New to actual exercise- what to do besides jogging?

[Texan Penguin]

I'm fairly active at my retail job- always bustling around the store, lugging heavy crates of juice and sometimes hauling pallets that are over 2500 lb...

I'm not really that badly obese- 5'6" and 187 lb, and I'm in semi decent shape... But I decided that this isn't good enough for me and that I want to really get fit. Thought about giving a few things a shot:

1. Jogging- We live near a nice fitness trail. The Texas heat is an issue but if I get out early enough it should be easier.
2. Yoga- I have strength but no flexibility. I did my pre-work stretch the other day and I swear I felt something in my side pop. It doesn't seem like something a guy would do, but I had a friend tell me it might help with muscle/joint pain.
3. The gym- I don't know about this- it seems intimidating with all the juiceheads that seem to frequent these places.

Thought about swimming too... But there's no really good indoor pool in town.

Anything else I can do?

[Odobisean]

Get a gym membership, start a beginners lifting program like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts and then eventually move onto a more advanced lifting program.

Juiceheads are a meme that don't really exist except in specialized powerlifting gyms and the most you'll probably get for a normal gym is a dude that grunts really loud. Make sure to avoid Planet Fitness too.

[Blueobelisk]

If your goal is to lose weight, then work on your diet first and foremost. Exercise comes only as an added bonus.

If you want to be flexible, then simple stretching throughout the day is helpful enough. No need to do silly things like yoga at this stage. Weight loss comes first.
As for exercise, simple jogging or biking or any cardio is enough. When you lose more weight you can worry about lifting. (Or you can add a simple lifting dumbells routine in now, if you want. But just a simple set, nothing trying to make you the hulk.)

[Blobfish]

I recommend the French sport of Parkour & free Running

Jogging can be quite boring, but Parkour trains all muscles and looks great & fun

Also handy, if you need to escape the police, or similarly if you want to become a cop & chase the baddies.

Learn how to jump off high buildings safely as well. You may also get to do stunt work for movies.

I bet there is a local Parkour club in your city.. they will teach you..

And here is the Texas Parkour website...
Give these guys a call
http://www.texasparkour.com/

[Jotaux]

You should get a gym membership and just start a beginner program. The people I have met at the gym are generally helpful. A lot of the other people just want to get through their workout and really won't pay you much attention. You don't necessarily need to do yoga but you should stretch after your workouts.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

Isn't it beneficial to alternate your workout routine to every other day rather than to hammer on a single spot? I heard this in high school PE but never really looked much in to it but am looking to trim this gut I've acquired over the years and work on my cardio in general.

I really don't care much for the gym though. I live in the country and can probably make due redneck-style.

[Jotaux]

Isn't it beneficial to alternate your workout routine to every other day rather than to hammer on a single spot? I heard this in high school PE but never really looked much in to it but am looking to trim this gut I've acquired over the years and work on my cardio in general.

I really don't care much for the gym though. I live in the country and can probably make due redneck-style.

Well you want to give your muscles time to recover, thats why people generally alternate which muscle group they work on. For example I do shoulders, back, chest, day off, arms, legs, day off during the week.

[Deleted]

Well you want to give your muscles time to recover, thats why people generally alternate which muscle group they work on. For example I do shoulders, back, chest, day off, arms, legs, day off during the week.

You shouldnt space it too much too.

You should aim to target 2 big muscle zones back to back.

Monday - Arms and Chest ( as an example only!)
Tuesday - Legs and Back
Wed - arms and chest
so on...

[Xenyatta]

Make sure to avoid Planet Fitness too.

Actually there's nothing wrong with Planet Fitness if you are new. If you plan on doing dead lifts, walking around shirtless, grunting excessively, flexing as you stare at yourself in the mirror without actually doing anything, then maybe it's not the gym for you. Try an LA Filthyness or something else if that's your thing. But I found PF to be very new comer friendly, you can get in get out and that's it if you're looking for basics and it's pretty cheap too. Just avoid the pizza nights and the bagel mornings once a month and you're fine.

[Santura]

I would suggest a gym or home workouts, you can find plenty of them on Youtube but you do have to go out and purchase certain equipment if you decide against the gym idea.
If you join a gym though, a lot of them have perks. I saw someone suggest Planet Fitness? In my experience PF was drap and didn't offer anything besides workout equipment, no classes, and no pool. I go to LA Fitness and they have much more than PF. I don't understand the argument of the people who frequent the gym, I don't get why it matters if the people in the heavy lifting section are meatheads. Most of them are too busy working out to pay attention to anyone else, there's really no reason to feel intimidated... They aren't bothering anyone, and so I don't see it as a drawback.
LA Fitness also has more equipment than PF does, definitely. You'll have a better range of options when it comes to working out certain parts of your body in different ways. The only big issue is the prices of their training sessions but you do get the first one free.
Yoga is a good alternative as well, you might also want to consider Plyometrics (Youtube this if you're interested), it's a hybrid strength/cardio workout.

[Deleted]

Go to the gym... Most "juiceheads" are actually very friendly and will usually be glad to help out a beginner if you are polite. Get a good basic program (lots of compounds) and stick to it. I would do something like a 2 day push/pull split with compounds. Go 4 days a week so you get every muscle group twice pr week. Works wonders for beginners and will get your metabolism up. I´ll be happy to write up a program if you like.

[Jaronicity]

Isn't it beneficial to alternate your workout routine to every other day rather than to hammer on a single spot? I heard this in high school PE but never really looked much in to it but am looking to trim this gut I've acquired over the years and work on my cardio in general.

I really don't care much for the gym though. I live in the country and can probably make due redneck-style.

Beginner's typically respond better to full body workouts where you hit each muscle once per workout multiple times per week. People shouldn't automatically buy into the notion you NEED to have a "chest day" or "arm day" or whatever. Frequency is king when you're new and only hitting your chest on a monday then waiting 6 days to hit it again isn't always the best course of action.

EDIT: By "multiple times per week" I mean 3-4 e.g. MWF with the days between being off days/active recovery type days.

[Deleted]

you know, flexibility can be developed, just train carefully and be patient. I'm a girl and I'm not flexible, but when I trained 2 months 3 times per week I saw the results!
also, you can do some cycling, it's fun, cardio and less stress for your body