Scared to start exercising/tactics to start exercising

@theknightlight There's already a ton of great advice in the thread, so I'll just second all of that. Also, kudos, you're acknowledging your fears at the same time that you express a willingness to try anyway.

Here's what you need to know: We were all you at some point, about something. Trying new things is hard, and scary, especially when it's a skill that takes time to develop. Nobody is good at something the first time they do it, and the dirty little secret is that we all look and feel awkward and dumb and silly. But you know what? That's okay! Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the awkward stage of starting a new thing.

Now, what I think I can add about running: I'm 46 and I've tried to get into running off and on for 20 years. One that was brought to my attention just a few years ago is that "running" doesn't have to mean running. What I mean is that a lot of times we picture running as this fast, high intensity activity. We think of people sprinting in a race, or a person galloping full-tilt to get away from an axe murderer or a grizzly bear.

The thing is, you can start running slow. It's as much about your gait as it is your speed. What was helpful for me was doing a C25k program, after a friend told me to slow my pace way down and focus instead on my form and stride length. I listened to him and that did wonders for me. I had been trying to run at the fastest pace I thought I could sustain for the different C25k intervals. After considering my friend's advice I adjusted things this way: I continued to move my legs in the same way - i.e. I was applying the same gait I used when either jogging or running, rather than walking - but I was going at a much slower pace instead of trying to run at whatever I personally thought was the fastest pace I could safely manage.

Once I started doing that - moving my legs as if to run, but going at what most people would consider the pace of a fast walk or moderate jog - I found that it was much easier to sustain workouts. It kept me from getting so tired and sore that I was left discouraged or even too sore/tired to practice consistently. At the same time, it positioned me to get perceptibly better with each new session. Once I stopped trying to kill myself every time I went on a run, I started to actually see tangible progress from one session to the next, and especially so from week to week. Once I slowed way down and focused on my form, it was that that actually put me in a healthy position to work on getting a little faster here, a little faster there, until I felt like I was actually running instead of operating in slow-mo.

And girlfriend, that tangible awareness of your own physical improvement pays massive dividends on your confidence levels!
 
@theknightlight I was you. The slow kid. Always picked last, gave up easy and was scared to try something new because I assumed I'd be bad at it. I'm 42 now and I have grown to love running.

Start small, start slow. Find things you enjoy doing, exercise doesn't have to suck. All of us were beginners at some point. If you like running, try and start with small intervals of running and walking. Run until you can't, then walk as long as you need to, then repeat.

Absolutely go with your mom to the gym. Strength training is so amazing for our bodies and if you start building your foundation now you'll set yourself up for life.
 
@sazzigirl And to add to this - the "running" in intervals can be a very slow jog for now. I live in a hilly place, and on uphills my "run" is just a fast walk.
 
@propeff I use "running" to cover jogging as well. On a good day I'm in the 11s. And when I'm trail running you bet your ass I'm power hiking those hills Hahahaha.
 
@propeff My own comment focused mostly on this. I only relatively recently came to the understanding that you can run at a slow pace, that the difference between walking, jogging, and running is as much about how your legs and feet move as it is about how fast you're going. Once I realized that, it was a game changer. Made all the difference in my capacity to just develop my skills as a runner, instead of thinking that running meant I had to hit the ground running at 6mph.
 
@leachim To add onto this chain of thoughts, it's also fine and normal if you literally can't run continuously at first - even if you go super slow, the moment you start pushing off the ground your heart rate zooms up to a breaking point. If you just go as long as you can, then walk until you can tolerate trying again, you'll get better.

I always thought it was common sense that you go slow at first, so when I kept seeing "slow down" as advice to beginners it made me want to burn everything and felt like I was so bad at it, even beginner advice didn't work for me. I don't know if C25k existed in 2009 but I wasn't aware of it, or run/walk intervals as a concept. An encouraging friend guided me through doing basically that, although he didn't call it that by name. It made all the difference to feel like I was doing it right, rather than the mile run at school where the same outcome felt like I was trying to do the expected minimum and failing.
 
