I want to be able to climb stairs without wheezing...

[PoisonApple]

Hi everyone! I decided I need to get in shape just to have somewhere to take out stress. I'm a third year law student and have been putting off getting in shape for the last several years because I am always tired and have too much work to get done to make it to the gym. I thought I was doing okay because no one would call me fat, but the law library is on the third floor up very steep staircases. I realized that when I get up there I can't just start studying or get the book I need - I actually have to sit down and catch my breath.

I admit, I have been too intimidated to go to the gym since I wear out so fast and am not at all sure what I am doing... But my goal is to be able to get up those stairs by this semester's reading week without gasping or needing a break when I get to the top.

My classmates are all either marathon runners already or have no interest in changing habits, so I thought it would be helpful to be somewhere that other folks are working to start taking care of themselves.

[Gobnait]

Do you have a way to make your work portable or afford a treadmill? How big is your home? Basically, I'm thinking constant low-grade exercise. Even if you can reserve a windowless conference room and walk around the table as you're studying, it should help with the sit-ery.

Otherwise, slow down on the stairs and have it be about strength rather than speed.

You should get better advise within a day or so.

[weirdquark]

As far as starting exercise goes, in general you should find something that you enjoy doing because that makes it easier to keep up your motivation. So if you think you'd enjoy being a marathoner like your running friends, you could start running. Even if you can't go very far or fast at first, do what you can and try do do more each time. You'll get better at it. If you think you might like lifting weights, there are a lot of good beginner programs using dumbbells or barbells. You can always start with short workouts-- if you can only do something for fifteen minutes, do it for fifteen minutes. If you have more time to spend on working out you can always make your workouts longer later.

For improving your cardiovascular/breathing health, I'd suggest doing some kind of intervals. Basically, you alternate going all out with resting. So you could sprint for (some amount of time/distance) and then walk until you've got your breath back and then sprint again. You can try sprinting for 30 seconds and then walking for a minute or use some other measure of time where you rest for twice as long as you go all out; if you're not quite up to that yet, do what you can.

You can also do intervals with weights if you're interested in doing strength training. Or with body weight exercises-- burpees, pushups, jumping jacks, whatever. Intervals are pretty flexible -- just do something that gets your heart rate up.