How do I know I'm not starting off too fast on exercising?

Just do it.
Thats all I can say.

Not really, when I was conditioning for football or that one quarter I tried out ROTC. If you haven’t worked out in awhile, if you weren’t puking by the end of the work out you probably didn’t work out hard enough. I think you can push yourself pretty hard, and the harder you do the faster you will see results, especially being as young as you are. Just know your limits, and try and push them each time.

If you HURT, you’re doing too much. Simple answer!

A little ache or twinge is ok, but if you feel crippled, too much for sure.

But no pain, no gain as well.

Make sure you make it fun as well. You don’t wanna push yourself doing something you hate. Then you’re just gonna quit.

Yeah If I stopped running everytime it started to hurt or burn, i never would have finished that mile.

I can still hear my old gym teacher yelling “If you’re out of breath, you’re out of shape!”

It would be wise to pay close attention to signals that your body is going to give off such as sore muscles, shortness of breath after very little activity (at first), light headedness after a hard cardio workout, etc.

You should establish a routine that starts out slowly and builds to a cycle that makes you feel good afterwards and not one that leaves you hurting and uncomfortable when you’re through. Depending on what type of activity you’re going to engage in, I would recommend doing a search on the web for information and advice about that specific activity and follow what experts or knowledgeable people suggest you do.

An example for me, when I began running again several years ago, was to walk a certain distance, run a certain distance, walk again, and keep increasing these intervals the more my body became accustomed to the new activity until I could complete entire runs and stay with that routine.

Like others have already said, find an exercise or activities that you will enjoy and have fun in the process as it makes the experience so much more worthwhile. Take good care of yourself and best of luck to you in your pursuits for exercise and good health.

Try this. It’s gradual yet effective.

I just learned this. That cardio is great for you but you actually burn more calories if you don’t raise your heart rate too high. You want to get it pumping but not be too challenging. When it gets going too high it stresses out your body thus making it not burn calories in the same way. I can’t explain it to you the same the doctor did to me but it is important not to overdo it.

The rule of thumb is to raise your heart rate and be able to hold a conversation at the same time. If you can’t talk without feeling distressed then you are doing too much.

@Facade, thanks for the link, I’ll try it out!

@RedPowerLady, thanks to you too, I’ll keep that in mind for tomorrow when I work out. =D

@Facade – that is a good link for a beginner. runnersworld.com also has many beginner running programs.

I think the most important part is in the beginning do not be too goal oriented. If you defeat yourself by pushing too hard too soon, as @oratio said you will give it up. Any exercise is better than none so just get out and so something. As your energy level increases you can start to push yourself harder.

Once I exercised too much and my muscles hurt for weeks…
I’d say that’s when you’ve gone too far.

Why not go join a Zumba class at a near gym =) I am sure you’ll like it.