I don’t know about you, but when I see pictures of these thin little things \t\t\t\t\tin \t\t\t\t\tspandex jumping around on magazine covers, it drives me crazy. \u00a0I’m 5’2″, \t\t\t\t\tweigh \t\t\t\t\t219.5 (– as of Oct 2003. \u00a0I’ve been losing weight), and I am not in good \t\t\t\t\tshape \t\t\t\t\tfrom a workout point of view.<\/p>\n
I also hate to hurt when I exercise.<\/p>\n
Not only that, but there’s this cultural sense of guilt we have in not being perfectly fit, as if we’re committing a sin somehow. \u00a0Makes you feel like garbage about yourself after awhile. \u00a0Me? I say that the guilt is completely unnecessary, even if I do want to be healthy. \u00a0I’m not a bad person because I am short and fat. \u00a0I won’t be a better person when I am short and in shape. \u00a0As I often tell people who compliment me on my weight loss, and say, “You must feel so much better about yourself.”, no, I don’t feel better about myself. \u00a0It’s just possible to run up the stairs.<\/p>\n
So, if you’re overweight and take a cab if you have to go more than a few \t\t\t\t\tblocks, what the heck do you do? What if walking a mile is quite frankly \t\t\t\t\tout of \t\t\t\t\tthe question? What if that “gentle half an hour walk” you’re supposed to \t\t\t\t\ttake \t\t\t\t\tevery day is really too much?<\/p>\n
Stop feeling guilty about it, for one! You can start small and create an \t\t\t\t\tenormous snowball effect in your fitness. \u00a0Put on clothes and comfortable \t\t\t\t\tshoes. \t\t\t\t\tPick a direction. \u00a0Walk as quickly as is comfortable for you for five \t\t\t\t\tminutes. \t\t\t\t\tCome back at the same pace.<\/p>\n
Forget about it until the next day. \u00a0The next day, do the same thing.<\/p>\n
When you’ve done it seven times, walk five and a half minutes instead of \t\t\t\t\tfive \t\t\t\t\tbefore turning around.<\/p>\n
Do that seven days in a row. \u00a0Then walk six minutes.<\/p>\n
Oh, sure, it’ll take you about four and a half months to get to your target \t\t\t\t\tof \t\t\t\t\twalking a half an hour a day. \u00a0So what? Do you perhaps have a deadline? Are \t\t\t\t\tyou \t\t\t\t\tgoing somewhere? You know that exercise is good for you. \u00a0Chances are good \t\t\t\t\tthat \t\t\t\t\tyou’re not doing it because it hurts. \u00a0It might be that your fitness level \t\t\t\t\tis \t\t\t\t\tpretty low. \u00a0Hey, I’ve been there. \u00a0I feel for you, because it really does \t\t\t\t\tstink \t\t\t\t\tto feel like that. \u00a0I know what it is to want to get in shape, get in shape \t\t\t\t\tnow, \t\t\t\t\tthen push myself too hard, get injured and quit.<\/p>\n
I don’t do that any more. \u00a0That’s how I got to weigh 245 pounds and \t\t\t\t\texhausted \t\t\t\t\tmyself. \u00a0I felt at all times more or less the way I feel now when I am just \t\t\t\t\trecovering from the flu or something. \u00a0Yeah, that’s right, I felt slightly \t\t\t\t\till \t\t\t\t\tat all times.<\/p>\n
As of this writing, I walk a good brisk 20 minutes a day. \u00a0I get my heart \t\t\t\t\trate \t\t\t\t\tup to 21-22 beats in ten seconds, which is about 70% of my<\/em> maximum and a good \t\t\t\t\tconditioning rate. \u00a0(You should be very careful to find YOUR correct target heart rate, as this is fairly individual).<\/p>\n I can hear you saying, “But what if It’s nasty weather out there. \u00a0I can’t \t\t\t\t\tgo \t\t\t\t\tout in the rain! It’s cold, It’s yucky! Gray days depress me too much to do \t\t\t\t\tthat!”<\/p>\n Get outside anyway. \u00a0I’m serious. \u00a0I grew up near Washington DC, which has \t\t\t\t\tabominable weather for a good portion of the winter–gray, yucky, dreary, \t\t\t\t\tyou \t\t\t\t\tname it. \u00a0You know what, that ickiness you feel from lack of light will \t\t\t\t\tactually \t\t\t\t\tbe alleviated a bit if you get outside. \u00a0No kidding. \u00a0Even on a yucky gray \t\t\t\t\tday, \t\t\t\t\tthereis a lot more good sunshine for you to absorb than there would be in \t\t\t\t\tyour \t\t\t\t\tliving room or in your office. \u00a0I now live in Vermont and work in New \t\t\t\t\tHampshire. \t\t\t\t\tYou want yucky weather? Try our winters. \u00a0Falls are gray and rainy and days \t\t\t\t\tare \t\t\t\t\tabout an hour shorter in the dead of winter than where I grew up. \u00a0Believe \t\t\t\t\tme, \t\t\t\t\tthe people who thrive up here learn to put on the boots and the polar \t\t\t\t\tfleece \t\t\t\t\tand get their butts outside into the sunlight while we have it!