Hi all,

My name is amy, and I would like to add exercise into the mix now. I would love to join a gym, but unfortunetly I do not have the funds for that. I am really not a huge fan of exercise per se, but know that if I ever want a non-sagging body it is time. I want to know what u all find to be enjoyable exercise. I think if I find something fun, or enjoyable to me that I will stick to it. So bring it on Ladies and gents... what do u Love????:thumbup:

thanks in advance,

amy

I love running, it is the best thing in the world to do.

I know, I know, it makes people groan and pull the blankets tighter, lol.

But if you can get through the getting fit part, to the point where a moderate run feels no harder than a brisk walk used to, its wonderful. Its great headspace, you get the endorphin rush, you do it simply for the love of it and not because you have to.

Can you tell I love it?

I do like team sports etc but at heart I'm a solo exerciser. I love the introspection and thinking time it gives me.

I've never been one to believe in therapy and other such "quackery" but really, when I think about it, I've used my running time all along to focus on my weight loss, make positive affirmations, imagine great outcomes etc and I think it really has helped.

I'm a runner too, in fact, I am quite cranky because life has gotten in the way and I haven't gotten to run since Friday.

I love dancing, get one of those work out videos from the bargain bin and get moving. Some of those videos are so cheesy but effective.

Since you cannot do the gym, try walking with a cheap mp3 player to keep you company. There are a TON of videos out there that are inexpensive and made for beginners. (Walking off the Pounds is a good one to start with.)

If you suddenly find the money, a Wii Fit is a LOT of fun. You do not feel like you're exercising until you get up the next day. lol

I love to swim and bike. I run too but I don't *love* it. I just love to bike and swim though. Dancing is fun too. Oh, and pilates. I lurve me some Pilates.

My philosophy is to find something you love to do and then do it and not worry so much about whether it's the world's best exercise. Anything you do is better for you than the stuff you won't do because you hate it.

I love, love, love to swim! I also love to run and I am learning that I love to ride my bike! Just being able to get out and do these things again has been great!

Time to sign up for a triathlong, Krtork!

Has anyone tried those Carmen Elektra strip tease workouts???

I've discovered I love to walk! I live in the mountains and walk my neighborhood. It's very hilly and at 1.5 miles round-trip, it's a good workout for me right now. [i'm pushing my 35lb 3 year old in her stroller with the dog on her leash.]

I hope to start adding another (the final) road to my walk a couple of days a week, next month. That will add another mile and the hills on that road are the hardest hills of any I do now. DD will start preschool next month, a few days a week and it's on a couple of those days that I'll leave my aging dog home and do the extended walk by myself. I'm soooo not ready to push the stroller that far or up those hills yet! LOL!

I never thought I'd actually get into this! I just started getting out there b/c I hate my treadmill [treadmills in general] and needed to DO something! Now I get soooo pissy if I can't get out there almost everyday or if it doesn't go right! It's come down to needing to do this now.

I try my darndest to get out there every day. I actual schedule things to leave my AMs free in order to be able to get out for my walk and get back in time to get cleaned up before having to leave the house.

The only day I don't consistently do is Sundays b/c of church. When it's cooler out, I go after we get back but with the heat coming on, I wont be able to do that as often as I'll want. Monday-Saturday tho, it's all about my walks if I can make it happen!

Okay, this is how bad [good?] I've gotten about walking. Saturday I will be walking in the middle of the afternoon for Relay for Life and I've already planned that I'll be doing my regular walk in the neighborhood in the AM. The afternoon track walking will just be a major bonus for me that day!

Just try a lot of different things for a few weeks at a time and see what sticks! You may be surprised at what it is. I know I was!

Best wishes!!

My .02 is that it's not so much "what" you do... rather it's the INTENSITY and CHALLENGE that matter! Many people (myself included) needed a gym to provide those. But if you can get those two key components without the gym, then the gym is unnecessary.

Remember, the bottom line with exercise is: 1) You HAVE to do it... 2) You MUST do it at a sufficient intensity to provide a challenge.

Challenge = not killing yourself, but not casual either. A casual walk is not sufficient exercise IMO.

OK... I'm now beating a dead horse...

Good luck and keep moving!

Brad

thank u all for your input... right now im walking, but it sort of sporatic. I'm having trouble fitting it in, actually Im just having trouble establishing a routine. I find that I am so tired and put it off. when I have exercised in the past I also find that I am so exhausted afterward... when does it start to give u energy?

amy

Brad, I want to disagree with you for just a sec. I don't usually, so this is new! LOL! And it's only partly a disagreement! :grouphug:

I think casual walking at first is okay. If it gets you off your butt and out of the house or office, then by all means, GET OUT THERE! Now, if that's ALL that's happening after awhile then, no, it's not okay for weight loss and general health. Continue to casual walk after awhile only if there is other exercise going on.

When I first started walking, all it could be was casual. I was too out of shape and that made my exercise induced asthma kick in. After a bit tho, I was going further and faster. By this time I was putting DD in her stroller so I could actually get a workout instead of doing a stroll thru the neighborhood when she was walking with me.

So to a certain extent that's where I beg to disagree with you. Later tho, I totally agree with you!

Amy, you've got to make time to do it. I KNOW it's hard! I schedule things around my walks. I have to or it doesn't happen. I've got a 3 yr old (well she will be in another 1 1/2 weeks!) and am pretty much a single parent when DH is at work (he's a fireman and right now has been on a fire for the last 10 days.) and I have NO one that I can just leave her with and go work out so I have to figure it out for myself and I have. I throw her in the stroller and she and the dog go with me. Try to come up with ways to make it happen! Get creative!

As far as the energy, it's different for everyone.

Best wishes!

I am a cycler. I can proudly say that now I've been doing it 3-4 times a week for 10 months.

If I can't get out to cycle, I exercise on my spin bike. Not as much fun, but as least I can listen to my iPod. But when I actually hit the road, it's heaven.

I'm HAVE to cycle now, at least once a week for 1-2 hours. But of course I loathed it for the first few months - it took me ages to get fit enough to just enjoy it and not have to concentrate on how much my muscles ached.

But now I can raise a really good sweat, feel the burn, and enjoy it. Who would have thought it of me 10 months ago? I certainly never thought it possible!

As for finding time - I work fulltime, study and have a teenager and a 3yo at home. All it takes is 40 (intense) mins of exercise 3 times a week - that's all I did while I was losing. That's only 120 mins out of your entire week. You can find it if you need to. The hard part is not letting yourself off the hook when it comes time to do it. Don't give yourself any excuses to get out of it. After a while, you stop making excuses and just do it.

Exercise isn't all or nothing. Anything you do is better than doing nothing. Once you start doing *something* you can work on doing it more intensely or doing more.

I started out going to the gym 1-2 times a week to ride the stationary bike and now I'm doing triathlons and working out 6-10 hours a week. I just gradually upped things.

u guys are inspirational to me! I know im making excuses and now I need to stop thinking and behaving like a "fat person". I have used that for too long now... I want to be the woman I know I can be... healthy, active and wonderful!!

thanks so much for ur inspiration and pep talk :grouphug:

amy