Any suggestions for what I could do to keep fit?

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I'm a teenager and I feel as if I don't exercise enough. I've exercised before doing things such as exercise DVDs in my room but I know that's not really the best type of exercise. The problem is that generally I'm terrified of taking part in exercise classes such as dance/aerobics and so on, not because I'm incapable of doing it but because I'm so scared of doing something wrong and I can never convince myself that it's alright to try.

I've tried beginner ballet classes and I did like it but I felt like I wasn't really good enough at it. I've tried horse-riding too, but I ended up stopping that after some things happened and I didn't want to go out to face anyone. (Problem is I still often feel like that now)

I can't swim for my life with front crawl, I've never tried it and been too scared to do so. I can swim breast stroke but not exactly properly and again I know it's not the best form of exercise. I can't run so fast or for very long though I guess I could try building it up.

Do you have any suggestions for what I could do as exercise, or suggestions of how to force myself to try new things and not panic and freeze up? I really do want to exercise more and be fitter.

As long as it's for beginners, don't worry about doing things wrong. Everyone learns at their own pace and the instructors are usually more than happy to help you.

I would recommend if you take up something like jogging or gym to get a coach for the first while; that way they can tell you if you're doing it wrong. You can stunt your growth if you fall into bad habits.

Well, I am tempted to suggest that you go to work on a farm, but that's not always possible. Just kidding - sort of. I would however, seriously suggest that you consider a home exercise machine. I use the Total Gym, it's a bit expensive, but I really like it. You might look around your area and see if they have any of those used exercise equipment stores, or even look at some of the thrift shops. Lots of people start an exercise program, but few stick with it for very long and they donate the stuff just to get rid of it. Another option is to take up martial arts. That's a good approach too, as is joining a local sports group like softball, basketball, etc. It's not as important what you. Just do something physical.

You can try wii fit or any other sports game. We used to use game cube dance dance revolution. About 1 hour a day in medium or high level is nice cardio. You shoukd aldo tske care of your eating. Tons of water, raw veggies and fruits, less carbohidrates and sweets and you will be fine. I understand your fear for not being good enough. I think we have all being there at some point, but you have to handle it. Think that you are doing it for yourself and do not care what others might think.

I was going to suggest a Wii game or Dance Dance Revolution. As long as you don't have people living below you, DDR is awesome exercise.

Its also the only "dancing" I am capable of since there are very clear rules and constant feedback... you either hit the step or you don't, and you know immediately.

You could try doing what I do - step aerobics at home. You don't need any fancy equipment; just a step. I use the bottom stair.

If you are a person who gets bored doing monotonous cardio, there are all sorts of fancy step variations you can learn just by checking out YouTube videos. If (like me) you actually enjoy monotonous cardio, all you need to do is the basic step, and you're off.

I hope you enjoy whatever kind of exercise you choose.

I got my kids into martial arts. They turned their noses up at ballet when I took them to a class. Now they are older they say they wish they had done ballet as well as martial arts after having been blown away by a ballet production they went to see, and it's like "dad why didn't you make us do this?"

Guess it's whatver you feel most comfortable doing at the time, but the pay-off is you might look back and realize maybe you wanted to do something but didn't have the confidence to do it when you had the chance, and you might learn that confidence in something you less wanted to really do.

No one can do martial arts and ballet really well when they walk in the door, and to an advanced instructor we all look clumsy or uncoordinated in different ways.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for all of the suggestions I'm not completely sedentary as I do walk around quite a lot but it's good to have some suggestions for what I could do to get more active I can't really buy exercise equipment (there's no room in the house!) and I don't have a Wii, but I'll definitely think about doing something else.

Try to find something you really enjoy. I sweated buckets and got my butt kicked in aikido last night, but didn't mind it because aikido is fun for me - but I can't make myself work out on a home gym, or at a club, to near that level (if at all) because it's way too boring. Just for a start, if your family has a dog you can take it on long walks. The dog will love you for it.

Running (or more aptly called....jogging) is really fun!
Though don't just take my word because my name is chrissyrun.
Go outside and try a mile or 2.
Maybe running will become enjoyable to you.

I might try doing this...Does it really work when you start by jogging for a while, then walking, and then jogging for another while to build up how long you can do it for? How did you start or were you just a natural?

Yay!
I have a whole story about this, but I will condense it.
I used to suck at running, (but we ran the mile every week in pe, so I had to if I didn't want to)...then I got on the treadmill three random days for a few hours and it bettered my mile time to 9 minutes from 13.
You need a base somewhere around a 10 minute mile to start....so just work on that. Try running or jogging the whole mile until you can get it down to 10.
Then, I joined cross-country and we ran 2 mile races and trained and ran (though pretty lightly).
So, when you get the mile down, try running the whole 2 miles.
It doesn't matter what the time is so long as you can run the whole thing.
Meanwhile, try a few other training things, but very lightly. Maybe things like sprint drills and a few pushups would work
Then I tired for a half-marathon, and I followed a schedule (kinda, I knew my body well enough by then to make it up a little)....but most of my peers started getting ready for High school cross-country.
You have a choice here, and it all depends on your goal. Are you running to make a distance, or just to run?
If you want the distance, then choose a running plan (1000's plague the internet) for your distance...or continue on to three miles.
I'm skipping over the half explanation, and moving on to cross-country (since they are on the internet).
When you move onto three miles, it's time to strengthen other muscles to make you faster.
Incorporate some weightlifting and core into your routine occasionally.
Mix it up with your running once you can get to three miles. Sprint a mile, jog 2. Try jogging 4. Do repeats.....there are a million different things you could do.
As you get stronger, go farther as you feel the need.


