Getting back to shape!!

[StellaP]

Dear Cathie

I am wondering how an overweight person of lets say around 10 or 15 pounds above ideal weight, who has not been exercising in the near past, but exercised a lot time ago, can start working out AGAIN.

I have been exercising a year ago. Ever since I have put on a lot of extra weight and now cannot get back to exercising. I seem to be bored by medium intensity tapes as they are often fairly easy for me and cannot get me into a real sweat workout; but on the other hand can never get round in doing advance tapes as I have lost a lot of my body mobility and endurance; so often, after trying to attempt advance tapes I get dissapointed.

What is your opinion?

Is there a danger for the health of a person when being overweight to try and reach maximum exercising limits ?

Thanks in advance
Stella P

 

[Lotus]

Hi Stella P! I'm pretty much in your position now. I woke up one morning and realized that my favorite jeans will fit if I take around 15-20 lbs. off. Yuck. I've been back to working out and now the eating habits are starting to come together.

As far as health risks go, my guess is that the risks come into play if you push too hard, especially if you push too hard, too quickly. If you're really concerned, you may want to consider consulting your physician.

Don't get discouraged with your workouts. Just remember that you have to enjoy the process in order for it to become a habit. Good luck!!

 

[Lex411]

RE: Great advice

You gave terrific advice, I totally agree. Often, home videos geared towards beginners or even intermediate level exercisers are kind of boring, like they're too watered down or something. But it is a logical concern to wonder about the safety of attempting really advanced level tapes.

I think talking to your doctor first is a great idea. They can do simple things like check your blood pressure, pulse, etc just to see how your resting health is and let you know what's safe for you in particular. But I also think really having fun while you workout is a key thing, too. Advanced tapes are really motivating and I like having workouts I can grow with and progress with, I think you just need to respect where you are in terms of your own endurance and strength and listen to your body. You just need to know when it's ok to push a little to progress and when your body is telling you to go a little easier. Keep the ego out of it, which is hard even for me, and have a good time and it will also be much easier to keep going back to your workouts.

Hope all this helps!