Last spring, I started out with just leisurely walks in my neighbourhood. Told myself half an hour was really good. Made a commitment to do that every single day. It helped speed up my weight loss and got me 'going' on exercise as part of a regular routine. I truly believe this is the most important thing about exercise - making it regular and routine.

Joined a gym in November - putzed around, walked on their track. I'd try out the ellipticals and treadmills for like 10 minutes at a time. Would 'try out' some of the weight machines, but without knowing what I was doing at all.

In February - hired a personal trainer at my gym to design a weight training routine for me. Just for two weeks, Monday/Wed/Fri. Six sessions. Got a good price on it at my gym. Was able to do 'buddy up' personal training for some of those sessions. The trainer was excellent. Made sure we knew exactly what we were doing, wrote up all kinds of instructions and schedules for us.

My routine now:
Monday - chest and triceps: tricep dips, chest press, chest fly, pushups, tricep kickbacks, skullcrushers
Tuesday - cardio - around 45 minutes on the elliptical
Wednesday - legs and abs: squats, lunches, hip adductor, hip abductor, calf raises, planks, crunches, Roman Chair
Thursday - cardio - elliptical or whatever other machine I feel like using - usually at least 45 minutes
Friday - back and biceps: pull ups, lateral raises, cable seated row, various deltoid dumbell exercises, concentration curls and barbell curls.

I throw in walks here and there too, weather permitting.

I'm going to keep this up for another month, and then I'm going to try New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. I'll get that trainer back in to help teach me all the exercise and make sure I'm doing everything properly.

PS - edited to add: I really wish I'd been exercising all along. I can really see a noticeable difference in my shape with the exercise, and now I'm sort of playing 'catch up' in a sense. Lost lots of weight, and now trying to 'get in shape' so to speak.