I know exercise is good for me and I want to get started but I just can't...

[Steven1]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forums and need some help getting started with exercise.

I currently do NOTHING physical and my job is also sedentary. I really want to exercise for my health and for my depression. There are a few things holding me back but the one I am really struggling with is being self conscious and worrying people will laugh at me. I have a FREE GYM at work but have only used it once in over 3 years due to being self conscious.

I am very thin (people make comments about my weight a lot) and I am worried that if people at work see me in gym clothes they are going to laugh at my skinny legs, lack of muscle and question why am I there. I also know nothing about weights or fitness and don't know how to use gym equipment. I work in a male dominated, fairly macho environment so there isn't a lot of support or help with getting started!

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[Steven1]

Hi all. Thought it was time I reported back on my progress and was very pleasantly surprised to see new comments 🙂

OhmeOhmy I am glad that my post has motivated you. I really hope it does get you started. Honestly, if I can do it then anyone can! I have never exercised consistently for any period of time in my entire life. But am hoping to change that....

Ok so here is what I have been up to - 11 days now since I started my exercise campaign and so far I have exercised on 9 of those 11 days! I am pretty proud of that. I have been keeping a log of it on my computer as I find I am much more likely to stick to something if I write it down.

I was initially focussing on the gym, but have found walking around my neighbourhood has also been really good and I enjoy that a bit more. I started off with 30 minute walks and have now stretched that out to almost 40 mins. I have also found a good route that has an uphill street too so that has been good!

I have hit the gym a few times and have done around 30-35 mins there. I went on Saturday and was quite sore all the following day. Especially my chest and triceps. I don't know names of gym machines but I was using machines that work those areas. Have also been using rowing machine, cross trainer and doing leg presses.

This forum is really helping me to keep it up so I want to thank everyone that has written and let you all know I appreciate all your comments and suggestions. Thanks Neil and zailleh too 🙂

In the past I have tried to keep it going and failed about now so lets hope I can keep it going....

Steven

[Beltane]

Yay!, go Steven!!!! I'm really really happy to hear how you're going! Sounds like you've really been committing to this exercise and that's fantastic!

how are you feeling? I hope you feel proud of yourself for sticking to your commitments and changing your habits to include exercise! Have you noticed any other benefits? Do you feel better after exercising perhaps, or are you sleeping better? Is your mood any better? I would certainly hope you are seeing some positive health benefits from all your hard work. Perhaps it'll help you burn up stress after a long day!

staying motivated to any new habit is always challenging. Doesn't matter whether the new habit is flossing your teeth, eating healthy, exercising, or learning to tango- your brain is used to old habits and it doesn't alwyss like change. But change is good for us, especially a positive change like this!

perhaps you'd start looking into exercise magazines or smartphone apps to give you motivation and ideas for exercise regimes and diets- changing up what you do every few days will also help stop it from becoming boring and predictable.

also 9 days out of 11 is awesome! Just pay attention to your body- if it starts screaming that it needs to rest, then honour that. Maybe schedule yourself a day or two off a week so you can do other things, even laze at home in front of a  movie. This gives your body a rest but also gives your brain a break too, so you don't get overly exhausted or bored with exercise. Something like "absence makes the heart grow fonder", you know, missing one day means you have a chance to miss it lol.

im loving following this thread! It makes me really happy to see people face thir anxieties and doubts and challenge themselves, and have such great success! you're doing so well, and hopefully others will see this thread and see how well you've done and feel some courage themselves to challenge their doubts!,,

well done again! 

[Steven1]

Thanks Beltane 🙂

I am feeling really good since starting this exercise campaign. I have heaps more energy and my mood is better. I am also sleeping really well. It is amazing how much better regular exercise makes you feel!

I am trying not to get ahead of myself as I know setbacks are normal and there are always ups and downs with depression. But so far so good.

I totally understand where you are coming from with trying to keep it interesting and change it so I don't get bored. I am someone who tends to get bored easily and I don't normally enjoy exercise so I give up as soon as it gets too hard.

You may or may not have seen some of my other posts but I am a bit worried about how I am going to keep this up when my wife has our second child in a few weeks. Time is going to be very limited....

I have a question for z (personal trainer) if you are reading. How many reps/sets should I be doing for the different exercises in the gym? I have no idea if I am starting too easy or hard. E.g. lat pulldowns, leg presses, etc. I don't even know what the other ones are called. Haha

[Neil_1]

Hi there Steven

Great to hear that you’re going so well with this;   and I hope by posting here it helps to keep you on target and even you find some motivation from simply posting here and receiving responses back.

