How to improve fitness when you are incredibly unfit

[pennypop3]

I'm so unfit. I tried to do some sit ups earlier and felt like throwing up. I think I managed 3.

I can't run. I'm 5'7 and 12 stone so a bit overweight but not massively so. I just don't exercise. I try to walk when I can but with kids and work it's not very often. Im pushing 40 and feel like if I don't try and improve things now it will just get harder and harder.

So where do I begin? Help!

The good news is you've already started. You did three sit-ups.

Do them again. And again. Then do four. Then five. Getting better at exercise is about pushing yourself to do that little bit more than you did before.

A really basic home workout would be to do those sit-ups, then to do however many press-ups as you can manage, then another round of sit-ups, then another round of press-ups. Or you can try working out with weights, or planking. It doesn't need to be complicated.

Cardio exercise like running that gets the sweat up will also make you feel great about yourself. When I started running I could barely do it for 5 minutes. Fifteen years on I do 15km twice a week at minimum. The improvement is all gradual but there's so much motivation in knowing you got a few metres further than the previous week before having to stop.

If you don't like running there's always dancing, cycling, swimming - it's really important to enjoy your exercise enough to stick at it. But running is probably the easiest to get off the ground and fit into limited time. (But invest in proper running shoes and do your stretches to avoid injury!)

Also remember that most of the fitness buffs you see casually deadlifting or running marathons were probably unfit at some point too. No one stays at peak fitness all their life. Even the sportiest people I know who've been exercising since they were teenagers have had inactive periods because of injuries, and they've all had to do the gradual work back to being fit again. Good luck!

How can you build exercise in to your life. Can you join a gym? Would you go? Some people like the discipline of having a class to get to each week and you build from there.
Others like the freedom of being able to do something from their doorstep in which case couch to 5k would be a good option.
Some people want something they can do along side the kids. So home workouts on YouTube for example work best.
You have to work out what is good for you and your lifestyle. Commit to it and build up from there

Thank you this is all really useful and I absolutely could find 10 minutes a day to exercise at home. As a pp said I just never thought it would be enough. I used to do workouts from a YouTuber called Gro with Jo, really simple but got my pulse going. I will start with those again and also try to get some yoga and walks in too.

Couch to 5k - join a group?

Move your body in a way that feels good. Start out for 10", add on some more every week as tolerated. Slow steady state state cardio. Lift a couple big cans for arm weights. Carry a bag of cat litter around.

My winter workout of choice is rowing. I bought a super cheap little rower that fit our place and it got my oldest and I moving through covid times. Just from that little cheap thing (that is still around after almost 5 full years) a half hour plus a day I lost a lot of abdominal fat and stairs became easy. I saved and up sized to a nice erg, I stretch and do balance work and Pilates, but rowing is the core of my fitness. I do swim in the summer.

I do love a Caroline Girvan kettle bell work out as pp has said. But also things like blasting out some high energy music and dancing round the house with great gusto! If it’s not fun, you won’t stick at it.

but anything that is moving you more than you currently move all counts towards getting fitter. Even if it’s doing some deep squats/ high knee jogging on the spot waiting for the kettle to boil.

Find an activity you like that requires moving around.

but also lots of things take time and we often don’t like things we are not good at. But the only way to get better is to keep doing it unfortunately

Get the youngest a scooter or balance bike.

Start small. If you have stairs at home, walk up and down twice each time you need to go up. If you work at a desk, set a timer and every 30 mins get up and do 10 squats, or stretches. It will take 30 seconds. While in the kitchen waiting for pots to cook, stand on one leg and count to ten. Just add small things in everywhere you can think of. Waiting for a bus, or for kids to come out of school? Walk up and down while you wait. Just keep your body moving until it gets used to it. And then you can start looking at exercise programmes. Good luck!

Walking to start with definitely. If your children can’t walk far, just go to the park and do as much as you can there. Coach to 5k also very good at building fitness from a low point.

I was listening to Woman's hour the other day and they had a feature on about dancing. 20 minutes of freestyle dancing every day will get you really fit. I put on my favourite music and just dance around the kitchen table, daft disco style, with nobody to see me. Maybe the DC could join in, too? I can't manage 20 mins at a stretch, so I do a few minutes whenever I have the time. Good fun!