@nerissa1969 I had to look it up after you raised the question. C25k was developed back in 1996. I had no idea it had been around that long. I only came across the concept by that name maybe four or five years ago, ish.
 
@theknightlight It is so important to do something you enjoy in order to stick with it! Something else that I recently learned was “finding your why” which is what is your reason to exercise. It sounds to me that your why is improving your health which is great!

I have depression and there are periods of time that I do not exercise for months before I finally decide I need to get myself back to it. To get myself started I tell myself “tomorrow at this time I’m going to put on my workout clothes and turn on a home workout video” usually by the time I get dressed I figure I might as well try exercising. Most of the times that’s enough to get me started for a few days until I am ready for a routine and I build from there. I don’t focus on a goal when I’m just getting going besides doing it. Honestly I don’t really have goals even now because I mainly workout to make my body feel better.

Just dance and walking are great exercises! Do what you enjoy not what you think you should be doing.
 
@theknightlight Others have already given great advice, sp I'm thinking back to my 16yo self who was very much like you but also very much in a terrible relationship with my body, food, and exercise.
  1. Make sure you're doing it for the right reasons- having more energy, a fun hobby, me time, challenging yourself, etc. Be careful not to make it just about aesthetics. Life is too short, and no one looks back on grandma and thinks "she was such a lovely person, and weighed 125." It's about who you are, and cultivating joy. Fitness and exercise can totally help create that.
  2. Like you, I never did athletics at a young age and was afraid of failure or looking stupid while doing it. Now that I've had 2 kids, soon to be 3, and genuinely DNGAF, I am stronger than I ever was then, both mentally and physically, and qualified for the Boston Marathon. I went to a small school and never ran xc or track, but checked a (before this pregnancy!) 5k time and realized I was faster in my mid 30s than every girl I went to high school with. It was sort of wild because I truly never thought of myself as athletic in the least. Turns out I just needed to find something I liked, was truly just for me, and get out of my own head enough to try.
Rooting for you!
 
@semiobsessiveone I love kettlebells! I got a 5lb and a 15lb a while back and they wore me out at first but the workouts are so much fun!

And they're really great tools for working in the privacy of your own home, too!
 
@theknightlight I was never athletic as a teen, but one thing i found i enjoyed and could do at my own pace was going for bike rides or just popping in my headphones and walking. Any start is good.
 
@theknightlight Starting is the hardest part.

You have to remember that doing something is better than doing nothing, and that nobody cares about what you look like or what you're doing unless if you're being loud, in the way, or if you don't rerack your weights.

I think you should start with going to the gym with your mom like you're already doing, and do what makes you feel okay. Then, when you feel ready, try some machines.

I had severe asthma my entire life and I have slower than average reaction speed. I was not born to be an athlete and was definitely the worst at all sports growing up.

One thing I realized as an adult is that nobody cares if I'm a good athlete or not. It's not my day job.

I run 3 times a week these days. (More like a slow jog but who's judging.) I weight lift 2 times a week (for only 20 min but who cares). No one ever made fun of me. I've been running for years and I'm still only running 12 minute miles and walk for a minute every 5 minutes.

Just do what works for you but keep moving.
 
@lawrencey
One thing I realized as an adult is that nobody cares if I'm a good athlete or not. It's not my day job.

I think this is one of the hardest things for people to wrap their head around - at any age, but especially at 16. We always think that people are staring and judging. The reality is that most people aren't paying the slightest bit of attention, especially not in fitness gyms.
 
@theknightlight I was super unfit pre-college (I have similar bad memories of running the mile in PE). Now, in my late twenties, I've gone through many stages of fitness (lifting heavy weights, lots of running, Pilates, bootcamp, etc). All of these stages started with me realizing I liked something in particular--that I had fun doing it.

I got into bootcamp style classes because there was a dance bootcamp. And my interest in that came from Just Dance.

I got into running because I loved taking long walks and just slowly started going faster.

I got into Pilates because I found an old DVD of my mom's and then starting going into classes.

I got into weight lifting through YouTube videos (Sydney Cummings eventually turned into actual lifting)

All of this to say: whatever gets you moving/that you enjoy is an awesome way to get into exercise! Any of those options sound great!
 
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