How do you start Exercising?

If you are like me, you don't really enjoy exercising.  Or you are busy, or you count house work as exercise, or you have a sore leg or bad back, or ... or ... or....  Also, if you are like me, when you do put in the effort of exercise, you don't see any real results.  I don't lose weight.  I can run for hours and I maintain my weight, where ever I am.  I have come to see this as an asset, for I assume that once I reach my goal weight, I will be able to maintain it by running, but it is a real bummer when I am trying to lose.  I have learned a few things.  Hopefully, these will be helpful to you.

1) You cannot out-exercise a bad diet.  You can't.  Sorry.  This is reality.  To lose weight, you must diet.

2) Exercise is not for being skinny- it is for being healthy and strong.

3) You may not lose weight, but you do change your shape, and for some people, that is enough.

4) If you are susceptible to diabetes or heart disease or a myriad of other health problems, exercise is critical for your quality of life.

5) You can start small.  But you cannot start tomorrow- or you will never start.  Start now.

So how do you start?  Slow.

I didn't want to go to a gym, and I wanted to start alone.  I love the show "Biggest Loser" so I started recording it and watching it while I ran circles in my living room.  Not even kidding.  If I saw the contestants doing squats, I would stop running and do squats too.  I also started recording a 5:30 am exercise program that alternated between aerobics and yoga and I would follow the TV on days that I didn't have a "Biggest Loser" episode to watch.

After about 2 months, I decided to run in my hallway and not watch TV while I did it.  I have a longgggg hallway and it is a wood floor, so it worked out nicely.  I noticed that I was "running" for an hour straight.  I decided to add some stairs, so I would run 20-50 hallways and then run the stairs 5-10 times, then I would repeat it.

Then I got brave.  For my birthday, I asked if anyone would run in the Women's fitness Challenge.  My sweet sister in law, who at the time was training for triathlons volunteered.  She ran that 5K with me and never complained about me being slow or awkward. She cheered me the whole way and we ran it in about 40 min. That was the first time I ever ran in front of anyone, or ran outside.  Outside was really really hard.  But I felt really really good.

I went back to my normal routine of running in the house, but I ran the whole house; upstairs, the hallway, through the living and dining room and the kitchen.  I found that some days, I would easily run for an hour and a half or two hours.  I started watching movies while running.

Then I started getting up at 5:00 so I could walk with some friends.  I had to get up.  There were people expecting me.  We walked while it was dark, so my fear of people watching me exercise was taken care of. We just walked, but I would usually also run for 45 min. at home later, so I was still getting exercise.

I did notice my housework was suffering a bit.  My sweet hubby was very supportive and didn't complain.  In fact, he encouraged the running and said a little mess would not hurt anyone.  He also helped out on the weekends and after work.  (I know- he is darn near perfect.)  But I don't like mess, so I started folding laundry and then making multiple trips running loads upstairs.  I would put one person's clothes away and then run 5 stairs and put another person's clothes away.

Then my friend talked me into boot camp.  Oh MY Gosh!!!!!  5:30 in the morning, and I have never worked so stinking hard!!!!!!  AT 5:30 AM!  I am NOT a morning person.  But we went, and we tried and we looked ridiculous and we jiggled and we tried not to pee while doing jumping jacks and the trainer laughed at us and took pictures.  And then one day, and I told him to get away from me with his camera, I realized that I was talking while doing plank.  That I did side plank without modifying and that he had just told me I was doing a nice job and my form was good.  'Did that just happen?' Why yes, it did.

Boot camp ended and it was a bit pricey for me, so my walking buddies and I started our own boot camp.  We each took a day and came up with a routine and tried to see whose routine would burn the most calories.  And it was FUN!!  Oh my gosh-- it was fun!

Now I look forward to exercise and I am irritated when I can't.  But in my present condition- plank, situps, and hard running are out of the question.  I have a really really modified exercise routine, that anyone could use to get started.  It is all in my house.  No equipment- well except for a good pair of running shoes.  You can find it HERE.

The point I am trying to make is, that you can do this.  It took me more than 2 years to get comfortable enough to go to boot camp.  But who cares.  Yes, my running in my living room was lame, but it did get my heart rate up, it did build a habit, and it did strengthen both my muscles and my resolve.  If you need time to build confidence, that is okay.  You don't have to do an iron man tomorrow, or ever.  You just need to move.