Put YouTube videos of the game just dance.

Try the walk at home videos on YouTube by Leslie Sansone (start with an easy/ beginners one and switch up as you get fitter.) I used these daily with my class during lockdown and my fitness improved quite quickly. I find her annoying but they are quick and effective. If you watch one you will soon realise why my pupils called her the “walk, walk, walk lady”! You have inspired me to use them again as I have got out of the habit and put on weight.

Swimming is good exercise and kind on the joints for those who are overweight or have mobility issues.

You can gradually increase how far you swim in a set time as your fitness improves.

Me too! The Lesley Sansone videos are really good! I’d forgotten about them since lockdown as well! Thx for reminder!

OP ... just in case you need some inspiration, i have never been sporty or fit, always the fat kid at school, and had lingering injuries that at times meant I hobbled instead of walked. Honestly had just kind of written myself off physically.

Once I hit 40 I realised this is my only body, my only life. Something switched and I've been going to the gym twice a week since August last year and doing other bits and pieces here and there. I am now the strongest and fittest I've ever been and it's an incredible feeling!

I am lazy af and hate all forms of exercise so I got a rowing machine. It's low impact, works out 90% of your body, acts as both cardio and weights and it doesn't require running, going outside, or pain.

I recently discovered Couch to Fitness. I'm currently doing their bitesize programme - 5 or 6 minutes a day.
This is an achievable amount, although I did need to psych myself up for it on Tuesday.
https://couchtofitness.com/

Running has always been my go to. If I’m unfit and go a run again I think why on earth would I want to do this? But generally running isn’t fun, the bit that’s fun is going to parkrun on a Saturday or signing up to races either just to complete them or try to better your time. I’ve been doing some RWL online workouts at home because I just can’t commit to going to a gym but it is hard to fit it in and it often gets to after dinner time at night and I conclude that I can’t do it now as I’ve had dinner 🤣 I would give running a chance if you are able to get out the house at times. It’s never fun when you’re unfit but you can build up fitness very quickly. It’s also the best time of year to get into running when the weather is about to get better

I remember reading an interview with Nadia Hussein and she said that when her children were small she put on quite a bit of weight and didn't really manage to exercise as she was looking after them all day. She started getting up early and going for a walk before everyone else woke up. Might that work - go for an hours walk before your DH leaves for work? If it does then you could focus on gradually increasing speed so that the hour doesn't change but the distance walked (and therefore effort expended) does?

I'm on week 6 of couch to 5k and ran for 22 minutes today! 6 weeks ago i really struggled to run for a minute at a time - it's so good, use Jo Wiley as your trainer if you do it :)

As the old proverb goes "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". Just start doing something when you next have a spare ten minutes or more. Anything. Go for a walk and then try to go a little further or a little faster each time. Do a youtube exercise video in your lounge. Go swimming or cycling if you prefer. Just do something. So many people worry that they need a plan, and that they don't know how to get fit, when the biggest hurdle is just to start getting in a routine of doing anything they enjoy that gets the heart rate going on a regular basis.

Good luck though! Getting relatively fit as you go into your 40s and 50s is the best investment you can make in your future health and wellbeing.

I am a size 6/8 5ft1 and I need to add weight in the right places and get fitter because I am not.. I follow a lady called Lucy Wyndham read on YouTube she does 5-7/10-20
minure work outs all of different kinds like walking ones 5 minute abs 5 minute glutes etc and my partner said he could already see a difference after 3/4 weeks of me doing it each day. I then went and bought a step so I can do HIIT step work outs in front of my tv. I do all of this while my daughter is in bed 5 nights a week a maximum of half an hour. You could always give this a go and then venture out

I recommend Lucy Wyndham-Read on Youtube. She has a variety of workouts from 7 minutes to 20 minutes. I have been doing them for four months and feel the difference in stamina, balance and muscle tone. My husband couldn't believe the difference in my ability to walk on a recent holiday (vastly improved joint issues). Her exercises are cardio and high intensity but low impact and nearly all standing. If you felt sick after sit ups, maybe you have reflux or digestive issues.