suggestions for very short, total beginner in NYC

[gaki]

Hello!

I am totally new to forums and relatively new to VF in general. I am totally new to fitness too. I was hoping I could get some tips for a total beginner living in Brooklyn, NYC
I want to see if i can plan a week of exercize for myself, to help me start my lifestyle change thing

About me: I'm a 25 y/o female, 140 lbs, 4ft 8, Japanese, and was told I have a "square" body type by a nutritionist. I have high cholesterol I want to lower, and am looking to lose at least 20, not more than 30 lbs (because of what I was told about my body type). I have been very sedentary up till now, and this is my first attempt at trying to get into shape. I think I might have naturally good balance, but not to good on coordination. I have a very flexible schedule for now, but not a lot of money (no job now, but will get one).

What I came up with so far: Looking at a few websites, and especially the VF reviews here, I have just started collecting videos. I just got Kathy Smiths Body Basics, Fat Burning Workout, and Great Body Upper Body Workout and Lower Body Workout VHS'. Im looking into Leslie Sansone's Weight Loss Walk 4 Miles.
I don't have any gym equipment yet, but plan to at least get some of those hex weights soon, based on what videos or others recommend.
I'm thinking i should also get a yoga or stretching video but I haven't decided which one yet.

I am reluctant to go to a gym, but after a little while I want to try one of those free month things to see if i can get corrections on stuff like form, and ask more questions.

Any suggestions on videos, equipment, good deals (especially local to Brooklyn and NYC), websites, or plans or anything at all would be most welcome

Thanks in advance, and good luck to all of you in your fitness adventuring

gaki

[Elisabeth]

Welcome to VF!

I think a set of dumbbells and some videos are all you need. Kathy Smith is a great choice for beginner-intermediate tapes. She's very motivating and gives excellent form tips. Her videos should keep you busy. I've heard great things about some of Leslie Sansone's videos too but never used them myself.

I think it's a great idea to get a stretch or yoga video. Crunch Candlelight Yoga combines stretching with yoga breathing. Tamilee Webb's Total Body Stretch for Beginners is a great stretch video; it's divided into 3 10-minute segments, so you can choose to do 10 minutes of total body stretching, or the whole 30, depending on your schedule.

Have you considered walking? When I was first trying to get into shape a number of years ago, I instituted a walking program--I really enjoyed it and I lost weight without trying too hard!

[Sharon T]

I second the recommendation for Tamilee Webb's stretch tapes. Her "I want those.." series are also nice tapes for toning. For cardio, Fat Burning Workout for Dummies is a an introduction to basic moves with an encouraging instructor, Gay Gasper. These tapes don't require a lot of equipment, and should be pretty easy to locate. Maybe your local library has some tapes for you to try.

[mel VF]

Welcome to VF, and congratulations on taking the first step in a fitness journey. If your cholesterol is one of the main motivations for you to exercise, I recommend focusing on cardio primarily.

I think that Leslie Sansonne's tapes are great, but I personally like her older tapes better than her newer ones. In my opinion, her best tape ever is her old (I think Walk Aerobics) 2 mile tape. I haven't seen it at stores, but it is available online (even in DVD format, I think).

Gilad's New Beginner's Workout is straightforward, and as you get more fit, you can modify it upwards in intensity some.

Kari Anderson's A New You (also marketed as by Linda Evans) has a beautiful setting, and the aerobic portion is divided into 3 ten minute sections.

Those are my personal favorites (and are still in my collection to be used as warm-ups or "chicken-soup" videos).

[SharonNYC]

...on the Just Starting Out pages here at VF. Take a look -- it might give you some ideas:

http://www.videofitness.com/beginners/bc-faves.php

Several of us live in Brooklyn!

[gaki]

Hello again

Thanks Elisabeth, Sharon T, mel VF, and SharonNYC (sistah in brooklyn! woo!).. thanks for your advice and stuff and i will take all of it seriously. I am taking notes/bookmarking on your suggestions and seeing if i can find more on what you all said
The tapes I mentioned in my first post are ordered and are on their way here, and im all psyched to use them. VF folks like you make this sound fun

Thanks again for the advice, and when cool stuff starts happneing I guess I'll post about it

And hey, I can always use more advice so if folks wanna say more handy recommendations based on my first post under this thread, please do! yeehee!

gaki

[Heather Fraser]

Hi, gaki! Welcome to the world of fitness.

While you may want to focus on cardio, if you also want to lose weight, you will also need some weight training in your routine, because the extra muscles use up more calories even in their resting state. I prefer to do my weight training as what's called "circuit training," which means that you alternate short sections of cardio work with short sections of toning work, for an efficient workout that keeps your heartrate elevated while you do your muscle building. I also find it a great way to start building muscle without getting sore.

My favourite circuit training video for beginners is the Firm Basics Sculpting with Weights. It's out of print, but there are a lot of copies around. Tracie Long gives great instruction, and while you will want to start with light weights, maybe 1, 2, and 3 lbs, or 2, 3, and 5 lbs, but you can grow with this tape simply by increasing the weight you use. In fact, you might like the other two Firm Basics tapes too (Fat Burning Workout, with a strong cardio emphasis, and Abs, Buns and Thighs, with more work for the lower body).

Once you get going, you can look for some tougher tapes. Karen Voight's Your Personal Best (with Elle MacPherson) is a very highly recommended tape for beginners and intermediates, again it's out of print, but there are a lot of copies floating around on the Internet and here for trade. I like Denise Austin's Sizzler, she's at her least annoying and most effective on this tape, and always very encouraging. I also like Crunch Boot Camp, it's a very effective 30 min workout for those days I don't have the time.

I'm sure all these tapes are on the beginner page, but I thought I'd share which ones are working for me.

[gaki]

Thanks for yrou tips too, Heather

I got one pair of beginner strength training tapes, Kathy Smith's Secrets of a Great Upper and Lower Body tapes, because I found a good deal on them on ebay. It doesn't look like its one of those circuit training type tapes that you mentioned, though, so I will definately be using your suggestions as a starting place for looking for circuit training tapes in the future!

thanks again

gaki

[Heather Fraser]

Originally posted by gaki
I got one pair of beginner strength training tapes, Kathy Smith's Secrets of a Great Upper and Lower Body tapes, because I found a good deal on them on ebay. It doesn't look like its one of those circuit training type tapes that you mentioned, though, so I will definately be using your suggestions as a starting place for looking for circuit training tapes in the future!

You're right, those are toning workouts without any cardio component. They are very good, and often recommended for beginners, though they're fairly long workouts that would be a challenge for someone who's never exercised before.

I've only previewed the Lower Body tape, but if you've never done toning work before I'd say start by only doing one set of each of the exercises (one set = about 12 repetitions), with little or no weight, and each time you do the workout add in a little more. That way you won't get so sore while your muscles are learning.

[gaki]

thanks for the detailed advise regarding how to approach my videos.. handy!

I will keep it in mind when doing them

gaki