Happy running, sorry this was a little bit incomplete.

I think you might be making it sound more complicated than it really is, Chrissy.

You don't really have to obsess over distances and times (unless you want to, of course).

Just set aside about half an hour once every two days (you'll need rest days in between) and go out and start walking to warm up. Jog slowly for as long as you can manage, and when you start to feel tired, walk again. Then jog again.

That's all there is to it.

At first, the length of time you can jog for may be very short (perhaps less than a minute) but if you stick at it, after a few weeks you should manage to jog for longer and longer periods at a time before you have to stop and walk again.

I still remember the day I jogged for 20 minutes straight. I nearly cried with excitement.

I was soon able to go for 1-hour jogs.

I can't jog any more due to my low arches, but it got me into doing other forms of cardio as well.

Just give it a shot. Stick with it for a month, and give your lungs and heart (as well as your legs) a chance to get stronger gradually. I'll bet you'll soon be able to jog for long periods at a time.

Thanks.

I am not trying to make it complicated, that is just the route I went....just presenting a possibility. (Plus I was in sports, so I was trained to obsess over my time).

That's great about the hour thing!

Low arches..I am the flat foot queen! All you need is good shoes with arch and heel support to keep your feet from pronating.....think, stability.

I didn't mean to say that you shouldn't obsess over timing yourself. I just mean that, when giving advice to a beginner, it's not that important. All a beginner needs to work on is building up their stamina and being able to jog for a sustained length of time. They can worry about timings later.

I appreciate the kindness and desire to help that no doubt motivate your unsolicited advice, but I'm sick of unsolicited advice from people saying "all you need are the right shoes" bla bla bla. I hope that doesn't sound rude. I'm just being honest. When a certain form of exercise works for certain people, or they really like it, they tend to get all evengelical about it, and assume it will work for others as well, which is not always the case. We all have different bodies.

I did have the right shoes, you see. I had them professionally chosen for me, having been filmed on a treadmill to have a gait analysis. I had the right insoles. I ran on the softest terrain possible (grass). I did everything I could to minimise injury, but it was no good. I couldn't run for long periods of time, or I got crippling arch pain. I couldn't take long strides, or I got terrible shin splints. It was very frustrating for me having to keep my speed down, and limiting myself to thirty minutes, because I wanted to do interval work and add in some sprints and try and build up to going for two hours at a time, but I couldn't. The longest I ever did was 1 hour and 20 minutes, and I felt incredible elation but the next day I was in agony.

I spent far more time resting due to injury than I was able to spend time actually jogging, so I gave it up in the end. I miss it a lot, and every now and again I tried to start doing it again, convincing myself that it wouldn't hurt this time, but it always did. I am far happier doing my cycling and step aerobics, which are both low-impact forms of exercise, because they don't lead to pain. If the OP finds they get on well with jogging, great! I envy people who can jog with no pain, but since I can't, there's no point in sitting around crying about it. I might as well do something else instead.

It's not important what exercise we choose. What's important is that we do SOME form of exercise.

Ok, I just wanted to point out that timing yourself can be a great way to set goals and isn't evil.

That's true about the stamina, I forgot about that. I think I skipped that when I started running. I was trying to also differentiate between jogging and running by using time. Notice how I mentioned it only in the first distance, the rest I just said to build up to distances. BTW, the cross-training is also a means of building up stamina/strength.

Sorry, didn't mean to be evangelical about it and everything, I just assumed.

However, I would like to point out something. I did the same thing, and went to a running store and they did the whole gait/treadmill thing and it didn't work out either. I endued up taking home the shoes, running in them, and having the bloodiest ankles you've ever seen. What worked is when I found the shoe that I thought worked for me, and tried it out. If there are any running stores near you, that is the best way. Never let someone else choose out your shoes....you know your body better than anyone else could. Oh, and did you ever try icing? I got some bad shin splints when I was in track, and as long as I iced every day (around knee deep for 20 minutes) I was fine.

Another thing, I am so spirited about it because I think anyone can run. It is an amazing thing to split your original mile time in half. (13 to 6:30[well, actually, 6:08]) that's why I think anyone can do it.

That does sound awful about the no-running thing though. I went too hard on the bleachers 2 days and couldn't run for a few days and it is driving me crazy right now.

True.....but I just think running is better.