I go to a gym now, but at first I was on my own. I walked about 3 miles a day - took time to work up to that, I was too out of shape to do much at first, so I would say, start with 30 minutes and see where that leaves you? If you feel great, add more. I would say take time to figure out where your level is rather than picking a number and then maybe feeling bad that you could not do it at first (I speak from experience!)
I also bought (at Target) a couple of sets of hand weights (2 lb, 5 lb, 8 lb) and got some books from the library on strength training (I found several books for the 50ish person, that would be me!) and ended up buying a couple that I really liked. (My favorite was by Joan Pagano) The exercises were simple, most requiring nothing, some just these weights (and you can substitute cans of food, bottles of water, etc. for the weights.) What I liked about my favorite books was that they organized the workouts into sections - upper, core, lower body - and you could mix and match as you needed. I started with low weights, the easier versions of the exercises, etc., and repetitions, and added as I got stronger.
You might try your library for videos, gives you a chance to try out various programs and/or instructors, before you purchase.
I also did some dance videos, lots of fun and different from the usual exercise. Our library had a good selection, different types of dance.
You will be surprised how quickly you will improve if you stay with it. I would bet the pilates video will be doable faster than you think! My advice is, whatever you try, try to do it with the best form you can, and if you can't do it in pretty good form, do the things that you can and wait until you are stronger. It will happen!
|