Hi everyone, I realised that since my school stopped forcing me to do PE (what...16 years old? responsible for my own physical activity now? yikes!) I am just not getting much exercise. Really, I am a comp/couch/bed potato. I went to the gym a bit, but it became too expensive if I went more than once a week or so. Fun-sounding things like yoga are far too expensive too, and I hate competetive sports because I'm not good at them, and I'm not very fit. All this leaves me with few things left to do. I try to walk at least a mile or so each day, and I'm more or less managing that, but I don't feel as though I'm getting enough exercise from that. Can anyone help me out with some more ideas for things I can do to get more exercise?

You have to pay each time you go to the gym? Have you considered getting a membership? If you go two times a month, it usually pays for itself, and chances are you'd go three times a week or so if you're focused.

But non-gym options:
Walking is great. I would suggest more than a mile and giving yourself a variety of courses. Ex: 4 miles with one mile of it uphill (if you're lucky enough to live somewhere hilly), or walking somewhere with a ton of stairs (most universities are good for this).

Running is fun, I think. If you decide to start, get good running shoes so you don't hurt your kneees, and ease into it. There are a lot of threads on this (and books, if you want to check a library.)

You can buy yourself some weights for your home. There are books and websites on how to do the exercises correctly. I have a set of 3, 5, 8, 10, and 20 lb dumbells, and they work very, very well.

Jumping rope is fabulous for you. Again, make sure you have the right shoes.

Since you like walking, try some long hikes. :)

Stretching is important -- try some yoga or, my favorite, pilates. If you've never tried it before, I would suggest a class with a good teacher before you decide to do it on your own with a book or video. They can help make sure your placement is correct.

Have fun figuring out what you enjoy. :)

Continue the walking, but increase your miles/time (slowly...about 10% per week). Start tossing some sprints in there and then a few minutes of jogging...work from there. It may take a couple of months but you will get to the point (if you keep the workouts up) where you can jog/run and that will be CHEAP exercise (that's what got me going!).

Check out http://www.coolrunning.com ... they have a pretty good "Couch Potato to 5K" program that has been recommended by many a VB-er :yes:

You could also buy a set of free weights (5-10 lbs., depending on how much you lift, etc.) and you can do some stretching on your own or make the one-time purchase of a yoga tape/DVD.

:nigel: Cheers!

and you can do some stretching on your own or make the one-time purchase of a yoga tape/DVD.

:nigel: Cheers!

make sure that the tape is at your level. Some excersize videos are increadably hard, and some are really easy. Also, if you're saving money right now, don't buy videos that have three or four in a set, ones that you move "up".

as for excersize tips:
chase a 2 year old around. Just make sure all the electrical soccets are plugged up. :)

you have to find out what your interests are.

once you determine that, you can figure out how to get what you want. If you want to take yoga, try work exchange at the studio. If you want to take dance, try work exchange at the school. if you want to take rock climbing, try work exchange at the gym.

so, if you figure out what you want to do, it'll be easy for you to find a way to do it, to stay motivated.

but you definately need to walk more than a mile.

Thanks all, I'm trying to persuade my dad to go on the coast-to-coast (Walk or Cycle across England) in the summer with me instead of a holiday abroad, and when I visit my cousin at Uni this summer she might take me rock climbing so I can try that. I'm going to look into some more of your suggestions - thanks for the help!

that sounds cool. Have you done such a long walk before?

it may be a good idea to take a shorter one first. A friend of mine really enjoyed a walk from bed and breakfast to bed and breakfast in the lake district (watership down area). For something more challenging, the west highland way is supposed to be interesting. From what i can gather, there are lots of interesting long (5, 7, 10, and 12 day walks) all over england.

I've never done a walk that long before, but it would be over a long time (a couple of weeks) and I would do some practice first. I've really only done mountains before: Scafell and Scafell Pike a couple of times, and a bunch of mountains abroad.
Yes, there are lots of good walks around England, if my dad wont take me away (and even if he will!) I will fit in some 1-day walks I can get to myself. The lake district is very close to me, I will look for good walks there!
And pseudo_vegan, thank you for the link! I will try that couch - 5k thing!

just from my own experience, days and days of walking (taking a couple of weeks) is not an easy task. It's usually 7-8 hours straight of walking, and some days even more than that.

