Help me pick/make an exercise regimen!
December 11, 2011 8:23 AM Subscribe
I put my foot down that I really really must build an exercise habit (3-4 times a week, 30 minutes each kind of thing). It's one of my new year's resolution to stick to a strict regimen, and I want to build exercise into it.
Some background:
1. I'm 27, female, and I wear size 4 or sometimes 2. I think I weigh around 120 but I don't know for sure.
2. In the past I have really enjoyed weekly hiking when I lived near the mountains, and for about a year I biked everywhere, and that was such a great time. In general I really like walking and can easily walk 5 or 6 miles. In the past when I tried running I wanted to die after like 10 seconds.
3. This past year I've been doing yoga for about 15 minutes in the morning everyday and whenever I want Modern Family
4. Since moving to New York, sold my bike because I didn't have a place to keep it, made a career change and start working long hours from home at my desk, I have developed a weird constant pain in my leg and sometimes my knees. Doctor said my spines are okay, probably just really really tense muscle pinching a nerve. Also, I kind of don't live in the pretty part of brooklyn, and I would want to avoid street running as much as possible. Parks are okay, but that's about 20 minutes each way on the subway.
I am considering
1) doing a c to 5k, and build a running habit. My problem is that I don't know where to do it. I could go to the park by subway. I have free access to a gym in Manhattan, , but run+transit time would add up to more than an hour, if I shower that'll be close to 2 hours, and I don't have time for that thrice a week. Or I could schedule exercise to be right after the few things I have to do in Manhattan each week?
2) buying a cheap bike to keep outside, and get back to cycling (the draw back is that i have to spend money)
3) walk for a really long time
4) I could run around in my apartment, but that's just for comic relief, not for exercise
Other than the fact that the only sports injury I've sustained is from typing, I live a pretty healthy lifestyle, and sometimes I even sleep for 8 hours. So give me some ideas to fix that, hive mind!
(also, I am not necessarily looking to lose weight with this, although if I happen to lose weight I will not mind. Mainly I don't want to balloon up once I hit 30.)
Some background:
1. I'm 27, female, and I wear size 4 or sometimes 2. I think I weigh around 120 but I don't know for sure.
2. In the past I have really enjoyed weekly hiking when I lived near the mountains, and for about a year I biked everywhere, and that was such a great time. In general I really like walking and can easily walk 5 or 6 miles. In the past when I tried running I wanted to die after like 10 seconds.
3. This past year I've been doing yoga for about 15 minutes in the morning everyday and whenever I want Modern Family
4. Since moving to New York, sold my bike because I didn't have a place to keep it, made a career change and start working long hours from home at my desk, I have developed a weird constant pain in my leg and sometimes my knees. Doctor said my spines are okay, probably just really really tense muscle pinching a nerve. Also, I kind of don't live in the pretty part of brooklyn, and I would want to avoid street running as much as possible. Parks are okay, but that's about 20 minutes each way on the subway.
I am considering
1) doing a c to 5k, and build a running habit. My problem is that I don't know where to do it. I could go to the park by subway. I have free access to a gym in Manhattan, , but run+transit time would add up to more than an hour, if I shower that'll be close to 2 hours, and I don't have time for that thrice a week. Or I could schedule exercise to be right after the few things I have to do in Manhattan each week?
2) buying a cheap bike to keep outside, and get back to cycling (the draw back is that i have to spend money)
3) walk for a really long time
4) I could run around in my apartment, but that's just for comic relief, not for exercise
Other than the fact that the only sports injury I've sustained is from typing, I live a pretty healthy lifestyle, and sometimes I even sleep for 8 hours. So give me some ideas to fix that, hive mind!
(also, I am not necessarily looking to lose weight with this, although if I happen to lose weight I will not mind. Mainly I don't want to balloon up once I hit 30.)
Can you convert to a standing desk? Sitting for long periods is hard on your body. A standing desk gives you a lot more opportunity to wiggle around during the day. It makes a surprising difference.
