ok so...

ive always focused on weight and not health/fitness. dieting has always been an issue of getting to the size of clothes i want to be in. even if i ate mcdonalds for an entire day, id be happy as long as i stayed within my calorie budget (not that this actually happens).

im getting a little older now (31) and i feel like its time to focus on health.

so heres my scenario: first of all, i dont want to join a gym, at least not right now. also, i live in a bad neighborhood so walking outside is pretty limited.

so picture the most out of shape smoker you know (i know smoking is bad, but one thing at a time: PLEASE dont give me the smoking lecture, i already know ). im not joking, i spend most of my life sitting and i am weak beyond belief.


any ideas for the ultimate beginner??

Is there anything that you like to do that'll get you moving? You say that your neighborhood isn't so great and that would preclude you from walking? How about heading somewhere safer and walking there? When I lived downtown (I'm from NYC) and was nowhere near a "real" park... I would hop on the subway and head up to Central Park and treat it like my back yard... go for walks, go running, in line skating, biking... I made lots of new friends that way, who were into the same things that I was... I wound up joining 2 running clubs, a biking club, and even a triathlon club that way... and actually one of the running clubs that I joined has chapters all over the world, so when I've traveled I've met up with other members and gotten to see places from a completely different perspective... And if none of this sounds like it's your "thing" just remember there's something for everyone out there... From mall walking to hardcore hiking... I mean if my 90 year old grandmother can still get out there and play bocce ball... Anyone can...

Just remember everyone out there was also the "ultimate beginner" at one time too...

Good luck with whatever you decide to do....

Make sure you aren't limiting yourself so that you have an excuse not to exercise. I read "I don't want to join a gym and I can't walk outside" as there is no way for me to workout - so I won't. You may or may not have meant it that way. What about exercise videos? There are many good ones for people at all fitness levels. Can you go to a shopping mall and walk there? Or a zoo? Or a park? Could you go on a walk around your work at lunch? Think of all the things you CAN do and empower yourself that way. You can do this - if you want to.

well if i didnt want to, i wouldnt have asked.


i was just wondering what some simple things you guys started with were? for those who walked, how long did you start out with?

which DVDs are good for beginners?

I started out running between goal posts in a field near my house. I'd run one way, and walk back the other way. Then, after maybe 4 times I would walk both ways. I did this for about 30 minutes.

Then I came across the "Slim in Six" series. It starts you out with only a 20 minute workout (give or take). This helped ease me in. Of course I had to pause it at some points to catch my breath. But I kept at it and eventually was able to do it all without stopping. I took that as a sign it was time to move on to the next DVD and so forth.

Zumba is pretty good for beginners to help build your endurance. You could also look up several little exercises and combine them back to back to help. For example, 30 seconds jumping jacks, 30 seconds push up, 30 second burpees, 30 second butt-kicks, 30 second bicycle crunches.... that kind of thing (taking breaks when needed so you don't fall over and pass out!). All those things will help you build your endurance.

I love the 30 Day Shred and will recommend it to anyone. But I will tell you now, you WILL have to pause it at some point since it is tough, but the results are amazing.

I second going somehwere else safe for a walk. I've done this at times just for a change in scenery. I won't go to parks alone to walk but I've driven to other neighborhoods just so I don't have to look at the same houses yet again. I also travel with my husband for business and that allows me to get in some walking in a different location (always the same place...but it's not home).

Leslie Sansone is good for beginners. Not too difficult and you can choose to do 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles, etc. Also, unless you have a muscle or nerve disorder I would bet you are stronger than you think. Weight training is awesome for the body. If you have to start out with 3lb then so what? You'll work your way up in no time. Or, just start out with body weight exercises like modified push ups, squats, lunges, tricep dips, planks, yoga or pilates.

Do you have anything in your house like exercise ball, weights or bands?

walking is the perfect place to start! It's pleasant, you get to listen to your music, it's low impact, and you get to see all kinds of interesting things and enjoy the outdoors. You would be surprised how much you can improve your fitness just by walking.