<\/p>\n If it’s the chilly damp that is kicking up your arthritis? Again, I genuinely feel for you. \u00a0I have it, too, and have since I was twelve. \u00a0Yeah, yeah, losing weight is supposed to help, but darn it, I hurt even when I weighed 117 pounds, ya know?<\/p>\n Exercise is actually good for arthritis, too. \u00a0No, don’t go jogging. \u00a0That’s \t\t\t\t\ttoo \t\t\t\t\thard on your joints. \u00a0But walking at a pace that gets the blood pumping a \t\t\t\t\tlittle \t\t\t\t\tbit (a LITTLE bit!) is going to help. \u00a0You need strong muscles and to \t\t\t\t\tincrease \t\t\t\t\tyour bone density more than most, if you have this. \u00a0Get out there and walk. \t\t\t\t\tI \t\t\t\t\tpromise you that if you start really small and stick with it while gently \t\t\t\t\tincreasing your time, you will feel better. \u00a0If walking five minutes makes \t\t\t\t\tyou \t\t\t\t\thurt too much, start with four and a half, or three and a half or even two! \t\t\t\t\tyou’re not going anywhere, so It’s a good idea to try. \u00a0Your body will thank \t\t\t\t\tyou \t\t\t\t\tand you’ll be around a lot longer.<\/p>\n Now, cardio is all well and good, and I get a bit of it every day. \u00a0But what \t\t\t\t\tabout other things? Strength training is vitally important, especially if \t\t\t\t\tyou \t\t\t\t\tare or have been quite out of shape. \u00a0Your muscles are working harder than \t\t\t\t\tmost \t\t\t\t\tpeopleis are. \u00a0Think about it a minute — if you’re carrying 100 pounds of \t\t\t\t\tadipose tissue (I was), it would be as if someone else were carrying a 100 \t\t\t\t\tpound backpack. \u00a0You need to be stronger so you won’t be so darned tired! \t\t\t\t\t(Yeah, \t\t\t\t\tyeah, ideally you should lose the weight. \u00a0Ya think if you do all this \t\t\t\t\tyou’re \t\t\t\t\tnot going to lose a little adipose tissue and put on some muscle?)<\/p>\n Fortunately, walking is a weight bearing exercise — great for your behind, \t\t\t\t\tyour \t\t\t\t\tthighs, your calves and you ankles. \u00a0So what about the upper body?<\/p>\n Pushups. \u00a0Okay, let’s be realistic here. \u00a0Chances are slim that you’re going \t\t\t\t\tto \t\t\t\t\tbe able to drop and give anyone one, much less twenty! that’s okay. \u00a0Can you \t\t\t\t\tlean against a wall with your hands at pushup height and pump out a few? \t\t\t\t\tBetcha \t\t\t\t\tcan. \u00a0If you’re strong enough to be able to do more than twenty this way, \t\t\t\t\tyou do \t\t\t\t\tneed something more challenging to get the upper body strength going. \t\t\t\t\tForget \t\t\t\t\tthose silly “girl” pushups, with your knees on the floor. \u00a0that’s not really \t\t\t\t\tgoing to build muscle. \u00a0Instead, once you’ve gotten to the point where wall \t\t\t\t\tpushups are too easy, do them against your kitchen counter. \u00a0When that gets \t\t\t\t\ttoo \t\t\t\t\teasy, drop the elevation again to a very sturdy table. \u00a0After that, drop it \t\t\t\t\tto a \t\t\t\t\tchair and so on until you hit the floor and are doing pushups the old \t\t\t\t\tfashioned \t\t\t\t\tMarine way. \u00a0Your upper body will love you for this. \u00a0I have found that as I \t\t\t\t\thave \t\t\t\t\tput on muscle that the daily tasks of life are simply less fatiguing. \t\t\t\t\tObviously, at a desk job, I don’t do a lot of heavy lifting, but yes, I do \t\t\t\t\thave \t\t\t\t\tto lift a big carton of copier paper every now and then. \u00a0I have a family of \t\t\t\t\tsix, so the weight involved in lifting groceries is certainly a non-trivial \t\t\t\t\tissue. \u00a0While I certainly do like looking good, for me the primary motivator \t\t\t\t\tis \t\t\t\t\tthat when I am physically strong, it is less likely for me to get \t\t\t\t\toverwhelmed \t\t\t\t\tby the daily things I have to do.