Due to my schedule its often difficult to manage my caloric intake. Some days I find I'm eating very well (and what I consider healthy) while others, well, I'm ashamed to admit my daily nutritional requirements are far from being met. This aside, I'm looking for a workout program that won't lead me into a rut. I've just got a few probs...

1. Both of my knees are injured. I can exercise, but a major deterrent is the pain and swelling I now experience during ANY degree of activity. I know that swimming offers a very low impact workout, however its not what I want to do everyday. In fact its hard enough to get me in a pool as it is.

2. I don't have a workout partner (they are quite hard to come by) and unfortunately my entire life, until a few years ago, has revolved around team-type athletics where I'm surrounded by others to motivate me. YES I understand that if I want it bad enough then I'll work out, with, or without a partner...however I have not yet convinced myself over that particular hurdle.

3. Limited experience in a gym. Like I stated earlier, up until a few years ago I played sports almost every day of the week. I never needed to step foot into a gym. Yes, I can go and use the machines. Yes, I know some free weight exercises. Yes I own a balance ball (and have a few exercises I can perform on it). However, the few times I went to the gym during college I found myself doing either lower body or upper body. This was mostly because I not able to go consistently so when I did, it was all or nothing. I'm aware that this is not the optimal method of training your muscles, but regardless, its what I found myself doing.

OK, so now...this is what I'm looking for. Triming down/toning up (cardio, I know), increased endurance (again, cardio...I know), and increased muscle strength, mostly in my core and lower body (my arms seem to "get back in shape" must faster then the rest of me).

I am concerned that if I start running (and can stand the pain) that I won't be doing anything more then hurting my joints (when I just start out doing a half mile, for example). Would you suggest starting on the elliptical to build some SOMETHING, then adding some road time?

Also, does cardio come before strength training, or vice versa?

Any beginner routines to suggest (even though I'm not a beginner, I'm certainly no marathoner/body builder)

I know I have more questions, but I can't think of them now...I'm sure they will come when I start reading responses.

Thanks in advance

8/22/2006 9:24:27 AM

you seem to know what you need to do already.

and i wouldnt use tww for the encouragement you seem to need to get over the hump.

8/22/2006 9:26:54 AM

I do have an idea...but like I said I've never really done anything formal. Also, because of my knees, I want to make sure that I'm being productive instead of destructive (both mentally and physically).

8/22/2006 9:27:52 AM

Yoga and Pilates would be great alternatives that are low impact.

Get a subscription to Women's Health (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/). They have different routines every issue with alternative exercises too so it can get you some good variance.

8/22/2006 9:33:30 AM

Definitely get into Yoga / Pilates.

Also I would join a gym just to use an elliptical machine. It will give you all the benefits of running, with no impact on your knees, which should strengthen them and give them time to heal more easily. I would stay away from running completely, at least until your knees feel considerably better (if you can't run a mile without knee pain, don't even bother).

Swimming is great, especially for your joints, but it's not going to be the calorie burner and cardio equivalent of a bike or elliptical machine.

The other option is to get a bike. Road or Mountain, it's very easy on the knees and will give you great cardio benefits, AND it helps greatly in varying your workouts as to not get old.

8/22/2006 9:43:50 AM

^^good idea!!

^I have a bike in Raleigh...which unfortunately doesn't do me much good here at the beach Oh, and I already belong to the Y.

I guess I'm just worried that I'll get frustrated because I was always in shape and never had any joint issues...I really dont want to get turned off from working out simply because I don't have the patience to get to where I want to be

8/22/2006 9:57:48 AM

Aw, I'm sure you are still in pretty fine shape Just have to bite the bullet and get back in a routine, gets much easier

8/22/2006 10:27:32 AM

regulating your diet is the biggest thing, at least it was for me.

and if you get pain and swelling in your knees from running, dont run. there are alternatives to running that are nearly as good.

8/22/2006 10:32:56 AM

Don't dismiss swimming! It's the lowest impact you can get, with the lowest chance of injury for a beginner. You're hesitant about it, but I bet you could enjoy it if you took some lessons and got your confidence up.

You still might be able to get into a swimming or water aerobics PE. Having a class is a good way to motivate yourself, because you have to go! Water aerobics would probably be great for you, it's an awesome low-impact workout and you never have to put your head under water.

8/22/2006 10:57:41 AM

sorry for the length and the spelling errors but here goes...

i found that getting some new shoes really helped with my knee problems... but it depends on what you have and how bad the conditions are

i dislocated my kneecap, and i've torn minuscus repetedly.... so i know how bad it is on the knees, so i purchased a patellar tendon support, which worked so much better with my problems compared to a knee brace. The tension on the band really limited the pain. Also, good stretching before and after does wonders to reduce pain or muscle strain during and after excersise. Elleptical machines work, but ive found that you need to do more to feel the same fatigue.

