Tips for a beginner

Hi, I'm preparing for surgery at the end of March, and I'm looking for help with an excercise program.  Right now I'm too big for most gyms, pools, etc, so I'm kinda looking for home excercises that I can do to get me started, until I lose enough to get to a real gym.  Another challenge is my knees.  Because of my weight, as most of you have probably experienced, standing for more than 10-15 minutes is a real challenge.  Any suggestions on a simple walking program or basic resistance training would be greatly appreciated.  Right now I'm walking 10 minutes a day, and it just about kills me ;)  But I know it will all pay off in the long run. Michael 484 / 200 (current pre-op / goal)

Hi Mike! Congratulations on your upcoming surgery!   I recommend the Leslie Sansone "Walk Away the Pounds" videos ... they are great!  They have a 1 mile version that takes about 20 minutes to complete and it's a good place to start.  Even if you only make it halfway through, that is fabulous!  You can keep adding minutes to that until you can complete the whole program.  Also, there are some videos out there with exercises while you sit in a chair that would probably be good too ... that way you could get some strength training in as well.   Good luck!  You'll do great! Deanna  :)

Thanks Deanna, I think I've seen those DVDs at Wal-mart.  I'll check them out :) 

Also, check out the On Demand channel on most cable stations.  They have alot of different work outs that can be done for free, including those to be done in a chair. I also recommend some resistance tubes.  You can do alot of things with them, in bioth standing and in a chair, until you lose enough to become more mobile. You siund like you have a positive spirt, and I wish you all the luck!

Thanks Jill.  I'm looking at purchasing some bands since I can bring them with me on the road for work.  Unfortunately in Canada we don't have On Demand yet  (or at least I don't).  Have a great day :)