<\/p>\n While you’re working on this, you might also want to work on your abdominal strength. \u00a0Once you get to that full-fledged pushup, you’ll notice it works your abs, too. \u00a0Building ab strength is insanely easy. \u00a0Lay on the floor. \u00a0Now, see how much of your body you can lift off the floor without using your hands. Didja get your head up? Good. \u00a0What about your shoulders? Great. \u00a0Whatever you can do, try to do it five times. \u00a0Was that easy? Do more. \u00a0Did that hurt? Do enough until you can feel it, but not enough for it to be painful. \u00a0Now, every ten days, increase the reps by one. \u00a0you’ll be pumping out crunches before you know it. \u00a0In reading accounts of athletes, the ones I admire the most (gymnasts, martial artists, yogis and dancers) all say that trunk strength is crucial to overall condition. \u00a0I used to trivialize this concept until I had been working out several months. \u00a0But then I noticed that as I was able to increase the amount of crunches I was doing, the more stable I was in other workouts. \u00a0I have a desk job, but do not experience that bane of seated professions — back pain. While yes, back pain has many causes, strong supporting abs go a long way to reducing potential problems. \u00a0My skinny husband, who is an artist and spends many hours at a drafting table notices that if he does not do his crunches, he will get a horrid backache after a few hours of work. \u00a0Just remember to work up to increased repetitions on this. \u00a0You do not want to hurt yourself. \u00a0And also remember, whatever you can do today is okay. \u00a0You’ll be doing more next month, and a year from now, if you keep this up, you’ll look back on your progress and be amazed. \u00a0But if you push too hard, feel bad about yourself or punish your body in the process, you’re going to be stuck where you are. \u00a0don’t do that to yourself. \u00a0Really. \u00a0you’re okay where you are right now.<\/p>\n Okay, so we’ve got our strength and we’ve got our cardio. \u00a0One more thing: \t\t\t\t\tflexibility.<\/p>\n No, stop groaning. \u00a0Stretching is a sensual delight when you do it right. \t\t\t\t\tStop \t\t\t\t\tlooking at me like that. \u00a0I’m serious.<\/p>\n Remember, this is not supposed to hurt. \u00a0If you stretch until it is painful, you’re damaging muscle and tendons. \u00a0We’re trying to be good to our nice bodies that carry us around and do so much. \u00a0No punishing, please.<\/p>\n Confession time: I am fairly flexible for a woman of my age, medical \t\t\t\t\tcondition \t\t\t\t\tand weight. \u00a0I studied things that require a lot of stretching all my \t\t\t\t\tchildhood \t\t\t\t\tn ballet, martial arts, that sort of thing. \u00a0If I am describing things that \t\t\t\t\tmake \t\t\t\t\tyou laugh at me or wince in pain, remember that the point here is not to \t\t\t\t\tbecome \t\t\t\t\ta contortionist. \u00a0The point is to remain mobile. \u00a0It is not a contest and \t\t\t\t\tyour \t\t\t\t\tpresent fitness level is okay. \u00a0It’s where you are and what you have to work \t\t\t\t\twith, and you’re fine person just the way you are. \u00a0You get fit to feel \t\t\t\t\tbetter, \t\t\t\t\tnot to be better.<\/p>\n So. \u00a0First things first. \u00a0Can you touch your toes? No? that’s okay. \u00a0My skinny \t\t\t\t\thusband who finds a two-mile run a pleasant outing cannot, either. \u00a0When you \t\t\t\t\tget \t\t\t\t\tup in the morning, reach up and try to touch the ceiling, then lean back as \t\t\t\t\tfar \t\t\t\t\tas you can comfortably. \u00a0Then lean over and try to touch your toes until you \t\t\t\t\tfeel a pleasant pull. \u00a0PLEASANT PULL not PAIN. \u00a0No pain, no pain. \u00a0You do not \t\t\t\t\twant \t\t\t\t\tto tear anything. \u00a0Hold it at that nice pulling feeling for about ten \t\t\t\t\tseconds, \t\t\t\t\tthen rest for a few breaths then try it again. \u00a0Then forget about it until \t\t\t\t\ttomorrow morning. \u00a0Keep doing that until you can touch your toes. \u00a0This may \t\t\t\t\ttake \t\t\t\t\tawhile, and that’s fine!<\/p>\n