starcco

Hi all, I see that some of you have posted various threads about quitting and starting exercising. Did you have to ease into exercising or did you kind of go all out? Did you experience any cardiovascular or other physical issues when you started? I used to work out pretty consistently and somewhat intensely but not sure if I should go straight back into that routine, ease into it, or go medium. I just don't feel accomplished if the workout is not hard enough, but I also don't want to injure myself.

doggonecarl

Start with walking. Simplest and one of the best exercises around. Hard to hurt yourself walking yet you can still push yourself.

kevlarsjal2

I don't know your age, your fitness level, your current health and so on but why not test it bit by bit? Start off with something easy and if all goes well you can keep adding until your workout feels challenging enough.
Where I live you can get a check up at your doctor's if you're fit for the gym/running or whatever your plan is, they will measure your blood pressure, heart rate and stuff like that. Asking your doctor is probably the safest option

WaterOx

When you're starting out or just getting back into it, be sure to go easy.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so please do not be intimidated by what you see at the gym. Most of the people have been there for years and they go every day. The rest are exactly like you and probably pretending like they've been there.

Remember no one cares about how much or how little you push it. They are too busy in their own little world. I've been a gym rat for over 10 years. Please go easy.

Maybe start with some perspective. Use exercise as nothing more than an excuse to get out of the house and do a little something. If it feels like it's getting hard, go ahead and leave or go to the Jacuzzi if they have one- but make the commitment to come back within a couple days. A little bit on a regular basis is way better than a lot for one day....followed by blowing out your joints and injuring yourself.

Anyone who lasts at the gym makes it a habit, not a gung-ho huff-puff rambo time hour. That is just setting yourself up for failure.

least

Ease into it gradually. Best to avoid injury or stress. Walking is a good place to start.

bradly22

Exercise can certainly make one feel amazing. Of course, without consistent exercise for some time, it could be a good idea to ease into this everyday activity.

totfit

Just look at it as a life long journey of progress. There is no need to try and do it all at once. We frustrate ourselves when we do and we sometimes revert. It would be good to start moderate and get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day for the "head" as well as the body. Make a plan for where you would like to see yourself have progressed 3 months, 6 months, 9 months or a year or more from now and start a journey towards that. Be kind to yourself if you get off track from time to time, but keep moving forward. Most importantly, enjoy the journey.

zerominuszero20

I don't think it really matters. go at whatever rate you like and can do. this is not a sports injury or medical procedure you are recovering from.

MindfulMan

I went gung-ho. I used to bodybuild in my mid-30s and kinda used that experience as a guide.

Well, I'm 57 now. Ended up with a near knee injury (locked for a split second during a leg press), aggravating a shoulder injury, and developing a hernia for which I will need surgery, it was probably already there, but got much larger.

I'm working through all of this, but I probably would have saved myself some grief had I started slower.

Depends on your age and physical condition. If you're in your 30s and have taken a relatively brief break from a very active lifestyle, that's a very different situation from somebody in their 50s that hadn't worked out for years.

I would start with cardio at first.

starcco

I was off for about a week and did some cardio yesterday, just playing soccer with my son. I got winded before I normally would, so yeah, it's going to take some time to get back to what I was doing which was 20-30 minutes hiit which included cardio and body weight exercises.

zjw

i started just walking for 30 min a day and that was that. i lost over 100lbs just with that. now i run 50-70 miles a week. I usually dont just back off just because. the only reason i back off is if my body physically will not let me do more. Now granted i might do an easy pace run and that is my recovery run per say. I also tend to train more easy 10 miles at a nice pace. race pace is for race day no sense in risking injury i'd rather run daily then kill myself.

I watched a documentary once and the kenyan runners some of the best in the world run easy. there training program isnt like in america where we tend to go super hard all the time. Also lots of training have you training at a certain HR so that you can up your endurance over time it just seems better to me to go a bit easier and pull out the hardcore stuff at competition time.

SoberCAH

Easy does it is a good mantra regarding exercise.

You'll know when it's safe to step things up a notch or 2.

That is some strong, and very impressive, mileage, Z.

I plan to get back out on the pavement this weekend and start running in earnest again real soon.

Once I get reasonably conditioned, I can start upping my mileage (I hope I can get back to 10-15 at a very friendly pace).

I'm 61 years old and do a pretty good job of listening to my body and doing what it compels me to do.