Looking at your constraints, I'm going to suggest you don't pick up running right now. First, you don't like it. Second, if you need to commute 40 minutes by subway to somewhere safe to run you'll never do it. For what it's worth, I'm a dedicated runner telling you not to pick running. You don't have the right conditions to stick with it.
Do you have any interest in home fitness videos? Admittedly lots of home exercise videos are terrible, but there are some excellent choices too. Beachbody has some short, intense workouts. I like:
TurboFire and Insanity - interval cardio videos about between 20-45 minutes each. I'd say TurboFire is more accessible for a beginner. Insanity is, well, insane.
Chalean Extreme - 30 minute strength workouts.
A lot of people recommend P90X. P90X is an awesome workout, but the workouts are about an hour long and are more intense than you're looking to do. Also, there's gear and fuss.
You can do a search on YouTube and find clips of any of these videos. You might also be able to check them out of the library for a try.
posted by 26.2 at 9:20 AM on December 11, 2011
Looking at your constraints, I'm going to suggest you don't pick up running right now. First, you don't like it. Second, if you need to commute 40 minutes by subway to somewhere safe to run you'll never do it. For what it's worth, I'm a dedicated runner telling you not to pick running. You don't have the right conditions to stick with it.
Do you have any interest in home fitness videos? Admittedly lots of home exercise videos are terrible, but there are some excellent choices too. Beachbody has some short, intense workouts. I like:
TurboFire and Insanity - interval cardio videos about between 20-45 minutes each. I'd say TurboFire is more accessible for a beginner. Insanity is, well, insane.
Chalean Extreme - 30 minute strength workouts.
A lot of people recommend P90X. P90X is an awesome workout, but the workouts are about an hour long and are more intense than you're looking to do. Also, there's gear and fuss.
You can do a search on YouTube and find clips of any of these videos. You might also be able to check them out of the library for a try.
posted by 26.2 at 9:20 AM on December 11, 2011
Hey,
I'm a 22 year old female, and I recently started an exercise habit training for a tough mudder race in 6 months. I was most interested in building strength and getting some good cardio in, but I find that when I try to start an exercise program that requires me to go to a gym or go outside all the time that I quit when there's bad weather, or when I'm busy... etc.
I started the You Are Your Own Gym program by Mark Lauren and I can't recommend it enough. In the book he give step by step instructions with pictures on over 100 bodyweight exercises that you can do at home. The most equipment you need is a pullup bar, although you can work around that, and he gives advice on how you can set up a table or desk or whatever to accomplish the movement.
The book has several 10 week programs, based on 30 minutes per day, 4 times a week, with increasing difficulty throughout the program. The exercises generally change every 2 weeks or so, so you don't get bored. The intensity is what you make it, so it can be around P90X levels, or much less, depending on what you want to get out of it. I end up sweating and breathing heavily pretty much every time I do it in the morning, and it gets me woken up pretty darn fast.
The BEST thing about it is that there's an iPhone/Android App that has all of the exercises with instructions and pictures, as well as workout timers to guide you through the 10 week programs.
If you're worried about bulking up with muscle, don't sweat it. You probably won't lose weight, and you might gain some pounds, but you 95% likely won't gain bulk because you're not full of testosterone like a guy. And if your main reason of wanting to exercise is to be healthy well into old age, full-body strength training is one of the best things you can do to preserve quality of life. I'm not a paid shill, I've just gotten A LOT out of the program since I started 4 weeks ago. It's one of the only exercise programs I've ever been able to stick to.
Re: Running, since you already are starting to have some leg pain, you should be really careful about how you start a running habit. I run in minimalist shoes (Vibram five fingers) a few times a week and try to focus on excellent form over mileage. This NYT article has some good pointers on gettin good form: The Once and Future Way to Run and this article has some tips on building a good running habit (in training for a marathon, but is applicable to people just wanting to build mileage too): Mark's Daily Apple: Training for a Marathon.
