RE:  Tae Bo.  They have a class running in my local gym several nights a week and I signed up for 12 months last week to have the full use of the gym and classes for $340 per 12 months.  Whilst I was doing the weight circuit I watched the class.  I don’t think my fitness levels are up to that yet.  I got tired just looking at it!  Then they had step/pump one night and that looks even more exhausting.  Luckily they have another class which I have not seen yet which looks to be like Yoga and tai chi all rolled into one.  Possibly a little slower hopefully and more up my street for the time being! 

I have started power walking like Aimee, because running is not really manageable at the moment and walking can be just as fun.  if you go to hard your just exercising your heart and not giving you whole body the benefit.   Last week I could only do three minutes on the stepper and I was basically out of breath, but each time I do that the time I can do it increases.  Also  I found the cycling machines a little easier for maintaining time length.  When Power Walking though so far I just walk out for 15 minutes from home and then head back.  There is a very steep hill in my town and I walk to that--walk half way up, cross the road and walk back down and contnue around the block.   I aim to get to the top where the lookout is as I progress before heading back down.  Baby steps lol...

As fitness levels build up from Power walking I read that you can sprint for 2 minutes hard out and then gently jog for a minute and then sprint again 2 mins and then jog again---and continue alternating these two for a total time of 12 minutes max and that it is good for giving you a nice physique similar to what sprinters have---and looking at them they always look nicely proportioned.  

I do weights at the moment as I went to a seminar last week which concentrated on doing at least 35 minutes of weights per week.  This is said to increase muscle strength which kicks your metabolism somewhat and means that when muscles are stronger, when you do do your aerobic type of excercise for 30 minutes, you burn more fat than you other wise would if you had not done weights.  8 minutes of weights a day is all you need to do, but I have been going every day to do aerobics also and get my physical fitness levels back up. 

They also spoke of spoke of people being mis infomred about weights in that they assume if they start weight training that they will build large ugly muscles like the men that have freaky cartoon type muscles in competition.    Not the case.  Also said that to a minute extent that you have to  damage muscle to have it grow back in stronger--but obviously not to the extent that you cannot exercise the next day.  You should lift weights that are comfortable to lift for the number of reps you do (i.e. 6-12 repd) and if it was too easy, the wights are too light.  if too hard that your could barely finish the reps then too heavy.  If you do weights to increase your fitness they also said to do more reps and lighter weights as opposed to large weights and less reps.  (I.e. 12lbs in each hand and 12 reps at the beginning and bulding up as muscle strength increases as opposed to trying more weight and shorter reps).  This encourages strong lean muscle which burns more fat even whilst your sleeping apparently. 

I did feel out of place when first going---I feel like a slob in comparison to the others working out there, but I guess we all have to start somewhere.  My focus was more on what my body will be like after ten to fifteen weeks ( I have to shut out my feelings about my body and what it looks like at present and just go for it) of doing it and not what it looks like at the moment because if I let that get in the way, I’d never go and do it.  The good thing is you see others that are fitter than you which is inspiring and spurs you on---and watching them you also see how to use the weights properly, and then you see others that have further to go than you have where weight loss or toming is concerned in some cases and you think, "Well, it’s either forward and working hard at this to get the results I want or ending up like "that" if I don’t do something about this body,  so that also spurs you on.  Whereas on the videos "everyone "  seems to look in such perfect shape and you feel inferior.

For the majority of my life I have always been thin and untoned.  A reasonable weight but not fit.  I just felt that it was time for a change.  Maybe it is something about the number 40 looming that has set that in motion....  I’ll be damned if I’ll get to that number and have people comment that it’s down hill from there.  Cos anything has got to be better than looking and feeling as unfit as I do at the moment.  Tell Linda to go to a class because there are more realisitic looking people there and she will feel far more comfortable.  :)