What's a good 'exercise' (please see details)?

Swimming… works the whole body and is an aerobic workout.
I have spoken.

Have you tried kick boxing aerobics? I’ve been doing it for years. It’s a great stress reliever. You can imagine punching the people that irritate you the most and get a good workout. There are kickboxing aerobic DVDs available.

@Dr_C, although I know swimming to be a great workout, I burn far too easily to consider it. Also, I hate getting wet. Great advice, but won’t work for me. Thanks anyway!

@jonsblond, that sounds like it could work! Could you recommend some of your favorite DVDs for me, please?

Walk, really, just walk. Park an extra block or more from your work, take the parking space the farthest away from the store entrance, and walk a mile around your neighborhood every day. To make it fun, look for the hidden surprises you can see while you are walking.

I’ve used Denise Austin’s kickboxing VHS tape and what I’ve recorded on the DVR from her show on Lifetime for the past ten years. I’m dating myself. I know that she has several DVDs. She’s great for beginners, people with limited time or those that want to maintain their weight . I love her enthusiasm.

Pushups and sit up will do the trick if you’re willing to wait. Also try walking around everywhere you go. What may seem like a 15 minute drive through downtown traffic can turn out to be a nice 30 minute stroll.

@evegrimm no indoor pools near you?

Lots and lots of sex will help… eh hem… what I meant to say is.. make sure to stretch before any rigorous activity

@Dr_C, no, unfortunately. I live in the Southwest, where we have sunny and warm hot days most of the year, so indoor pools are sort of an anomaly. Sucks for me, eh?

Even the local Uni has a (very nice) outdoor pool…high dives, olympic-size, the works.

Offhand, I can’t think of an indoor pool. Maybe a gym?

@Bugabear, I do try to walk as much as possible! I no longer use a car, and use the busing (bussing?) system, but try to walk whenever I can.

But it’s soo hot right now!

If you’re looking to get abs, try doing the plank http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm

It is extremely easy and can be done anywhere.

If you’re still in Tucson, go to the downtown YMCA. They have an indoor pool and a sauna and jacuzzi in the locker rooms.

@evegrimm – do you have cable television? If so, see if you have any On Demand stations. I have Exercise TV On Demand and there are many, many workouts to choose from.

Billy Blank’s Tai Bo

Depending on the music you like, crank up the volume and dance! Also, you could do aerobic-type workouts in dance form.

You will get in shape, hone your dancing skills, and enjoy yourself. The benefits of this are numerous:
-nobody will see you dancing, unless you live outside
-you could invite someone over to dance with you
-you don’t need any equipment
-will be beneficial to your legs/butt/abs

Most of the things on tv are good exercises. Swimming is great if you don’t mind chemicals in your body. Walking is also good.

Walking walking walking.

Jump rope to music! just make sure you wear a sports bra with good support or it won’t be very much fun

Go dancing often. That is a fun indoor exercise that can be done alone or with friends. Just don’t fill up on alcoholic drinks while you are there – stick to ice water.

Just dance! Sometimes I put salsa music or disco or anything up beat and fun on and just dance around my room really wildly for an hour or so. I am always sore the next day, and its fun! Or look into a zumba class, they’re only 3 dollars around here and they are an exciting way to get a work out in. But man, getting some of those dance moves down is rough.

Do you have a garden? A lawn? Does the house need a coat or two of paint? That’s good exercise. It can be fun, too. It sort of depends on you. Cheers!

@evegrimm Well thats good that you walk. I try to because I cant afford a car anymore and I can just bike or take the bus to wherever I need to go to. But yeah push ups and sit ups are good but they take a while to actually see results. Like at least a month or so

@cyndyh, unfortunately, no. I live in an apartment at the moment…no garden or need to paint. But good ideas! (If I still lived at home w/ my parents, I would probably go outside and help my mom in the garden…)

@tedibear39, no, I don’t have cable. I hardly watch TV as it is. :)

@all, does anyone have good/bad experiences with yoga? I liked that doing it often made me more flexible, but is it going to do anything else for me?

Yoga is great for posture, flexibility and balance. It’s also a good stress reliever. The kinds of yoga Americans are most familiar with don’t really provide an aerobic workout.

The most important part is diet**. You are what you eat, and a good routine is 75% diet 25% exercise. You need to eat tons of protein. Tuna and salmon are great, and watch the fried food if you really want the abs.

Pull ups, push ups, crunches, and running. It’s simple.

**Not diet as in starving yourself, diet as in the variety of foods you eat.

@Robles Good answer. Dietitians are avoiding the word “diet” because too many people think it means restricting or limiting what we eat rather than eating a healthy variety in a healthy amount.

@Robles, I already eat tons of protein, and fried food makes me extremely ill. So I don’t eat it.

I know that one of my issues, health-wise, is that I don’t eat enough fruits and veggies. But other than that…I’m not doing too bad. (I don’t think I am, anyway.) I eat plenty of complex carbs and avoid simple ones.

Although I would love to get into running, I either have GERD or exercise-induced asthma, which makes it painful (in my lungs/esophagus area) to run.

And I think I would like to get a pair of Vibram FiveFingers before I seriously started running. :)

⅔ of your diet should be fruits and vegetables. Protien is good but it is also calorie dense. Everything in moderation.