carrenross

HI! I totally relate to the exercise fear. I am currently 'ignoring' this fear by walking. I, too, have over 100# to lose - so I started with 10 minutes a day and have gradually worked up to NEARLY every day and the times are getter longer. I have a cat - but he only will walk to the end of the driveway with me - could you take the dogs for a walk? I am sure they would LOVE IT. To me, right now, exercise is walking. I never thought I would say this but - I am actually looking forward to it, go figure, and feel so much better, less stress and exhausted - in a good way - when I get home. Give it a try. My goal is to do aerobic/weights AFTER I loose 50#. Be encouraged my friend. Carren.

smooshmcsmeesh

Thanks Carren! That's wonderful to hear that you're looking forward to walking =), I hope to get to that point.

Going from an extremely sedentary lifestyle to even light exercise can be somewhat daunting, but walking is something I feel I can easily do. I'm not sure my pace is what it should be, but just starting out, any movement is better than no movement.

I'd welcome any exercise support buddies too! I think the encouragement is really important.

smooshmcsmeesh

Well I just went to the library and found two exercise DVDs that I'm going to give a try.

First one is "The Biggest Loser Workout" and the other is "Pilates Complete for Inflexible People". I laughed at the name of that last one.

Wish me luck! =)

smooshmcsmeesh

Well everyone, I attempted "The Biggest Loser" DVD today and got through about 20 minutes of it without keeling over. But I have to say, while I'm proud of trying, I absolutely hate how I'm feeling. All weak, sweaty, winded, light headed. I'm about to hit the shower, but I realize that I need to really work on strenghtening my core & muscles. I couldn't even do the lunges. Knees were crackling (ewww) and I felt like I was gonna fall over (I have no balance).

Anyway... I really hope this exercise thing gets easier for me.
I may just have to stick to the treadmill for a while. I don't know.

cjohnson728

Great effort, Smoosh! Those workouts are no joke! You will be amazed at how quickly you build up endurance. Congrats; you made it through .

fletch8502

Don't give up, smoosh! Doing 20 minutes is better than not doing anything at all. I bet you'll be surprised how much better you do the second time around. Muscle memory is a very cool thing!

For knees cracking during lunges...look down and make sure you can always see your big toe on the leg that is bent. If you can't see it, you're leaning forward too much which can really strain your knees. If your knees are still cracking, you might want to leave out the lunges for a little while. Walk in place or do some other exercise instead.

For balance...keep a chair near you and grab onto it when you feel wobbly! That will help a lot while you're building your balance and core.

Remember, when doing exercise DVDs you don't have to do exactly what the instructor says. If they tell you to do 20 reps of something and you can only do 10 for right now, that's fine. If you need to pause the video to get water, do it! If you just don't like an exercise or the way it makes you feel, fast forward! You don't want your workout to be completely miserable or you won't stick with it. Make the DVD work for you!

Keep up the good work...

PS - Let me know how the other DVD is. I laughed at the title, too. =)

smooshmcsmeesh

I did another segment on the Biggest Loser tape today. This time it was shape & sculp oriented -- not cardio. I used my 2lb handheld weights, and wow, I still broke such a sweat. I modified some of the lunge movements since I just don't have the leg flexibility or strength right now... BUT... I completed the whole segment! Yippee!!!

I'm feeling good, and I'm sure I'm gonna feel sore tomorrow.

I still don't like sweating (ick) but the shower was a nice reward.

anne88

I too have been working on the transition from couch potatoe to an active lifestyle. One way to motivate myself to use my treadmill and recumbent bike was to join Netflix. Around $12 a month for two DVDs, that way I always have one on hand. Whatever I order I can only watch while working out. In the beginning I could only do 15 minutes at a time, now I am up to an hour and at almost -50 pounds loss. For me the best were HBO/TV series, multiple episodes on each DVD - the time flies by and I can't wait to see what happens next.

smooshmcsmeesh

So, today I was feeling more tired than usual and not really motivated to exercise yet. That's not unusual, as I have been doing my activities mostly in the late afternoon / evening, since I'm not a morning person.

As I went into my bedroom to absorb some of the chilled A/C air, I looked in the mirror and thought, "Do I want to take a nap? Or should I walk to the library?" Trust me, the nap was edging out the library... but then I saw the reflection in the mirror of the beautiful sunny day outside and my mind said, "Hey! Don't waste this precious weather. Get outside! Enjoy yourself! You don't have to power walk there... take it slow and enjoy some 'ME' time."

I changed into some comfortable clothes, put on my tennis shoes (although I prefer sandals, but I know they're not good for walking, hehe) and headed out the door.

My rural area is very scenic for walking but there are challenging inclines and some 80 steps down a steep ravine to the main road where the library is located. I saw it as an adventure!

I left my house at 2pm. I walked, walked, walked... down the hills, down the steps (which hurt my knees just a little) and then over a pedestrian suspension bridge across the river that made my legs feel like rubber bands as I bounced my 250+ frame along.

I made it to the library only slightly winded and felt proud of myself! After perusing the books for about 15 minutes, it was time to head home. Some storm clouds loomed in the distance so I tried to pick up my pace a little bit. I was also lugging some hard cover books with me that felt like they weighed about 2 lbs.

I walked, walked, walked... then came the hills. I felt my breath quicken, and my face redden, but I took it slow. I felt like a snail inching up the mountain. Across the bridge... up another incline, and then -- EEK! -- an 80-step climb up the ravine. The steps themselves weren't too high, thankfully, but I started the climb, counting one-by-one. 10-20-30-OMG-40... thankfully there was a platform. I could hardly catch my breath, my heart was pounding. I waited under the shade for a minute and thought, I have my cell phone -- I could always call hubby to come get me -- but no, I could do it! With trepidation, I started the second 40. Egad am I out of shape! I wanted to collapse at the top and I still had about 1/2 a mile to go to my house. I leaned against the railing for 5 minutes and let myself settle down a bit.

From there, the remainder was a breeze and I am so proud of doing it! While I may not make this walk everyday, I know I will get stronger the more I exercise and pretty soon (like in a year), I will run up those steps Rocky Balboa style and cheer!

*Gonna fly now....* =)

Thanks for reading along about my adventure. You guys are amazing inspirations and support! I appreciate that so much.

Smoosh

PS - I was back home by 3:08pm, so all in all it only took me 1 hour to make the circuit. 45 mins of walking; 15 mins of library time. HOORAY!

Lizzycritter

Awesome, grasshopper (yeah I know Karate Kid, not Rocky, but still an 80's movie reference)