Please help me start exercising

[Anonymous]

I started working out this pandemic because my hang up is social anxiety and the ability to do live group classes at home with nobody watching was a real incentive. I tried so many different things. But my favorite is an app called “The Class.” It’s a little of everything and not too much of any one thing. Some cardio, some meditation, a little yoga, and really great music.

[Anonymous]

Weights and walking?

[Anonymous]

I agree with everyone else. Start with yoga and weights. Go on walks outside. The Peloton should be after you’re already comfortable power walking for miles. And always, always Listen to your body.

Weight training is going to make a huge difference in how you carry yourself. Once I started working on my core I was surprised how light I felt and how easy it was to stand up straight.

[Anonymous]

I think you’ve gotten some good advice but as someone with exercise-induced asthma I would not start with tabata or HIIT— the point of that is to exercise until your muscles/lungs can’t take any more and I think it makes more sense to build capacity/experience with other forms of strength and milder cardio at least at first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yoga first. Breathing exercise before, during and after your cardio. Take a break and do your yogic breathing.

Also, load up on a bio-available form of magnesium (to help with heart palpitation) and try and have an alkaline diet to fight inflammation in your body. My go to is a glass of water with juice of 1/2 lemon at least twice a day.

Do your exercise but break it up through out the day. Start with no more than 10-15 minutes at a time. If you do that and manage the resulting inflammation and burn in your body, you will build up stamina and things will become better.

Doesn’t that mess up your teeth??

Yeah, lemon is very acidic and enamel-eroding. Not sure why this poster is pairing it with an "alkaline" diet. Typical bogus nutritional info you'd expect from an anonymous internet forum.

[Anonymous]

Don't try to jump into exercise. First figure out ways to get moving that you truly enjoy. A daily long walk followed by gentle yoga is just as beneficial to overall health as the high-impact fitness routine du jour, especially if you're not trying to drop weight.

I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma when I was younger. It turned out to be a combination of anxiety and environmental allergies, and once I got that under control, no more asthma symptoms. Pointing this out to say that if you find yourself doing something you love (even if it's just dancing around your living room to throbbing club music), you might find that your lungs don't rebel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you’ve gotten some good advice but as someone with exercise-induced asthma I would not start with tabata or HIIT— the point of that is to exercise until your muscles/lungs can’t take any more and I think it makes more sense to build capacity/experience with other forms of strength and milder cardio at least at first.

I’m another person with exercise induced asthma and I agree. HIIT is designed to hurt - it packs it all into a short time frame so it is very intense, and I think that would freak you out and discourage you. Your body and brain need to slowly get accustomed to the feeling of breathlessness, and you need to learn how much coughing is okay and when to back off. If you are doing yoga regularly you are already doing much more than 90% of Americans, so well done! You could probably build on that by doing one of the yoga workouts that is designed to increase heart rate. Or just add a nice brisk walk. The yoga probably has you covered from a flexibility, mobility, and basic strength perspective.

[Anonymous]

I would start with a commitment to do yoga 3-5 times a week for a few weeks (I like doing yoga thru peloton), then sprinkle in a few other classes - maybe barre, beginner weightlifting, and walks?

[Anonymous]

I try to run 3 days a week, do Peloton 2 days a week and walk the other days and I usually end up taking one day off.

I’ve only had my Peloton 3 weeks. I do the Beginning or Low Impact rides for 20 minutes.
I also recommend walking to start working out.

I don’t have asthma so I don’t know any advice on that. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

PFPsisman10 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you’ve gotten some good advice but as someone with exercise-induced asthma I would not start with tabata or HIIT— the point of that is to exercise until your muscles/lungs can’t take any more and I think it makes more sense to build capacity/experience with other forms of strength and milder cardio at least at first.

Here is the thing, when I refer to a combination of "strength training" and "cardio", I am talking about doing weight training, with an emphasis on strength, at the gym and going for a walk/run on other days. I never said anything about HITT, if I was referring to HITT I would have said that.

Dude not everything is about you.

[[e-mail]]

It’s really hard to go wrong with walking. Start with 10 or 15 minutes and then try to walk faster and then work up your time. I’m up to about an hour and I can even jog some of the way!

[Anonymous]

Walking is not really exercise for someone who is a normal weight and age and is not sick. It is one step above sitting but does not qualify as exercise. There should be some challenge involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not start with Peloton unless you find you love it. I would start with yoga and Pilates and strength training. If you are not looking to lose weight and you are unsure how your body will respond to cardio, focus on getting your body moving, building range of motion and strength. For cardio, go for (fast) walks or do some flow yoga.

Then, if everything feels good, start adding in more aggressive cardio like the Peloton or running or cardio classes. You will be less likely to bail if you start gently and do some variety. Over time you will find what you enjoy and what makes your body feel good.

OP here. Thank you! I do enjoy yoga and have done it for a long time. My forays into pilates have not been very successful, but I’m game to try again. Do you have any suggestions for good Pilates videos on YouTube or something?

Here is what worked for me. I'm older but also haven't exercised regularly in a long time. I also have exercise-induced asthma although at this point it is so mild that I think the only thing I notice is I don't have great lung capacity. I started to walk every day as a stress relief. Really the alone time or time with neighborhood friends has been a saving grace during the pandemic. I usually walk about 3 miles and when I skip a day, I find that I miss it - for the first time in a very long time I've been able to tie improved mental health to exercise. So in order to get through the groundhog day feeling of 2020, daily exercise is a must.
I'm planning to buy a peloton knock-off now that I'm in the groove but I don't think I could have started there. Good luck OP, you can do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you’ve gotten some good advice but as someone with exercise-induced asthma I would not start with tabata or HIIT— the point of that is to exercise until your muscles/lungs can’t take any more and I think it makes more sense to build capacity/experience with other forms of strength and milder cardio at least at first.

This and ignore the peleton pushers. Walk and start with weights.