To go from maybe one mile a day to days and days of walking is too much. You need to practice for it. I recommend trying to get to the point where you can manage 10, 12 and 14 mile walks without too much trouble. Then, i recommend doing consecutive days such as 10 miles on a saturday, followed by 10 miles on sunday.

When my husband and his friend hiked across the state of Connecticut, they took a week (6 days, actually). Most days they were walking for 12 to 14 hours a day--every day. They were in pretty decent shape (husband walks at least 5 and sometimes 7 miles a day--every day), and we usually will do longer walks (10 and 12 mile hikes) on weekends. So, he's used to consecutive days and he's used to long milage. Still, this walk across connecticut took it's toll on him.

Since this is something that you want to do, take the time you have now to begin training for it. I suggest walking more and more each day, trying to get to about 10 miles a day--at least. More if you can. Then consider some of these walking tours.

Trust me, you'll thank me for it.

I will start practising again. I have done 10 or so mile walks before, but haven't done them regularly for a couple of years, since I was 14. :S
It is definately something I want to do though, so I will have to get into shape. And camping, I <3 camping, but it means I will be carrying stuff all day.

right, which is another element.

i think that having a goal of walking/camping across england is an excellent one. But, i think that your first long-term walk should be the B and B style. This way, you don't have to carry much (other than a light day pack with your lunch) as the B and Bs transfer your luggage for you and breakfast and dinner are taken care of. Similarly, the tours can be 7 or 10 day tours.

This may also allow you to get what you want from dear ole dad. He wants to go abroad, you want a local walk. Maybe you can get both--one week or 10 days walking; 1 week or 10 days abroad. Everyone is happy.

It's also easier to prep for and you can choose walks that really mean a lot to you. For instance, when my friend did Watership Downs, he took the book with him--Watership Down--and read it along the way. Apparently, there's also an area that inspired books such as Wind in the Willows as well as Tolkien's works, and also the Austin sisters. So, you can do sort of literary walking tours.

I think that this is something that is fun and accessable for this summer, and next summer you and Da can work your way up to the walk/camp across england. About a month or two prior that walk, it would be a good idea to do your daily mileage with an appropriately weighted pack. Before that specific training, weekend hike/camps will help you build up to carrying the pack on an extended hike.

it certainly is possible, but you should also be realistic. If you want to really enjoy this process--and get into it in a life-long way--remember the wisdom of Aesop's tale The Tortoise and the Hare: Slow and Steady wins the race!

Thanks, zoebird, for your help!
And thanks to everyone else!

I'd also suggest finding a friend or friends to walk with you (or go on the gym kick, etc)... I've always had an easier time staying on board if there's someone encouraging me/someone I'm supposed to encourage.

dance dance revolution. haha.

<-- dork :D

ddr is really great.

ice skating is my favorite activity EVER!!!!!

it's so amaizing!!!! i go every saturday, i live in florida, and it's pretty hot here, so it's so cool that i can go there all the time. every saturday,there's dj skate night, so there's loud music blasting, and three hours of nonstop physical activity. it's awesome!!! you should defenetly go!

it's defenetly better to have something to do (whether you want to get in shape, or w/e the reason) taht you actually enjoy doing. moving around just so you can say that you've exercised is crap. gyms are boring! go out and do something fun! you'll stick with it, and you'll enjoy it way more!

dance dance revolution. haha.

<-- dork :D
my sister has that for the PS2, lol. I might get it out later tonight :D

DDR actually does give you quite a workout, even on beginner! Plus, it's really fun! Invite a few friends over. The game is good to laugh at yourself and the other people, plus it is good for you! If you are concerned about calories, there is a calorie counter somewhere on the game, but it might not work well. My friends and I set up the pad, each took an arrow, and pressed it with our fingers. Our fingers each burned a crapload of calories! lol

you can go swimming or you can play tennis or other sports with a friend. Not like on a team where there is a lot of competition just things like that for fun. If you dont like that you can try running or biking or rollerblading. And also things like bowling gives you some excersize. :)