Beginners Exercise Routine - Lets Get This Party Started

Jumping jacks are great for increasing heart rate, that is why you will see them in so many routines. So instead of replacing it I can give you a modification to help strengthen those same muscles and let you build up to a jumping jack.

So instead of jumping up and spreading your legs, I want you to just step to your left and bring your hands up just like you would with a normal jumping jack. When you bring your hands back down bring your left leg back to center, then do the same thing going to the right. You should be using all the same muscles only it will be much lower impact and should be far less stress on your back. Shoot for double or triple the number because you want to get some cardio benefit from them.

Now in addition to this change, you should also try to stretch your back out to help alleviate that stress. Here are some back stretches that will help a lot and help to strengthen your back muscles. You may also want to start focusing on your core too as that has a lot to do with lessening back pain.

I am thinking the top 4 images in this graphic will help you. Obviously you will not be able to do it to the extent taht this girl does it, but do it as far as you can and keep doing it until you can get farther and farther. This will increase blood flow to your back muscle which will help to heal any issues you have.

Yup, I am clearly still a beginner. My trainer made me do walking lunges last night and I about died (well, that's being dramatic, but I almost fell over). I can't even do one push-up, let alone 10. That's actually a goal of mine - to be able to do a push-up.

Thanks for the focus on beginners, Keith.

Lunges are not easy. In fact for us over weight people we typically have balance issues so we find things like lunges more difficult than others. Do not be discouraged, the point is to keep practicing them until you get there.

For pushups are you trying to do them from  your toes or are your dropping to your knees?

You can help to strengthen the necessary muscles by standing in a door frame and put your hands on either side and make the push up motion, do as many as you can, start to move your feet out a few feet until it becomes challenging. Do this as often as you can, the more you do it the closer you will get to full pushups. You can also do elevated pushups. Put your feet on the floor and you hands on some stairs or bleachers and just keep going lower until you are challenged and practice there, every time you can get to 10 move down to the next stair until you are knocking out 10 on the ground. Once you can do 10 on the ground I will give you another challenge involving one hand on a medicine ball.

One hand on a medicine ball? I almost LOLed at my desk. Someday, far in the future :)

Trainer had me do "push-ups" against the bar on the smith machine, kind of like wall push-ups. I will keep working on it. And yes, the balance thing is killer when it comes to walking lunges.

Thanks for posting this Keith.  My surgery is in one month so I will be hitting the weights ASAP!  Not much time but can build a bit of muscle before surgery.

Keith

Thank you for such a great post!!  I am 5 weeks post op. However, I am still having issues with getting all my meals and water in. So, I am a little lightheaded these days. Until I can get in all my nutrients and build up stamina, do you have any exercises that I can do at home that is considered very light cardio?