Exercise for complete idiots?

[ghanie]

Ok, I'm not a complete idiot. But I try these "beginner" workout videos and I can't keep up. I even borrowed the Slim in 6 series and couldn't complete the "Start it Up" video.

Does anyone have any exercise recommendations for people who are not physically fit? I'm not horribly overweight (though I wouldn't mind losing 20lbs). I've just been sedentary as I've been working on an online business for over a year (still do but I notice my health now). So I have no stamina or endurance. I managed to stay relatively flexible from what I can tell, though I can't do a full downward-facing dog.

In any case, I've been managing a yoga video ... this one by Yoga Zone for anti-aging. I have a few other videos (liberated from a pack-rat I know) but most are too advanced for me. So I've been doing the Anti-Aging once per day since Friday and yesterday I went for the Yoga Zone for Abs also (couldn't do all the poses but I was able to keep up with it for the most part). I could probably do those two every day back to back.

If you have any other recommendations, my packrat buddy probably has it, hehe.

Am I off to a good start? How would you suggest I continue to further my level of fitness? What rate might you suggest at 30? I eventually want to be able to get through the "beginner" videos. I think that would be a major accomplishment.

[sourpuss]

Do the videos anyway. Just rest for 30 seconds - a minute when you need to catch your breath and then begin again. You'll be keeping up in no time. Just stick with it.

If the majority of your day is sedentary make a point to walk around more. Park at the end of the lot at the grocery store. Walk to the grocery store if it's not too far. Set a timer on your computer for every hour and when it goes off take a brisk walk around the block. Moving your body throughout the day will also help with your sore back.

Keep with the videos, make yourself do them. Just take small breaks and eventually you'll get through them without stopping to rest. You'll be surprised at how fast you'll actually get up to speed.

[ghanie]

I'll probably try that once I can keep up with it at least a minute at a time and it doesn't take longer than a minute to catch my breath.

As for walking around .. not possible in my area, unless one enjoys getting stalked, harrassed, mugged or worse (hence the reason I became sedentary).

My back is one of the reasons why I am working out now, especially with Yoga. I just have to do it at home until the economy lets us move to a safer neighborhood.

[Corpore Sano]

Your problem is a very common one I'm afraid.

Videos done at home can never gauge the precise individual definition of the word 'beginner'. What is total beginner to one person, could be fairly intermediate to another.The term varies tremendously person to person.

The term 'beginner' is probably one of the most unsettlingly 'flexible' in exercise science, and it sounds as though you are at the stage where the first thing you need to do, before starting any moving exercise in the exertional sense, is to increase your flexibility and mobilise your joints in a non-impactive way. Remember that every pound you are overweight by, increases the load on each of your knees by 6lbs ( the tech term for this is 'referred torque'), so preparing your joints for impact as much as possible first, is a smart course of action

There is a law of physiology that states 'The more you stretch a muscle, the more powerfully it contracts' so as well as making yourself more flexible by stretching, by increasing your flexibility, you're also actually increasing your physical strength in the process by developing the muscular ability to contract more powerfully. This is a principle that men generally have a big problem getting their head around!

Most stretch books can help you, but remember some important things about the stretch process.

A. The stretch should be held at a point where you feel a mild pull in the muscle and no more. A good way to remember this is to think 'AA' as in annoying ache and not beyond. Anybody wincing or grimacing whilst stretching has gone too far beyond the AA point and is fighting against their own defence mechanism.........pain......telling you to go back a little!

B. Once you've reached the point where you feel the AA in the muscle, it takes 15 seconds (properly counted not guessed!) before the benefits of the stretch reflexes actually begin to work, so 30 second give you 15 seconds of true flexibility development, 45 seconds gives you 30 seconds of true stretch development and so forth.

C. NEVER engage in bounce stretching or 'dynamic' stretching as it is sometimes called, the 'results' of that approach are now emerging more and more in thousands of people with injuries.

Never follow the length of video exercise times and intensity religiously if they don't tally with your own levels of effort and 'feel'. It's absolutely fine to only do half or a quarter of the times specified if you're not feeling up to it and if this does happen, remember NOT to chastise yourself as being lazy either.

You wouldn't have bought the video and put time aside to use it, if you were truly lazy, so just listen' to your body, first and foremost, doing the stretches first and then approaching the video, initially on your own terms. You'll find that by degrees you WILL keep up with it, without having exhausted yourself in the process; which ultimately will make you less than 'joyfull' at the prospect of using your exercise video again and thus defeat the whole object!

I hope that advice helps you. I'm PA to one of the highest qualified Exercise and Nutritional Consultants/Personal Trainers in the UK and Europe, so after 20 years of being so, I've learnt many positive facts from him and I hope you can now move forward more positively.

Best of Luck.

[ghanie]

Oh I actually have a video on stretching (one of the Classical Stretch series by Miranda Esmonde-White). I decided to go ahead and start my morning with it and it was actually a work-out also (kind of a strenghthen with stretch approach). It was a good challenge but I was able to keep up with it and I'll gladly start my day with it.

I think this stretching combined with 2 yoga routines is a good combination for "wakening" my muscles.

There are a few yoga routines I can't quite keep up with yet that I'll start attempting in another week or so. I think if I can work my way to being able to do those, I might be in a better position to complete enough of the "beginner" videos to feel good about it. Right now they make me feel too defeated to try that whole "do it anyway" approach.

[Lakerat]

I used to work out pretty regular till i moved to the country ...anyway....i bought a WII for my girls and then bought the wii fit...it has some yoga,strength training balancing stuff that is pretty good.....also some dance steps,jogging ,boxing and hula-hoop.......

you can kinda work at your own pace with it...might be something to look into..

[ghanie]

I heard about the wii fit but I can't afford it right now.

So here's an update:

I tried sourpus' advice a few days in:

Do the videos anyway. Just rest for 30 seconds - a minute when you need to catch your breath and then begin again. You'll be keeping up in no time. Just stick with it.

... I ended up wobbly the rest of the day and too sore to exercise the next day. I couldn't even complete the stretching routine, as it was too painful. So I've been following Corepor Sano's advice since:

Never follow the length of video exercise times and intensity religiously if they don't tally with your own levels of effort and 'feel'.

A whey shake also made me deathly ill for a few days which interrupted that for a bit but I'm back to a steady routine and have been able to keep up with it for a full week.

My routine has been Classical Stretch (45 min) followed by Yoga Zone Ageless Grace (15 minutes) with a short water break in between. It was quite challenging with enough cool-down periods (less intense poses) to keep me going and follow it to the end.

Today I followed Classical Stretch with Yoga Zone Total Body Conditioning. It was more advanced but I was able to keep up so that will be my new morning workout over the next week.

The next step is Rodnee Yee's Power Yoga which I'll start next Saturday. It's more advanced than those beginner videos I attempted in the beginning but I'm going to stick with Yoga as I'm enjoying it.

It says that the stretching routine is only required 2-3 days out of the week to maintain flexibility so I might tone that down if I'm able to keep up with the power yoga well, maybe toss it in the afternoon or something. We'll see.