The Fat Girl's Guide to Living

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What are some good at-home workouts for beginners?

Whether your goal is weight loss, stress relief, improved flexibility or just stronger muscles and more energy to keep up with household chores/kids/the demands of an average day, the fact is our bodies need to move. Here at FGG, we’ve presented fat-girl-friendly exercise options as diverse as hiking, dance lessons, health club memberships, yoga, indoor rock climbing and – most recently – water aerobics. But what about those of us who aren’t ready to (or interested in) working out in public? Fortunately, the list of at-home workout options is miles long; unfortunately, it can be tricky to find the right starting point, especially if you want to ease your way into becoming more active. That’s why we’re glad to help narrow the search.

(We probably don’t need to say this, but just in case: always get the green light from your health care provider before beginning any new exercise routine, especially if it’s been a while since you’ve worked out).

As always, the best place to start is by understanding your goals. Are you looking for a cardio workout to get the blood flowing? Movements to increase your strength and flexibility? A fun way to get yourself up and off the couch? Or maybe there’s a particular genre of fitness you’ve always wanted to try — something like hip-hop dance or aerobic striptease? Opt for an activity that holds interest for you or risk throwing away your money on DVDs that will only gather dust on your shelf.

For one of the most basic at-home activities, walking,  Leslie Sansone’s “Walk Away the Pounds” series is a tried-and-true fat-girl staple, thanks to easy movements, Sansone’s focus on low-intensity variations, and a perfect-for-rookies one-mile workout that includes a warm-up and cool-down all in 20 minutes. (Note: Don’t sweat the water-filled, two-pound weights Sansone recommends; you can replace them with any hand-held or wrist-worn substitute, grab a couple of soup cans, or just complete the movements sans weights.) Sansone also offers several toning videos that are great for beginners, and her style is upbeat and motivational (if a little chirpy for me some days).

Two examples of routines for plus-sized women by plus-sized women are “Just My Size Yoga with Megan Garcia” and “Look Great, Feel Great: Plus-Sized Pilates.” Both videos feature real-sized hosts most fat girls will identify with, leading viewers through a range of beginning movements with thorough instructions. User reviews absolutely rave about “Just My Size Yoga” and Garcia’s approach, while indicating that “Plus-Sized Pilates” may be for ultra-beginners, as it moves very slowly and features more instruction than continued movement. While this may not provide the start-to-finish workout some desire, it could be helpful for those who are unsure of Pilates and want to try some moves before upgrading to a full routine.

For more ideas and reviews from both real users and the pros, check out Exercise Videos Reviews or Collage Video. And, in addition to tell-it-like-it-is user experiences, you can also find sample clips for many videos on Amazon.com. Your local library may also have some titles for check-out, so take a test drive before investing if you’re skeptical.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the DVD box. Today’s at-home exercise options are (thankfully) far more diverse than in the aerobics-and-crunches days of yore. Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus alone has revolutionized the concept of working out in your living room by pairing video game fun with moves that promote cardio, strength and balance benefits. With options to customize your workouts and track your progress while choosing activities ranging from hula hooping to snowball fighting to juggling, Wii Fit works hard to take the boredom out of becoming more active.

Another at-home option may even been at your fingertips right now: ExerciseTV is carried by many cable providers, including Comcast, AT&T and Tivo, and the On Demand menu offers dozens of programs each month that you can complete whenever you like. Typical programming includes beginning yoga, 20-minute cardio, walking for diabetics, and sculpting workouts with Kim Kardashian (no, seriously). Workout levels range from beginner to the very advanced. The ExerciseTV Web site also provides training clips and full workout videos available for download. I liked the real body shapes (tummies! hips! arms!) represented by the “Make Me Over 40-Minute Workout,” but the range of motion was more demanding than I expected (a ton of squats), so consider this more of an more intermediate video.

Help add to our list by sharing your favorite at-home exercise routines in comments.

FGG’s Toni reaches for mind-body awareness

The human body is home to both our mind and our muscles, and if you’re on the road to a healthier lifestyle, getting the two in touch with, and ultimately in sync with, one another is an important step. We all know that our mind controls our muscles in daily activities like moving our arms and legs for walking, but what many don’t know is that the conscious mind is not required for those processes. That means most of us need to focus specifically on connecting them.

One of the easiest ways to train a mind-body connection is by doing simple, daily stretches in front of a mirror. The key here is to focus on and visualize each muscle, or group of muscles, during every stretch. For each of these, focus on keeping the abdominal muscles gently contracted at all times.

