Finding the right balance and type of exercise??

[frecs]

I've been on Paleo AIP for 6 weeks and feeling much better, moving much better. So far, my exercise has been walking during breaks at work (so 2 15-minute sessions of gentle walking) and yardwork/gardening at home. When I say "yardwork/gardening" I mean...mowing several evenings a week after work now that Mowing Season has arrived and 5 or 6 hours of variable intensity gardening/maintenance work on weekends (hauling loads of rabbit "fertilizer" and wood mulch around to various parts of the yard for making garden beds, raking, planting, animal husbandry tasks, etc). I have 100+ pounds to lose but I also need to keep "getting healthy" as the focus, not the weightloss. I feel the need for something gentle that will gently stretch muscles, strengthen my back and improve posture, balance/flexibility....but that is "doable" for a over-sized person. I want to reduce stress and cortisol, not make it worse. I do not wish to add gym visits to my schedule, that would just add stress rather than take it away.

Things I've done in the past:

weightlifting/strength training = had a tendency to get a bit obsessed and it would require a gym membership
tai-chi = enjoyed it. no classes around here and need a program that is fitness ONLY -- no religious/eastern meditation overtones
yoga = enjoyed it but had issues with a number of postures as I could not even begin to do them and I was smaller than I am now. No classes around here. and again -- fitness ONLY -- no religious/eastern meditation overtones


So, ideas?

[MindyK]

Hi frecs,
It sounds like you're pretty active! One idea for exercise is finding a gentle body weight only strength training program. Here's a simple one I found after a quick search on the internet www.oprah.com/health/The-No-Equipment-Workout-You-Can-Do-at-Home. You can also find some other options by Googling body weight exercises for beginners, or for women.

A resource for yoga that might be helpful is a website called curvyyoga.com. The founder of the company is a curvy woman and she teaches how to modify poses for the curvy body. She has a free newsletter and if you sign up for the newsletter you get a free 15 minute video. She also offers a 30 day yoga program for a fee at marianne-elliott.com/courses/yoga-courses/30-days-of-curvy-yoga-yoga-for-your-body/. Here's a link to a blog that focuses on loving your body and yoga for curvy women bodypositiveyoga.com/. There's lots out there so I'm sure that you'll find many more resources but I hope this gives you a jump start on your search.

[frecs]

Apr 16, 2014 21:16:40 GMT -5 MindyK said:

Hi frecs,
It sounds like you're pretty active! One idea for exercise is finding a gentle body weight only strength training program. Here's a simple one I found after a quick search on the internet www.oprah.com/health/The-No-Equipment-Workout-You-Can-Do-at-Home. You can also find some other options by Googling body weight exercises for beginners, or for women.

A resource for yoga that might be helpful is a website called curvyyoga.com. The founder of the company is a curvy woman and she teaches how to modify poses for the curvy body. She has a free newsletter and if you sign up for the newsletter you get a free 15 minute video. She also offers a 30 day yoga program for a fee at marianne-elliott.com/courses/yoga-courses/30-days-of-curvy-yoga-yoga-for-your-body/. Here's a link to a blog that focuses on loving your body and yoga for curvy women bodypositiveyoga.com/. There's lots out there so I'm sure that you'll find many more resources but I hope this gives you a jump start on your search.

Very helpful! Thanks a lot!