Also, you can take some glucosimine/chondrotine (sp?) it helps rebuild cartilidge as long as you are religious in taking it, and it takes time to get some benefit.

I recommend spending a good hour doing what you need to do. Generally thirty mins of cardio , along with thirty mins of lifting helped me to loose a substantial amount of weight and gain muscle. The increased muscle you have the more you can burn the excess energy. You can pretty much do that, and alternate days of which muscle groups you work on. Since you dont know what your doing, just use machines. They dont do everything, but eventually you will figure out what you can do to work out the other muscles with free weights. Start with a heavy weight, as much as you can stand for several sets, and then work down the weight to increse your indurance on your last set. Dont attempt to do your rep quickly, try a little control and watch what you are doing, and you will not hurt your self. I actually feel stonger using a controlled rythm since you use all of your muscles to raise and lower the weight. Rember to keep hydrated and stretch fequently before and after sets to reduce the likelyhood of hurting yourself.

You can purchase free weights and use your balance ball. Pretty much the same as using a bench, the ball can actually make your core muscles stronger by forcing you to balance yourself and the weight. Anythig you would naturally do on a bench, try on the ball, but be careful... you can and probably will fall off and with weights its hurts like hell.

Dont use supplements, unless you are a religious exerciser. Take multivitamin at most... most of that shit is not worth the money and you will probably use too much and regain the weight since you are eating normally.

if you have questions etc. ask away

[Edited on August 22, 2006 at 11:10 AM. Reason : im working on my doctorate of physical therapy ]

8/22/2006 11:07:23 AM

I can swim...I just get irritated because of my contacts and how crowded the pool is.
I just got a new pair of running shoes appx 2 or 3 weeks ago...I've worn the brand before, so I know they work well with my knees and lower back (or at least better then other brands I've tried). Also, I'm not in school anymore so joining a PE class is kinda out of the question, hehe...there ARE classes at the Y, but would someone PLEASE tell Murphy that all the classes I'm interested in need to be offered at times when I can actually attend?!

I was taking glucosomine/chondriton/MSM/HA but I've run out...that stuff gets crazy expensive!

8/22/2006 11:14:31 AM

Just buy goggles . . . they make it no problem to swim with contacts

And you could always try and join a local swim club. They usually have lanes reserved. And you won't mind swimming w/ a couple people in your lane because they're your buddies!

8/22/2006 11:19:52 AM

yep goggles rock!

8/22/2006 12:59:51 PM

hi, i've recently started jogging the entire course at lake johnson(its like 2.6 miles i think)

i start by going to the left across the concrete wall towards the dam(point a), and then its the hilly part(point b), lastly turning plateau-ish before the bridge(point c)...after the bridge, its about 5 minutes mainly flat(point d)...i can get from point a to point b without stopping my jog-i cant get from point b to point c usually only stopping but one time to catch my breath-by the time it starts plateau-ing out(pointc) i walk til i get to the other side of the bridge to catch my breath again(the long walk on the bridge is great)...once there i go the 5 minutes mainly flat thing to my car without stopping once in my jog

i've noticed my socks are really damp when i'm done and there is a tingling feeling in my left 3 most toes

any suggestions on being able to do this entire course without stopping, and is the foot thing something to fix?

i'm also quitting smoking soon

[Edited on September 28, 2006 at 1:18 AM. Reason : i'm sure someone knows the course decent enough]

9/28/2006 1:17:17 AM

just keep going, maybe run a little further for a couple weeks (3miles) then go back to 2.5 miles. That's one problem with running outside on a long course like that, you can't just go an extra lap or two. A more systematic approach may be to take a watch or stopwatch with you, note how long you're walking for and try to cut a little bit off of that each time you go.

If your goal is to run that course in a set time then you shouldn't just try to do that every time, like i said run further than that. Also throw some sprints in there occasionally.

9/28/2006 1:42:14 AM

i've noticed that sprinting up the hills is the easiest way to get up them...going slow makes them feel like mountains

usually if i sprint i get out of breath really quickly, i guess if i did them more i could get use to them though

i think next time i'm going to take my cell phone and use it as my stopwatch...i thought about it today; if i remembered the times i passed what objects i could figure out how much better i'm getting

also, thanks for your help

9/28/2006 1:48:02 AM

no problem, you may want to run the mile a few times too. Try to get your time down in that, especially if you're beginning to walk around the 1 mile mark. You may want to ask a doctor about your foot, could just be a bad pair of shoes or something tough.

If you want to go a little further you could just double back over part of the course, i.e. maybe do a couple of laps across the bridge and around the parking lot if you park off of avent ferry.

9/28/2006 12:53:49 PM