New here & trying to find an exercise program that works for me

I recently started lurking here, reading some of the amazing things you all are out there doing.  I am in awe of all of you.

I'm trying to find out what it is that I enjoy doing so that I'll stick to it.  I've never been athletic...and honestly have always been a 'happy couch potato.' Obviously that's got to change. 

I do know I hate the confinement of a gym...I tend to spend every minute feeling like I'm being punished being there...so will work on my attitude with that.

Along those lines, I have a question I've been wondering while reading posts and people's stories here.

How many of you have (or had) trainers to help you get to the levels you're currently at in your fitness routine?  Did most of you do it on your own?  Do you do your training alone or have a 'buddy' who trains with you? (ie a friend, neighbor, family member/spouse?)

I live in Bulgaria and am scheduled to be here for a few more years.  My house is in the foothills of Mt. Vitosha, and while there is a nice walking area (for spring/summer/fall - not winter - right out my back door...it's not feasible for running...or at least not beginning running.  It's all down hill (then back up) on broken up sidewalks with plant debree piled up all over the place.  It's the old botanical garden here in Sofia.  The street in front of my house...not safe at all for walking or riding a bike...it's barely safe for driving!  It's very narrow and windy...and no sidewalks or even 'escape routes' if I was going along it and a car/bus/truck came.  Unless I took up ditch diving as an escape route...which is not desirable. 

There is a Curves gym here in Bulgaria (seen the advertisements for it...but would have to find it), and I've thought about joining that (assuming they have trainers?) to at least get a good 'base' going to build up stamina and get me in shape enough to take it out on the street...or there's a gym at work that's free to use, but there is no trainer.  Thus my question above...is it better to have a trainer to teach how to do the strength training in addition to helping learning to run? 

Regarding things I like to do physically...I like to ride bikes (feasible down in the city during the three 'doable' seasons,' but for now that'd mean snagging my son's bike and figuring out how to get it down there...I need to try to find a bike carrier)...I like to walk outside - and have actually been nagging my husband/son that I want to go up the mountain via the bus (it goes most of the way up) then walk our way back down.  It's probably about a 10-15 mile downhill walk (windy cobble stoned street if I stayed on the street...otherwise, through the woods coming down - there are semi-marked paths...and if I stayed going down...I'd run into my street and just have to walk up my street a few miles to my house.)

I actually did follow through on my promise to myself last week...that starting today, I'd make a point of at least going for a walk during lunch as often as possible.  I'm not sure how far I walked, but I walked at a reasonable pace (at least in my opinion for a beginner) for 45 minutes.  I also got my husband and son out the door after I came home and we went into the old botanical garden and picked blackberries...which was a quiet relaxing walk down the hill...and a hike back up it.  I hope to do at least the lunch walk again tomorrow.

Thanks for any input regarding whether I'd be better of w/a trainer or figuring it out myself. 

If the gym isn't your 1st choice, what about yoga or pilates? I would recommend those over Curves. You can always get DVD's to do at home as well. If you do end up going to the gym, then I would suggest getting a trainer for a little bit to get you on the right track. Once you get the hang of it, you can probably go it alone.

Jet

I've never tried yoga or pilates...but I can check them out.  There was a notice at work a week or so ago that they are trying to start up a class...but honestly...I always thought yoga and pilates were more of a stretching, twisting myself into a pretzel thing...I didn't know they could actually be called 'exercise?!' I'll also ask around for a trainer to at least get me going in the right direction...hopefully someone somewhere knows of one who can speak a little English.  I do like to walk outdoors - even if it's on the street, which is what I've been doing...but I need to find something doable in winter time too (unless I just make myself suck it up once winter kicks in) because they don't shovel sidewalks or streets here. 

Hey there.  I too was thinking exercise videos...Don't know how well you'll keep it up, doing them on your own.  Walking the different paths may work.  Thinking outside the box...Mountain trail bike riding.  Or buy a small pickup...load a bike in the back...buy a good lock and see the city and country on bicycle.  Maybe go into the city and see if you can rent a bike for a week or so...try it on for size and feel.  Buy it if it works for you.  Brian

PS...At the bike shops ask "where do the local people ride bikes"?

