Easy Exercises Home -> The Library -> Where Do I Begin? -> Easy Exercises Here are some simple exercises you can do to start with. Cardiovascular Exercises: 1. Walking Walking is the simplest, cheapest and easiest form of cardiovascular exercise. It is the best starting point for anyone who is just starting to exercise. It is very low impact and is extremely convenient. Start slowly, then gradually work up to walking longer and faster. Finding a walking partner can help keep you motivated. 2. Jogging/Running This is a step up from walking. It is harder and puts more impact and stress on the body. If you are just starting an exercise program, work through fast walking before moving up to jogging. 3. Cycling Riding a bike is an excellent, no-impact form of cardio. Be sure to follow the rules of the road and ALWAYS wear a helmet. 4. Swimming Swimming involves all the major muscles of the body. It is no-impact and is very useful for injury recovery The major drawback is that you must know how to swim. Resistance Exercises: 1. Chest Wall Push-Ups Stand facing a wall with your feet about 1 to 2 feet back from it. Place your hands on the wall just outside shoulder-width apart. Bending only at the elbows, lower yourself forward towards the wall then push yourself away from it. Keep your body stiff and straight during the movement. 2. Back Standing Rows These are done from a standing position. Loop a towel around a vertical pole or column or another fixed object so that the ends of the towel are pointing towards you and the towel is wrapped around the far side of the pole. Have your feet close up to the pole and lean back gripping on the ends of the towel and keeping your body stiff and straight. Row yourself up with both arms. Keep your back arched and row with your back. 3. Shoulders Presses Use something around the house for weight, e.g. soup cans or milk jugs with water in them. From a seated or standing position, hold the weights just above your shoulders. Push them up overhead slowly. 4. Legs Squats Place your feet about shoulder width apart. Keeping your torso vertical and a slight arch in your lower back, start the movement by bending the knees. Go only as far down as you feel comfortable when first starting out. If you can go down until your thighs are just below parallel, do so. This is the full range goal. Using leg power, push yourself back up to the start position. Use your grip on the bar only for balance unless you absolutely need to pull yourself up. As you get stronger with squats, don't use the bar anymore. When you can do good, full-range reps without the bar, you can start using weight. For weight, use two duffel bags (evenly loaded) or two milk jugs, etc. Hold them at your sides and squat. 5. Abdominals Crunches Lie down flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Hold your hands wherever you feel comfortable (on your chest or beside your head - just be sure you don't pull on your head). The typical crunch is taught by instructing you to simply roll your upper torso forward. This is fine to start with. To increase the effectiveness of the crunch movement, push your chest and head up towards the ceiling pushing your lower back flat onto the floor. Your anatomy will automatically cause you to follow a crunching pattern. Hold at the top of the movement for a second and squeeze hard. 6. Biceps Curls Stand with your knees slightly bent, arms at your sides, holding your resistance bags or two dumbells in your hands. The curl movement happens only at the elbow. With your upper arm pinned at your side and bending only at the elbow, lift the weight up to shoulder level. Your palm should be facing forward all the way up and all the way down. Squeeze hard at the top then lower slowly. Do the same with the other arm, alternating back and forth. 7. Triceps Bench Dips These can be done on the edge of a chair or bench. Sit on the side edge of a flat bench or the front edge of a chair. Place your hands on the edge of the chair right beside your glutes and grip the edge. To start with, your feet should be flat on the floor about two feet in front of you with your knees bent. Move yourself off the chair so you are now supporting yourself on your hands. Bend your arms, dipping your body down. Go down only as far as you feel comfortable, being careful not to bounce out of the bottom. Push back up, squeezing the triceps. It is important to keep your back close to the edge of the bench as you do these to minimize shoulder stress. When you're done the set, push yourself back onto the chair. 8. Calves Standing Calf Raises This exercise can be done on the edges of stairs, wood blocks, books, etc. Do both legs at the same time to start with then, as you get stronger, do them one leg at a time. Hold a bag in your hand for resistance as you get stronger Stand on the edge of the block with only the balls of your feet on the block. Keeping knees stiff and bending only at the ankles, lower your heels down towards the floor. Go down until you feel a strong stretch in your calves. Reverse the direction without bouncing and push up as high as you can. Do this movement slowly to feel the contraction all the way up.   Return to the Where Do I Begin? Homepage STEP 3: Learn some Stretches you can do.