Intro, update and questions!

[shanaqui]

Hi! I'm new around here, and I was going to just check in on the check-in post with a comment, but then started rambling, so I'm moving it to a post of its own.

I'm quite new to exercising on a regular basis, given that I haven't done much physically since I was fifteen/sixteen and doing ballet and karate (so, for five/six years). So I set myself the goal of doing things again this summer, and have so far completed the two hundred situps program and two hundred squats. At the moment, I'm doing the pushups program on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and Couch to 5k on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday. Mostly, I rest on Sundays, though I try to fit in some situps or something.

Today being Wednesday, I did some pushups. Not many yet, though. It's so much effort for me to do a good form pushup; I'm glad I'm on the lowest number for now because it'll let me get used to doing them.

Two questions I wanted to ask!

1) I've been running on our elliptical for Couch to 5k, and after trying a gentle run outdoors, found that my lungs were just not up to that. Any suggestions for a smooth transition from running thirty minutes on an elliptical to running outside (for a similar length of time, eventually)?

2) I've never done any yoga, and I'm kiiind of interested, but I can't sign up for a class for a while. Any recommendations of good starter DVDs, books, websites...?

Comments

[green]

Can't help you with the first question, as I'm a walker right now and not a runner, but sun_salutation has some DVD recs and reviews, check the community tags! there's also a 'getting started' tag.

Welcome to the comm! :D

[rydra_wong]

I've never done any yoga, and I'm kiiind of interested, but I can't sign up for a class for a while. Any recommendations of good starter DVDs, books, websites...?

Ta-da! My listing of free online video classes and podcasts, for beginners and the more experienced:

http://sun-salutation.dreamwidth.org/16427.html
http://sun-salutation.dreamwidth.org/10708.html

And check out muck_a_luck's "getting started" series of posts:

http://sun-salutation.dreamwidth.org/tag/getting+started

[shanaqui]

I juuust found sun_salutation. *grin*

Hi!

[shanaqui]

Thank you! That is helpful, because I was looking at that comm going "so... much... information... where... do... I... start?" *easily overwhelmed*

[green]

It's funny, I just went to look this up after I saw shanaqui's post and found the getting started series, and now I'm so excited! lol easily excitable. :D

[rydra_wong]

\o/ Excitement is good! Yay yoga! *g*

[green]

Hi! I knew it was there and had subscribed to the comm, but I somehow hadn't seen the 'getting started' series. I'm now excited to try it!

[muck_a_luck]

Haha! Welcome to BOTH comms! :D

[shanaqui]

Thank you for the welcome!

[rydra_wong]

*g* At the risk of adding to the overload, I'll say that if you're looking for a website resource, IMHO it's hard to go wrong with Yoga Journal. They have a pose index, lots of good articles and advice, and a multimedia section with all sorts of goodies.

[shanaqui]

Hee, thank you! I've bookmarked a lot of things and am just, for now, reading/watching/sampling, and I have decided I am definitely most interested (in fact, I'm finding it hard to stop and go and do what I need to be doing), so yay!

[wyldbutterflies]

Those challenges are interesting. I think I am going to look into them while I am in Japan as I won't have my usual routine to look forward to. Thanks for the links.

[shanaqui]

No problem! I always try and include links to stuff I'm talking about 'cause it's usually new to someone. I've found them really effective for doing wherever and whenever I can, and building up strength surprisingly fast for the exercise in question.