My whole family loves bike riding - we did it semi-frequently when we were in Brussels a few years ago...then sold our bikes when we moved to Jakarta where it wasn't feasible due to extreme pollution and traffic to ride anywhere.  My son now has a bike...and he'd ride with me if I can find a bike rack to get to a bikable area.  There are some nice places down in the city - trails through parks, and doable streets - as well as up in the mountains (even roads in the mountains) that I think would be good for riding...it's literally MY street which is not safe for biking.  I saw a bike shop the other day and am going to stop in and see if they have the rack...otherwise, I'll have to see if I can order it online.  Do you know anything about what to look for in a bike rack? Are they all the same?

In the meantime...the blackberries are getting ripe down the hill behind me...I'll go down it picking berries...then hike at a faster pace back up the hill.  The trails out there go quite a ways down and around, so it's not a straight shot down and up.

Re buying the truck...I'd love to...but I'm between a rock and a  hard place re any vehicle.  Long story...basically when I moved here 8 months ago (from Jakarta), the moving company was supposed to ship my new car from Germany to Bulgaria.  The driver 'detoured' out of the European Union through Serbia...and Serbian customs seized my car because the driver didn't have transit documents for Serbia (since he wasn't supposed to be in Serbia w/my car).  They've had it since January.  Because I'm only allowed one duty-free (tax free) car...I can't go buy another one...can't have the one I did buy...and have no idea when/if I'll ever see my car.  The moving company's insurance is paying for a rental until when/if my car gets released...which I'm not very optimistic on at this late date.  If the moving company does call it quits (I've been nagging) and gives me my money...I will buy an SUV.  In the meantime, I do have a rental SUV to run around it, but I don't think I could fit the bike(s) in it w/o the rack. 

I like the idea of seeing about renting a bike in the city...even if I did it for the day on weekends.  I'm going to look into that, at least for a short term solultion and getting started...thanks for that idea. 

If you hate the gym, find something else to do. Otherwise, you will eventually stop going to the gym...

The way I look at is: exercise is moving my body joyfully. So I do things that give me joy. I ride my bike, I swim in lakes, I do Crossfit workouts in a park and I run, mostly outdoors.

I do some stuff in the gym, but it's stuff I like to do such as a group power class (weight lifting in a group to music) and a water aerobics class. Sometimes I use the treadmill but only if I absolutely have to. Oh, and I take a Spin class too.

I joined a triathlon club and I do a lot of group workouts. That helped with knowing what to do and when to do it. I had a trainer for a while to do strength workouts but he didn't work me hard enough so I switched to Crossfit which is a group class led by an instructor. I had a triathlon coach for a while, but then I got injured so I've just been choosing workouts on my own that don't aggravate my injury.

Think about what gives you joy.. is it working out to music, Working out outdoors, In a group, on your own, at a set time every day, at all different times, etc. People just don't stick to things they hate that they are only doing because it is "good for you" in my experience.

Thanks for your input.  I think you're right on target with what you said.  Thinking about it...I do think I'm happier doing something in a group rather than on my own.  I think the reason for that is if I'm in a group, I'm more motivated because I'm trying to keep up with others in the group...versus doing it on my own, I get bored and discouraged and give up (thus the gym issue).  I prefer out doors most of the time...but would be OK indoors if it was a group something.  Someone on one of the other boards was telling me about zumba and I went and watched that on youtube and it looks fun...so I'm going to ask around for a zumba class.

I'd love to swim...I like to be in the water...but don't know how to swim well enough to really do anything other than float. 

This may sound like a stupid question...and I don't mean offense by it - it's more directed to 'my way' of thinking about myself than anything else...but when you joined the triathlete club...were you the only beginner who was there and starting to get in any form of shape?  The running does sound fun - I've been looking at the c25k.com and it makes it seem doable when I see the results people get here, but am not sure I'd be able to motivate myself to get out there and 'just do it.' alone (thus the trainer question).  I think it's still the 'fat side' of my brain talking - and my own lack of self-confidence - thinking that the true athletes would laugh me out the door if I showed up to join a triathlete club. 

When I started training for my tri, I was 50 pounds overweight. I was the slowest person to show up for the track workout, the slowest for the swim workout, the slowest for the group bike and the slowest for our New to the Sport class.

But everyone was great and there were definitely other beginners. They were so encouraging and the coaches helped me instead of ignoring me and I kept coming back and kept losing weight and, by the end of the season, I went from being next to last in my age group at the Sprint distance to missing the podium by 30 seconds.

Now I help the beginners. When they seem discouraged, I tell them that they are slower than me this year but next year there will be new people and the new people will be slower than them. It seem to help them.