My best advice is to start out with something you think you can do for a long time. Because in the past I feel like I always would want to start exercising so I'd join a gym, go at it hard core for 1-2 weeks. Get tired or injured or overwhelmed with life and the inability to make it to the gym all the time and quit.
Joining a gym at first didn't seem reasonable because the gym is 15 minutes from my house, I'd have to load up kids, drive, workout 60-90 minutes and then drive back. That is a 3 hour process that seemed way too overwhelming to fit into my kids and my schedule. So I decided to start small and workout at home.
So I started with 10 minutes of exercise every day that I don't work. So that is 5 days a week for me. I came to this conclusion because I am a nurse and work 12.5 hour shifts and my commute to and from work totals 90 minutes so I am gone for a good 14+ hours a day on those days and sometimes I am so physically and emotionally exhausted (compassion fatigue) that I do not want to come home and work out. And I feared putting that kind of pressure on myself would lead to me sabotaging everything I was doing to try to be healthy.
But on my "days off" I could fit in at least 10 minutes. I am a mother of a 1 year old and 4 year old and they keep me busy all day long with their constant needs. However, I decided I needed to carve some time for myself. So I would put my daughter down for a nap, put a movie on for my son, then go down stairs and do a workout video. Fairly quickly 10 minutes didn't seem so bad so I increased it to 20 and got Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. 20 minutes a day of circuit training.
After a few weeks of doing the 30 day shred 5 days a week I could feel my body changing and my muscles getting stronger. And the biggest difference was how I felt. I FELT GREAT! I had so much more energy. After working out I would be able to get my housework done because of the burst of endorphins I would get after which in turn made me feel so accomplished for the day.
That's when I decided 30 minutes 5 days a week was completely doable for me. So I got Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 and some other video's to keep it interesting. I don't love work out video's per say... but they keep me moving and I'm drenched with sweat by the end. And that is just what was feasible for me.
One month in I did end up getting a gym membership. I wanted to be able to lift HEAVY weights that I can't at home. I love going to the gym, but my kids hate the day care and after a few times of getting interrupted from my workout to come calm my crying children... I decided not to force the issue. Plus it is hard sometime to plan gym time with the kids nap, school, etc schedules. So I go to the gym on the days my husband and I have off together so I get some alone time that I don't have to juggle kids and get a really great workout.
But that is what worked for me.
If you want to be successful working out... you have to find what works for YOU. What is feasible in your schedule? Is it 10 minutes while you get ready for work? Is it walking your kids to the park and running laps as they play in a playground? Is it parking at the back of the parking lot at the store to make you walk farther? Is it stopping by the gym on your way home from work? Is it running early in the am before your kids wake up? You have to find something that you will do that will be somewhat of a sacrifice, but won't be so overwhelming that you can't imagine doing it day in and day out, because guess what? You won't.
I always preach start out small because when I am overwhelmed I shut down and am not productive. If I take each task little by little, I am much more likely to succeed. But again... that's just me.
Also. TAKE BEFORE PICTURES. As much as you may be mortified to do so. You will appreciate having them. As you progress you can compare your current pictures to your starting pictures and see how much progress you have made!
Here's my before pictures
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