Yes, good, old-fashioned exercise never hurt anyone.  Regardless of what your screaming muscles may say to you after you inflict too much movement on them in the beginning. 

Starting an exercise routine is undoubtedly the hardest part.  You can procrastinate yourself right out of not doing it by thoughts alone.  But…we all need to get our 30 minutes a day in so you may as well knuckle under and git ‘er done (sorry, saw this on a roadside sign for a roofing company and couldn’t resist – BTW, this is a VERY odd sign for a Canadian company’s roadside advertising sign). 

But WHAT to do? 

Well, what do you LIKE to do? And no, performing reps of arm raises with a can of beer doesn’t count. 

If you are new to the exercise scene or have been absent for a while, start off slow by just walking a little every day.  Or head to the nearest big-box store (I hate handing out free advertising) and pick out some DVD’s that tickle your fancy.  There are literally hundreds to choose from.  Pilates, Yoga, Dance, BeachBody, BootCamp, etc. 

Personally, I love Winsor Pilates.  Mari Winsor has been providing some great workout DVD’s for years that will not have you wishing you had been dropped into a vat of boiling oil to make you forget about your muscle aches after say….an episode of Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred.  Mari has moves for Beginners as well as those for more advanced (pfft to the more Advanced-ers!) wanna-be flexible yoga gurus. 

Start off slow, gradually increasing your time and effort until you can do at least 30 – 45 minutes of exercise a day at a challenged pace.  That is, without huffing and puffing like a walrus moving on land. 

The rule of thumb with any exercise routine is: 

You get out of it what you put into it…. 

Profound eh?  I thought so…. 

SO….get your butt into some yoga pants and an over-sized T, hit the floor and give me twenty! 

Oh, and so you are not alone, I will be there right sweating along with you.  I have my own on-line exercise and food journal over at ‘My Daily Plate’ that I will be logging into daily. 

 See? If I can do it…so can you!