I started walking in the neighborhood in college and doing the leg machine at my apartment's clubhouse gym. I walked just to get away and realize now it was stress relief because I would walk a really long time. I used that gym because it was empty and it was fun playing on it
Fast forward to job and young family. My job offered a voucher to join a gym so I did. The weights always had men there (eww..haha) so I never used. So all I did was step. There are times I still miss those classes and the teacher. Then work stress increased and I wanted to do something when I couldn't make it to the gym. I asked a friend who I knew exercised and she told me to go to kmart and gave me some titles to buy. They were Tamilee and Kathy Smith. I still went to the gym off and on but gradually I couldn't carve out the time to go. (I haven't been to a gym that wasn't attached to a hotel in years.)
My video collection grew after that friend gave me an extra collage catalog she had. I couldn't believe how much was out there! I remember her being amused at my reaction. I also remember recording episodes off of exercise tv(or was it fittv? ) with Gilad, Denise, etc. at some point...hmmm what channel was I recording? Wait, was it two channels? One on espn and the other was on lifetime? Anyone else have a foggy idea what I'm trying to remember?
Then my one and only infomercial purchase (Winsor Pilates) happened at some point.
Anyway, it wasn't until I bumped into VF looking for a review of a workout that my collection grew and I took my exercise at home REALLY seriously.
I will also mention that the friend I asked, said in all the years she had people ask her, that I was the first one she ever had that actually did what she said.
She never seemed to own more than a handful of workouts even though she helped create a vidiot.
I still bug her from time to time even though we live so far apart now
And exercise seems to be what I have always used to manage stress.