How should I work into the things I can no longer do, pushups, sit ups, squats, and how long should it take?

I'm close to 300lbs, and have always had weak tone. Anybody else get past this without losing the weight first?

I started from absolutely zero and with a weak heart with the 30-day shred by Jillian Michaels. I initially almost passed out from doing the warm-up. But every day I tried to do a bit more. I started to see results within 10 days, which kept me going. Not weight loss, but a significant loss of inches. That was 18 months ago. I am still doing JM. This time the 90 day Body Revolution. I have since lost almost 5 clothes sizes and can workout 60 min without a break. I have abs and biceps. My weight loss started only about 5 months into exercising, when I started a ketogenic diet. I am a very slow looser and I think without the progress from exercising, I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. It is definitely worth it. Start now and a year from now you will look back and be amazed.

I started at 340 pounds doing Zumba DVD's and EA Sports Active on the Wii. I remember doing 10 squats and thinking I was going to DIE.

Do whatever you can - just do it. Not when you lose 10, 25, 100 pounds. Do it NOW.

Jen

I am a very slow looser ~ So am I, I've only lost 1 pound so far and I started my diet and working out in May but I hope when I go to the doctor's again I will have lost alot more then 1 pound.

YOU are my inspiration! I am doing swimming 3-days a week now and some Leslie Sansone videos. I really, really want to do the 30-day shred but am so nervous about my arthritis flaring up! I'm going back to physical therapy next week to regain some range of motion in my shoulder. I'm hoping that by August I'm ready to SHRED!

I think swimming is excellent for improving motion. I have a bad knee and suffered from inflammation to the point where walking downstairs became a problem. I found that reducing carbs helped with inflammation. Moreover, exercise may hurt initially, but when you start building muscle it provides support. With the 30-day shred it is important to start slowly and not be too ambitious and push too far. I had some knee pain in the beginning and usually left out the exercises that were hard on my knees. JM also offers modifications for the beginner and you can leave out the weights in the beginning. I am now completely pain free and have no troubles doing the advanced versions of the exercises. One level of the 30-day shred is focused on shoulders, so you want to be careful there.