Yes, the countdown to your new family addition is getting closer and closer.  I think the thing to try to organise is for when you’re doing your exercise sessions now, do you think you’ll still be able to do them when the bub comes along?   Ie:  is the time of day that you’re doing them still going to be the same and is that a time of day when there may not be interference from ‘home duties’?  that would be awesome if that is the case.

Not sure is Zaillah is about at the moment;   but for sets and reps;  let’s take one exercise, say lat pulldowns (firstly for safety reasons, the best way to do them is to pull the bar down to your upper chest and keep as upright sitting as you possibly can).

For pretty much most exercises, I’d be aiming for 2-3 sets, depending on how familiar you are with the exercise.  3 sets if you’re ok with it;   perhaps 2 sets if you’re just starting out.   And for reps, aim for the range of between 8 – 12 reps.

Shouldn’t be so heavy that you can’t manage 8;   but shouldn’t be so light that you feel as though you could do 20.

For legs though you can take the rep range out a bit higher (so change the weight a bit to suit) and you can go 12-15 or even up to 20.

The other thing to be very mindful of, is to make sure you have a “warm up” set.   Don’t simply get there and get into it straight away.  With each new exercise, always do a warm up with a much lower weight, nice and carefully and slow – just so your body/muscle gets used to the movement, etc before commencing – which’ll hopefully avert any possibility of injury.

Cheers

Neil

Ps:  keep up the great work and keep us posted with your efforts.

[Beltane]

Hiya Steven!

Oh how exciting! a baby!!! you must be excited (and nervous!) though its your second baby, so you might feel less nervous with this one (or more!! haha)

Well maybe you and your wife can arrange "time alone" in your schedules. You know, looking after newborn children is very very exhausting, as i'm sure you know having already had one child. Maybe you can arrange it so that 3 times a week you have an hour where you go to the gym alone- that is your time alone away from the responsibilities of Home, Wife, Family, Housework etc. Likewise, you can then give your wife a different 3 days where she has an hour or so she can go do her own thing away from home- meet up with friends, take a yoga class, do whatever she wants.

You can love your baby with all your heart but you might still want a couple of hours a week where you can just go do your own thing.

Alternatively, you might want to invest in some exercise equipment for at home. With a new baby I'm betting you dont want to spend much. You could try to pick up some second-hand bicycles off ebay or gumtree etc and get one of those baby trailers or baby seats you attach. You and your wife can each get one and go on bike rides together with your kiddies in the trailer/ bike seats etc. This could be a lovely bonding time for you all, as well as exercise for you all.

Yes, getting bored is always a problem. Thats why i do crossfit, cos you do a different thing every day so it never gets boring or repetative, and it means that all my muscles get exercised frequently (even muscles i didnt know i had :P).

Thats why i recommended you get a few fitness magazines or iphone/ smartphone apps to give you ideas regarding different workout regimes, different exercises. Many of those would also give you ideas about how many reps, what weight, and even how to do the actual exercise safely.

Always wise to listen to your body.If you're leaving a workout and you don't really feel tired or like you exerted yourself much, then next time try to lift a little heavier or do a few more reps. On the other end of the scale, if you're limping away feeling like you just got beaten up and cant walk straight for 2 days, you probably need to tone it down a bit 😛

Look into your diet too: for example, i invested in a good protein shake and a good calcium supplement because otherwise i get very sore muscles regardless of how carefully i exercise- protein is essential for muscle repair

[AllAboutEve]

Hello

Have you heard of fitness snacking? I use the free 7 min workout app to do a quick body weight session while my 2 year old is distracted playing. It has totally saved me! If i don’t get that tiny bit me time, I can feel the stress and anxiety starting to creep up. I did a bit of research and it seems that just 10mins of huffy puffy exercise a day can really help with anxiety and depression.

I have found that gyms are too stressful at the moment in terms of settling my little girl in the crèche.

There are heaps of great fitness apps out there - it’s like having your own trainer at a fraction of the cost.

[Just Sara]

Hi and welcome Eve!

What a great first post! Your tips are fantastic and really workable. Thankyou...

I used to go to the Gym most days even though I had massive anxiety during my workouts. I now know if my heart rate went over a certain level, the adrenaline rush would cause physical panic due to my damaged nervous system. (From a breakdown) I used to think triggers were emotional, but research helped me understand anything raising adrenaline levels can also cause symptoms; you know, like the coffee 'shakes'.

I like the idea of 10 minutes though. Since I stopped going to the gym, I've been a bit scared of exercise so the result has been weight gain and loss of muscle tone which is a concern.

Thankyou again for your wonderful insight. It's lovely to meet you too btw. Hope the forum's what you need and, have a great day!

Warm thoughts;

Sez