, 10 minutes a day, just 80 days ago. I increased the duration by 5 minutes as each week went by, once I got to 1 hour straight, I moved from 3 times per week to 7. Now I'm doing Weights and HIIT. The body adapts so fast, I under estimated my increases really.
  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
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    Start of walking.Walk to the end of the driveway this week,walk half a block and back next week,walk 2 blocks in week 3...and so on...if you have access water aerobics are great for beginners.

    This. And it does get easier. I never believed it, started and stopped exercising many times, but finally it is easier. I started a walking program to walk a 5k. Then I started running (me, who thought I was going to die from just walking!). Now I am on the last week of the c25k and planning to run a 5k soon. You can do it! Set goals, reward yourself when you meet them, and soon it will feel awesome when you work out.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Thank you guys for the advice :) I'm going to go to my university's gym today and try walking for 15 minutes instead. I live in Florida in a kind of not so nice area (Yay student living) so by the time it's cool enough outside to walk, I kind of worry about safety (8 women were just raped in my apartment complex... Sooo yeah.)

    Good news is that I didn't wake up one bit sore, but I woke up starving instead. Oh well, I'll hopefully get used to it. I can't stay this weight for ever. I'm starting graduate school in the fall for epidemiology and I feel like such a hypocrite being obese :/

    Indoor walking..........Leslie Sansone, Jessica Smith....lots of workouts on YouTube.

    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jessica+smith+walking&sm=1

    http://www.walkathome.com/

    I hear you re: the weather. Up here it's snow. Sure they plow, but there are slick spots....I can picture falling flat on my a**.....no thank you.

    Walking workouts allow you to add minutes & up the difficulty......add arm movements, higher knees, squat into side steps, light handweights.....when you are ready. Just build at your own pace.
  • rosettafaery
    rosettafaery Posts: 102 Member
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    As others have said, start off with small goals.
    Start off with getting used to being active for 15 minutes a day. It can be walking at an easy pace or on a stationary bicycle. When you start noticing that is becoming easier aim to go a little further / faster / longer and gradually increase it. You have to be able to walk before you can run.
    You will get there. :)
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    i don't know why everyone is telling her to step back or slow down. she did 15 minutes, said she was going to die, but she didn't die.
  • Kirk_R
    Kirk_R Posts: 112 Member
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    i don't know why everyone is telling her to step back or slow down. she did 15 minutes, said she was going to die, but she didn't die.

    The reason to say slow down is that the vast majority who feel like they're going to die when they first start out quit before getting to the point that it is easier.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    The good news is you didn't die. :D

    Don't stop. You'll improve more and more each time.

    this

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