Starting exercising == collecting injuries?

Hi there, I'm 29, 5"7, 70kilos. I led a sedentary lifestyle all my life. My job for the past 10 years involved staring at a screen 15 hours a day.

I used to smoke 2 packs a day, and drink heavily on a regular basis. 3 months ago, tired of the gimmicks and the regular sickness, pain, and palpitations (jugs of coffee do that to you), I decided to change my life around. I quit smoking cold turkey (never relapsed), I started eating healthy (I count calories and I only eat balanced, organic foods), relegated drinking to the occasional glass of wine and maintained a decent sleeping pattern.

So, now that we've established my background, here's my problem: I can't seem to be able to start exercising on anything without getting injured within a few days. I tried stationary cycle, I busted both my knees in a week. I waited a month to start something else - *walking* - just walking, not running or anything, on grass and for 45 minutes at a time: 2 days later I got what seem to be 'Shin Splints'.

I despair - I've done so well so far but exercise seem REALLY difficult to start on, regardless of my motivation.

My questions:
- If I want to start something as simple as walking, should I limit myself to even shorter sessions, say, 15 minutes a day, then progressively increment it?
- Would there be any benefit to this sort of 'exercise'? Would it really reduce my chances of injuries in the long term or is there something wrong with me?

Any help, pointer or advice would be much appreciated!

--
Adidas
 
Your right, have a goal of at least 30minutes today of exercise, this can involve two lots of 15minute sessions of walking, jogging or running which ever you feel comfortable in present.

Learn to do some stretching everyday and start developing some of your muscles for improvement and prevent injury, such as calf raises..

The failure rate of exercise programmes is very high so keep that in mind and perhaps develop some motivational strategies such as exercising with a friend or keep a diary..

good luck.
 
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