Fitness regime for the very unfit

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Ok , so like a few people I’ve been putting on the pounds during lockdown . But it hit me today how very very unfit I am .

I’ve just dug my bike out and gone for a ride with my son . Around 3 miles of gentle towpath - but I was gasping for breath and feeling nauseous halfway round and ended up pushing the bike back .
To paint a picture I’m 5ft 1 and over 12st - so very overweight . I’m writing this down to outline what a very low level I’m starting from

Anyway wise people . Where should I start with a fitness / weigh loss programme that I could actually do
I’m thinking walking ( power walking ? ) and even shorter bike rides

I know my diet needs an overhaul as well but that’s probably another thread
Any thoughts, tips or general motivation greatly appreciated

You could just try moving more and getting slightly out of breath. Try to cut down portion sizes too. And well done on recognising that you need to get fit. That's a very important first step

I've massively unfit and I've started doing the Joe Wicks beginner workouts on youtube - I like them because they are only 15-20 mins and I can manage that and go as easy or as hard as I like.

And trying to get out and just move around more in general.

Start small with walks round the block but walk fast enough to get your heart rate up. Gradually build up from there.. Longer walks. Cycling. Swimming is really good but obviously when lockdown is over/when they decide to open the public baths.
You can even do little bits in the house too, i used to speed walk up and down the stairs.

Thank you
Joe Wicks is a good idea - it wouldn’t take much exercise to raise my heart rate So I could do it gently to begin with
And diet wise I do think I need to look at portion size , and I’m planning more Mediterranean style meals and less carbs ( just doing a click and collect and adding olives , aubergines and feta cheese )

I love walking, I have the time now. I walk two hours every day since lockdown started. It is a much underrated type of exercise, it IS weightbearinv exercise, good for bones and muscle and even though it isn’t cardio as such, it’s very good for your heart and overall fitness

It’s not glam, but you can pop on some comfy shoes and start from your door, which means it’s easy to fit into your life

I used to do cardio 5x a week and walking has kept my same level of fitness (which surprised me)

I'm a Level 3 trained Personal Trainer and would advise seeing your doctor before embarking on anything. Blood pressure in particular is important to measure, due to the repercussions of pushing it higher if it's high already.

You don't need to push yourself very hard to make a huge difference. A consistent daily walk for half an hour will do wonders for your overall fitness, and get you into the habit of carving out time specially for exercise. Go gently and let your body get used to things. One of the benefits of being a beginner is that you get a glut of positive changes all at once. Enjoy!

Leslie Sansone’s walking exercise videos on YouTube are excellent for beginners and only 15 minutes long

HIIT is very good, but instead of 30 second rest breaks have 60-90 second rest breaks between exercises. As your fitness improves you can reduce your rest breaks.

Body weight exercises are also good for increasing strength.

I started running a month ago. My fitness was terrible and I struggled with a prolapse after ds2. The first run was awful! I managed about 2 minutes. I have been running 3 nights on, 1 night off, adding a bit more each night. On saturday, i ran 5k! Just typing this makes me smile a lot as i cant believe it! Today i went fir a casual 2 mile run! I was so unfit, you have to commit to it and go through the first horrible runs! I've also stopped snacking at night, eating the kid's leftovers and no sugar midweek. I've lost 6lb!

Joe Wickes is quite hard work. My 19 year old daughter finds it reasonably tough.

For you, OP, I would just recommend going out on the bike more often. To start aim for 30 minutes ever day. Build in some hills and faster pedalling as you go. You will improve astonishingly quickly, you'll be amazed at how quickly it gets easier. Honestly, day by day you will see some improvement.

I would start off with walking as it’s a gentle exercise but so good for you. Aim to go for maybe a 30 minute walk every day and try to build it up. You’ll be surprised at how quick 30 minutes go when you’re outside taking in all the sights and sounds. My partner and I went out for a 3 hour walk today and we couldn’t believe how quick it went, it definitely gets addictive after a while!

I'm very unfit and overweight. So lots of walking has been non my agenda. I need to have a purpose for the walk, so I've been shopping by foot instead of using the car (except for bigger/frozen stuff, that's done in one go).

I walk to the farthest away supermarket in town, which is a decent walk. I've also been writing little chatty cards and walking right out of town to my aunt's care home and popping them through the letter box for her. Will be great to see her when I can.

What about couch to 5k? I'm not a runner, in fact I remember trying to go for a run when I was at uni about 20 years ago and it left me so breathless and sore that I never tried again!

But today I did my first couch to 5k run and I'm so proud of myself and feel amazing tonight (although my legs are quite achy hence why I'm resting and browsing Mumsnet). I've no idea how far I'll get with it but I really wasn't expecting that I'd even be able to complete the first run following the plan.

How about couch for 5k? I started it almost a year ago never imagining I would ever be able to run that far. Now I can run 5k and more. It’s hard but feels amazing.

Lots of great tips . Thank you
I have tried couch to 5k a few years ago and did about 3 weeks of it . So definitely something I could look at .
I love the idea of cycling more . Everyone looks so fit and relaxed as they cycle past . It’s just me being a slow sweaty red faced blob ( my 13 yr old DS got fed up waiting for me tonight and peddled home to wait)
I love swimming but that’s off the agenda for now .
My plan is a regular walk ( maybe turn it into a couch to 5k ) . Anything that makes me move more
Can’t wait to try . Just got to keep the motivation going

Cycling is much easier on your joints and you really do see huge improvements daily.

I remember when I was 50 I had the ambition to go from virtually zero cycling, to cyling to work (which was about 7 miles away and involved a couple of fairly long and steady hills). I thought I'd be able to do it within a month, infact it took not much more than a week to be up to it.

I have just signed up to do the one million steps challenge. You aim to walk 1 million steps in 3 months so on average it's 10,000 steps a day.