Such a Newbie. . .

[kailpea]

I HATE exercise. Actually, I can't really say that, because in the past when I have exercised, while I hated actually doing it, I loved how I felt afterwards. but with that being said. . .I really lack the motivation most of the time, and never know exactly what to do when I go to the gym. I'm trying to come up with a fitness routine and some goals for the next year. As silly as it sounds, my first exercise goal is the be able to do a pushup. I have NEVER in my life been able to do a pushup. =( So what sorts of exercise should I be doing in my fitness routine to help me reach that goal?

I plan on beginning to do 30 minutes of Cardio and 30 minutes of weight training 3 times a week at the gym.

And I was also wondering, what is a good homevideo for the absolute beginner that I could use on the days I can't get to the gym?

[free1]

I love Walk Away The Pounds by Leslie Sansone. It's a great workout for beginners and has options that can accomodate you all the way to the advanced intermediary stage! I do it at home about 4x a week and have seen great results. C

[flourless]

You could start with wall pushups, and then slowly decrease the incline. Pushups require a fair amount of abdominal strength, so anything that works your abs should help you get in the right direction.

[flourless]

Oh, planks are probably a good idea, too!

[EagleRiverDee]

A good video- try "Ripped in 30" by Jillian Michaels. It's got 4 different workouts, they are 35 minutes long from warm up to cool down and they do 3 minutes of resistance, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of abs, repeat. It's a great workout, and you're done rather quickly.

[toastedsmoke]

When I started, I also HATED exercise. In fact I'm not so sure I like it THAT much now; I just don't feel right when I don't do it (AND I like how I feel afterwards). I think the thing is to commit an amount of time to working out regularly (5 days a week for example). It can be 30 minutes or 40 or 45 or am hour, whatever, just commit that time to working out whether you feel like or not! That's how I started and now I think nothing of 2-hr or longer workouts.

Re: pushups, you can start with doing modified push ups on your knees and also planks as suggested. In line with your question about workout videos for beginners, I concur with the Walk Away the Pounds if you're an absolute beginner, but if you're a beginner looking for a bit of a challenge, you can try Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I started of with those two. Jillian will probably get you used to working out hard a little faster than Leslie.

But don't feel like you have to do your traditional workouts, find something you like, you'll be more likely to stick to it! For example are you interested in kickboxing or dancing or zumba, do any of these sound appealing to you? There are soooooo many different things you can do, so it is possible to find something tolerable.