If you're not totally sold on RUNNING, I'd say that a body-weight interval strength training program is optimal for building strength, getting cardio and staying healthy.
posted by permiechickie at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2011 [5 favorites]
I'm a 22 year old female, and I recently started an exercise habit training for a tough mudder race in 6 months. I was most interested in building strength and getting some good cardio in, but I find that when I try to start an exercise program that requires me to go to a gym or go outside all the time that I quit when there's bad weather, or when I'm busy... etc.
I started the You Are Your Own Gym program by Mark Lauren and I can't recommend it enough. In the book he give step by step instructions with pictures on over 100 bodyweight exercises that you can do at home. The most equipment you need is a pullup bar, although you can work around that, and he gives advice on how you can set up a table or desk or whatever to accomplish the movement.
The book has several 10 week programs, based on 30 minutes per day, 4 times a week, with increasing difficulty throughout the program. The exercises generally change every 2 weeks or so, so you don't get bored. The intensity is what you make it, so it can be around P90X levels, or much less, depending on what you want to get out of it. I end up sweating and breathing heavily pretty much every time I do it in the morning, and it gets me woken up pretty darn fast.
The BEST thing about it is that there's an iPhone/Android App that has all of the exercises with instructions and pictures, as well as workout timers to guide you through the 10 week programs.
If you're worried about bulking up with muscle, don't sweat it. You probably won't lose weight, and you might gain some pounds, but you 95% likely won't gain bulk because you're not full of testosterone like a guy. And if your main reason of wanting to exercise is to be healthy well into old age, full-body strength training is one of the best things you can do to preserve quality of life. I'm not a paid shill, I've just gotten A LOT out of the program since I started 4 weeks ago. It's one of the only exercise programs I've ever been able to stick to.
Re: Running, since you already are starting to have some leg pain, you should be really careful about how you start a running habit. I run in minimalist shoes (Vibram five fingers) a few times a week and try to focus on excellent form over mileage. This NYT article has some good pointers on gettin good form: The Once and Future Way to Run and this article has some tips on building a good running habit (in training for a marathon, but is applicable to people just wanting to build mileage too): Mark's Daily Apple: Training for a Marathon.
If you're not totally sold on RUNNING, I'd say that a body-weight interval strength training program is optimal for building strength, getting cardio and staying healthy.
posted by permiechickie at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2011 [5 favorites]
I have always been somewhere between moderately and very athletic, mostly cycling and (once upon a time) running. I wanted to do a more whole-body fitness type activity for 2011, and started attending a boot-camp workout class. It's been good for me. The fact that it meets at specific times motivates me to schedule around it and get off my butt to show up, rather than putting off going to the gym/for a ride/whatever because I don't feel like it right now.
posted by adamrice at 10:51 AM on December 11, 2011
posted by adamrice at 10:51 AM on December 11, 2011
I bought a cheap second-hand folding treadmill and used it very successfully and painlessly for walking/light jogging while watching movies/tv. I was able to buy it from a neighbor in my building here in NYC. Maybe someone near you is selling one also?
posted by devymetal at 11:14 AM on December 11, 2011
posted by devymetal at 11:14 AM on December 11, 2011
I implore you, that if you do go to a gym, do not drape yourself over an elliptical machine or stair climber while talking on the phone or staring at the tv. Do an intense workout and that's it for the day. You do not have to do hours and hours of low intensity cardio. Lift heavy pieces of metal, but make sure to consult with a trainer first, so you don't hurt yourself. To mix things up, take an occasional class at a local yoga studio. Do you have friends with a car? Try to get out of town on the weekend for the occasional skiing or snowshoeing. Once it's April or May, I recommend you get a bike for outside exercise.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 3:32 PM on December 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 3:32 PM on December 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
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Do you have access to pilates anywhere? Or dance? Those might be different enough and get you stretching so your back isn't so tense.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 8:59 AM on December 11, 2011