Hi folks, I'm going to have a really good read of all the back workout threads once I have time. Just started a new job, so I'm still at the headless chook stage right now. In the meantime, I'd appreciate some thoughts about exercise please.

I think my diet is pretty good now, still working on it but I'm at a slim weight (lower than what I used to think of as "ideal") and I feel healthy and energetic. Fixing my diet was last year's project. This year I'd like to get fitter and stronger. I am extremely unfit and need to build up slowly. I've never been a person who found aerobic fitness easy; even in my younger days when I ran every day I only had average aerobic fitness. I'd really like to get fit enough that I can do physical things I enjoy without worrying about injuring myself or collapsing halfway through. I especially don't want to get decrepit as I age, so I really feel I need to start working on this now! (I am 45.)

To start with, DH and I are planning on doing a yoga and meditation class on Wednesday evenings to help us destress mid-week, and I'd like to incorporate a bit of daily yoga practice into my routine.

I enjoy all types of outdoor recreation and dancing. I hate all types of ball sports - no hand/eye coordination. I'm interested in getting into barefoot walking/running, but I get cold feet in winter. I don't like gym classes much, mainly because of the noise.

Physical problems/limitations are:
- I get a crick in my neck quite easily that can evolve into migraine, seems to happen while carrying heavy things even when I'm quite careful, eg loading a slab of water into a supermarket trolley
- I had a frozen shoulder a couple of years back so I'm still a bit wary of shoulder stress
- There are some exercises I can't do because of uterine prolapse, having intensive physio for that, will know by mid-year if I need a surgical fix. Basically anything that increases the pressure in the abdominal cavity a lot is out:  http://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/pages/pelvic-floor-safe-resistance-exercises.html
- Have had problems with achilles tendonitis for years. Started when I went for a ten-day tramp with a much heavier pack than I was used to. That's definitely worse when there is any pressure on them so I'm hoping barefoot might work better if I can get my technique right.

I don't enjoy exercise for its own sake much, so motivation is an issue. In the past I've been fittest when I've been doing things I love, like skiing and horseriding. Unfortunately those sorts of things tend to take more time and money than I have right now! I'm pretty busy just now and finding time is hard, especially during the week. Weekends are easier.

Any advice welcome thanks!   

You seem to have come up with excuses why you can't do much.  Lets look at what you can do.  You like yoga, dancing, walking, etc.  that's good.  Low intensity fun activities should be the foundation of your exercise program.  Do lots of this and do it because you enjoy it. 

Next, add in a cardio/metabolic pathway/energy production training or whatever the latest buzzword is.  The key is progressively increasing your heartrate for brief periods.  You don't have to spend a long time on this.  A few minutes every couple of days will do it.  It does eventually have to get strenuous. 

The next step is resistance training.  There are 5 basic movements.  You should do each on a frequent basis, keeping in mind that it's the period between workouts that the positive adaptation takes place.  Recovery and rest are paramount.  The 5 movements are push, pull, squat, hinge and carry.  I can give you examples of each.  You need to do them hard enough that you start to struggle with the movement.  Start doing them with light weights and progressively (the second time I used that word, do you think that's a coincidence?) increase the load over time. 

Stu

I am lazy.  I hate cardio type exercises like running and circuits and use the excuse that my body is ideally shaped for procreation and not running (which is arguably true, being 5'1'' and 35-25-37, and having a lung capacity of about 2 litres, thanks Gran!).

I did yoga for a while but found it mind numbingly dull.  I also tried to do proper weights at the gym but felt pretty self-concious being the only girl picking up 10kg dumbells or trapped on the floor under a 35kg barbell doing hip squats.  And again, I found training alone super boring and found it pretty hard to motivate myself.

I would recommend
- dance class, but one with more emphasis on strength than aerobic, so ballet rather than zumba
- swimming, as it's non-impact
- rowing, again non-impact, although if you do it the fun way (crew team) then you'll even up doing a lot of medium-high intensity cardio, which pretty unfun.  You could do single sculling instead (or double scull with your husband) and mix your workouts between slow, low intensity and sprint /interval (anaerobic) workouts.  Rowing on water is about 10000000x more fun that the ergometer at the gym!
(disclaimer - former coxswain and sculler talking)
- gymnastics, as it's a good mix of aerobic, high intensity intervals, and bodyweight/strength exercises
- bodyweight exercises - see MDA and primal blueprint fitness

I just started doing Krav Maga, which is super fun, although a certain level of aggressiveness and imperviousness to pain does help

Thanks guys, those are good suggestions.

CCG I hadn't thought of rowing, but we have a small lake nearby with a competition rowing course and lots of rowing clubs on it. Maybe I should join a club! They'd often train early in the morning which I might be able to fit in with work if DH takes the bus to the train station in the morning rather than me giving him a lift as I do now. We are up before six as it is - he commutes to Melbourne for work - so a bit earlier wouldn't be that hard. I have long arms and hefty shoulders for a female, so I guess I might be able to get quite good at rowing. In my younger days when I did bodybuilding I used to lift more than lots of the guys at the gym. Not sure what kind of training they'd do in the winter - it would be dark before and after work then, although it doesn't get too cold to be out on the water here.

If you train in a double scull with your husband then you can do it whenever suits you, and you'll avoid the chronic cardio that you'd be subjected to rowing in 8s or 4s.  A double scull is also a great boat to learn in (compared to an 8+) because it is much more sensitive so it's very easy to tell how your movements affect the movement of the boat.  You can train in the winter with lights on the boat if you are experienced enough, so start now if you can!
Maybe do double sculling with your husband weekends and one night after work (depending on what time work finishes) and go out in a single on your own later in the mornings.

Rowing is actually more about legs (and lung capacity) than it is about arms...this is why a lot of rowers are also very good at cycling!  Most of the power comes from the legs, as they have much bigger muscles than the arms - have a look at the quads on the next group of rowers you see