:: Stand in the center of a room with adequate space around you. Keep your feet flat on the floor and raise both arms over your head, reaching high to the ceiling. Hold for eight seconds.

:: Keeping both arms up, reach to the ceiling with one arm at a time, feeling the stretch from the shoulder. Pay attention to the feeling of your muscles as they stretch from your arm down your back.

:: With feet firmly planted about shoulder width apart, keep your arms stretched to the ceiling and slowly twist at the waist, to the right and then to the left. SLOW is always the key to proper stretching, as quick movement can result in injury. Be sure your twist stops at a comfortable position, gently testing your flexibility. You should be able to feel the upper muscles in your back flex from the shoulder to your waist. Focus on how each muscle feels as you stretch. Even better: try to count the number of muscles that are moving as you stretch.

:: To add the legs, resume your original stance with your arms stretched to the ceiling, and roll slowly up on the balls of your feet as you continue to stretch each arm independently upward. You should be able to feel the hamstrings in the back of the thigh and the calf muscles in the lower leg. You should also feel the stretch in the smaller muscles of your feet. Be aware of your rib cage and abdominal area as you reach upward. Hold this stretch for about 20 seconds.

:: Very slowly bend at the waist, stretching both arms down and toward the floor. Feel your hamstrings (back of the thigh) stretch and the quadriceps (front of the thigh) slightly contract. Don’t force the arms down, but instead let them hang limply, along with your head, allowing your body weight to pull you down. Pull your abdominal muscles in toward the spine and feel the stretch in your back muscles. Hold this position for about 15 seconds. The abdomen is the center of the body and provides tremendous strength for the back. This stretch can be a great stress reliever, one that’s easy to do any time of the day.

:: Slowly roll your body back up to a standing position by contracting the abdominal muscles and feeling each vertebra in the spine move into place until you are fully upright. Once up, stretch both arms straight out to the side of your body and slowly rotate them in a small circles from the shoulder – ten times forward and ten times backward. This simple “mini-stretch” is a great start to preparing the muscles for daily activity.

Whether you’re sedentary or moderately active or an athlete, consistent basic stretching is a good way to start and end each day. Getting in tune with your muscles is critical in establishing good posture, health, and both mental and physical strength at any size – and for overweight women can become one more step to increasing strength, mobility, flexibility, protecting yourself from injury and preparing your mind and body to enjoy years of active companionship.

Lynda Lee Smith is the author of “Playing the Hand You Were Dealt…And Achieving the Body You Were Meant to Have.” Her book is available at online bookstores now.

Fix weak ankles with basic exercises you can do anywhere

I’ve gained about 60 pounds over the last 10 years, and it seems like my ankles are shot from carrying the extra weight. They twist and sprain easily, and get sore when I take longer walks. Are there any ankle treatments or exercises that will help?”

That’s a common problem, and as those of us in northern hemisphere head into winter (think: ice skating, skiing, balance on icy driveways), a good one to tackle this week.

First, it’s important to note that once you twist or sprain an ankle, you’re more likely to do it again (and again), resulting in some pretty weak, wobbly ankles – overweight or not. That’s because an injury to the ligament affects not only the ankle tissue, but also to the neuro-receptors there that tie into the central nervous system. These are responsible for our physical stability and balance. In short, damaged ankles mean damaged sense of balance, and damaged sense of balance means, well, more unsteadiness and therefore more twisted, sprained and even broken ankles.

To stop that cycle, you need to heal those receptors with simple balance training.*

Once you can bear weight on your injured ankle without discomfort, stand (shoeless) near a wall, counter, desk or dining-room table so you can reach out to catch yourself if you need to. Practice balancing on one foot, and then the other, spending three to five minutes on each foot. Do this a minimum of three days a week, though preferably every day, for about four weeks following an injury, after which you can scale back to a few minutes once or twice a week to keep ankles and receptors in good shape long-term.

To make a regular practice of ankle strengthening (tissue), check out these simple exercises.

Healthy, strong, pain-free ankles means enjoying a wider range of exercises and improved endurance, which promotes more activity. More activity means a progressively leaner, healthier body, which means less stress on joints, which means fewer injuries, which means more activity…(see where I’m going with this?) So let’s love and care for those ankles.

* As with any exercise, check with your doctor first to be sure there are no other underlying conditions responsible for the injury, and no reason why you shouldn’t practice balance training.