Starting an Exercise Program

Hey ladies! I just had a baby as most of you know and am at my six week mark where I get to start exercising again! Yipee! This was a long awaited time. There are so many benefits to exercising, but my favorite is that it just makes you feel good. So I thought I might add some tips on what I have done in the past as far as exercise programs go. I have lost 30 to 40 pounds after each baby and have gotten down to a size 4 before. I thought I looked better than in high school. So hopefully you can get some ideas from me and then respond to this post so that you can tell me what has worked for you.
The Firm- I started doing the firm post high school. They are dvds that incorporate step aerobics and weight training so that you get lean faster and feel stronger sooner. I first heard of this from the lady that I was a nanny for. If done properly it can really kick some booty. You should start slow at first. The Firm has a lot of dvd's now, you can even find them at Wal-mart. I bought a Firm system from an infomercial after I had my twins and did the Firm three times a week.

Tae-Bo- I did this workout when it was first popular, after my first baby. I found that the best one was the Tae-bo advanced workout because it was an hour long. I noticed that my arms were the most sore and was surprised that you could firm up just by doing simple punches. I love Billy Blanks, but don't really enjoy looking at him in tights.hehe.

TurboJam- this is my newest workout system that I saw on an infomercial and 2 in the morning. I was totally hooked just from watching the ad but then heard that my sister bought it. So after hearing her testimonial I just bought it as well. It is by Beachbody and they have a lot of other systems as well that seem to work for people. Turbojam is aerobic with different dance and martial arts movements put together with awesome music to get you moving. I just did my first workout today and it was totally fun! It comes with a ten day detox program which gaurentees you to lose 10 pounds from 10 workouts in 10 days. It has a really strict diet program that you follow step by step as well. I can't do this right now though cuz I'm nursing, but I will do it when I'm done.

Running- this is the most effective and most beneficial exercise program, and it's free! Although I bought a treadmill for the winter, so that was a little bit of money. But I started running after my second baby and have run the trails all over Utah county. My favorite trail is the Provo river trail which goes from the top of Provo Canyon all the way down to Utah lake. I have run many different races as well and I think that my favorite one is the 10 mile run down Provo canyon. I broke my foot by running a half marathon and figured later that I had an extra bone in my foot that was really hindering running. So now that I have that taken care of, I am looking forward to running a marathon in a couple years. You can check out the post that Liz did about running. You may say, "my knees are too bad to run." My husband and I just saw a health report on tv about how running has actually proven to make your knees stronger, so try it and you will see!
I always remember to drink tons of water while doing my exercise programs. At one time I was drinking about three times the amount of water that you should have in a day and I lost five pounds. So could that count as an exercise program too? JK
Good luck with finding your own program and please let me know what has worked for you as well.