I'm 58 and have developed high blood pressure (160/90, but I'm on meds) and oteoporosis this year. My doc is pleased that I just joined a fitness club. I find that I'm a little afraid of hurting myself. I'm small boned and weigh 116. I've never been athletic. While I'm on bp meds, I'm not sure my blood pressure is well controlled yet. When I do my first workout,how many minutes do I want to keep my heart up? I was thinking 5 minutes to start and then build up to 20?

That's an excellent plan. start slow. Maybe even just walking at an incline. If you don't get your heart rate up too high, you can maintain for a longer period of time. If it starts to get dangerously high, obviously you'll want to stop immediately. Also, a little bit of resistance training (weights, machines and/or resistance bands) will help with overall fitness significantly. More energy, better mobility, regulating hormones etc etc... focus on your range of motion more than weight. Light weight/resistance, higher or mid-range reps (10-15). Gotta remember: Use it or lose it.

Hi I just wanted to give you some encouragement! I think your plan sounds great. I'm 24, always been active to where I was walking 5 miles a day, but I stopped exercising completely for two months to study for an exam. When I started back up again, I started at 10 minutes. You gotta be safe and start slow and its sounds like you are doing that :) Listen to your body and stop when you need to. There is always tomorrow to build up more.

Thanks, guys, for your response! I start tomorrow!!

Hello, You've got the right idea. So many people try to go "gun ho" when they first start out and wind up injuring them selves. You might want to try some light weights, but ask your doctor first. One of our local hospitals has osteoporosis patients doing light weights, because they found out that the weights build up the bones as well as the muscles around the bones. You'll want to build up to 30 min. of exercise per day, which can be just 30 simple min. of walking. Try doing different exercises on different days to keep up the variety. The weight baring excersizes only need to be done 2-3 time per week and no more than that.