One thing I learned when I got smaller last time is that exercise should NOT be painful, excessively difficult, or uncomfortable. It should be pleasant, if a little challenging. There's no reason to torture yourself by trying to spend an hour on the elliptical while you're in pain and discomfort- as your fitness increases, you'll be able to do that without it being painful or horrible. Spending 15-20 minutes doing something super hard isn't going to help you as much as consistently doing something fun with a slight challenge. That's why I recommend walking at first.

And I also hate walking in my neighborhood- I don't feel especially safe or comfortable. But what I do is drive 5 minutes, park my car, and walk somewhere else. Easier than driving to the gym, right? Plus, it can be fun, because you can see all different types of neighborhoods that way.

I hope I didn't come across the wrong way. I know that I sometimes let myself make excuses and I may have been addressing someone like me (or actually me) rather than you. The real key I was trying to make is there is always a reason to not exercise - but it's not always a good one.

I have done the 30 day shred, and I don't know that I would recommend it to beginners. Every time I start it, it puts me off from exercising because it makes me hurt so much. I know that it gets results and it is a huge bang for a 20 min workout, but I would prefer to do 45 - 60 min and not hurt as opposed to less time and pain for days.

If you can find somewhere to walk/run, I would definitely recommend the couch to 5 k program. I truly believe it works and anyone can do it. (But don't be afraid to repeat a day or two if you feel you need to)

I have heard that people like Leslie Sansone DVD's.

Walking is great. Can you walk safely near work? Maybe instead of a smoking break? (oh, sorry, wasn't gonna mention that ). Start with ten minutes. If you can do it twice a day, great. If you can do it three times a day, you're already up at the thirty minute a day mark which is where they say the health benefits kick in.

Also, you can "walk" in your house. That's basically the strategy behind Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds video series. Try checking them out of the library (both the St. Louis City and County library systems have some of her DVDs) to see if you like them. It's also the strategy behind the Wii game Walk It Out.

I used 10 Minute Solution - Target Toning for Beginners to get started on strength training. Netflix has it streaming and its cheap on Amazon. You'll need dumbbells. I started with the cute little ones from Sports Authority (the 1 pound ones are pink and the 2 pound ones are purple).

Consider joining the monthly exercise challenge thread at 3FC. Here's September's: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/chic...challenge.html

I find it really useful to keep track of the minutes I exercise in a month. Set a goal like 300 minutes -- that's only 10 minutes a day and you can easily make up a missed day or two with a thirty minute walk on the weekend. If that goes well, make it 400 minutes the next month. That really encouraged me to be consistent and to improve my fitness gradually. I've been so pleased with my ability to get fit and not get injured this time.

I also think a bit of yoga is useful for a beginner -- it got me in touch with my body a bit and made me notice that I feel better when I exercise.

Probably my favorite beginning yoga DVD was Suzanne Deason's Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss. It's a 45 minute routine but it feels so good! If you need something shorter, Lee Holden's 7 Minutes of Magic which is a combination of Qi Gong and yoga is really nice -- three 7 minutes routines with two of them having 15 minute options. I like the 15 minute versions the best.

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions! I ordered a few of the DVDs you guys mentioned and Im ready to give them a try!

no i know what you meant. sorry if my response came off snotty.

It didn't. I saw the ""

I'm the ultimate beginner and I'm walking outside, and doing Leslie Sansone and Winsor pilates DVDs. Good luck!

So you're looking for relatively cheap ways to exercise indoors for a newbie, right? How much space do you have inside your home?

I too agree that exercise shouldn't be tortorous and to that end I tend toward things I enjoyed as a kid. Remember skip-its? Tell me that wouldn't be a good workout! (I've been trying to get my hands on a skip-it with built in counter but so far no dice.) Hula hooping is loads of fun too, if you have an adult sized hoop and the room for it. Jumping rope is harder to do indoors but depending on your ceiling height might be okay. You can teach yourself all the tricks you wanted to learn as a kid. And, really, just dancing around the house is great exercise. Music, I find, is key for this, so find something that gets you hyped and go for it.