Start by Taking a Seat: Kim Lyons Helps Diabetics and New Exercisers Find Their Footing

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KIM LYONS, the perky trainer best known for her work on "The Biggest Loser," has a message for those who think exercise isn't for them: "Sit Down & Shape Up." It's the name of her new three-part DVD series ($19.95 each), which is geared toward people facing type 2 diabetes or just getting into fitness for the very first time. And she means it literally — in her first lessons, she teaches viewers a toning routine performed on a chair.

"You don't have to run a marathon the first day," she explains. But, unfortunately, that's exactly the impression many of her clients have when they meet her. "They can't run up mountains 100 times, and they're ready to quit because they can't do what they see on TV."

So, instead, her trio of DVDs take a slow and steady approach to beating the disease and building strength, cardio endurance and flexibility. Take a move such as a biceps curl. In an early workout, she leads the exercise without weights while sitting down. Later on, she demos it with light dumbbells in her hands. By the last routines in the series, she stands up during the movement. The same goes for the walking segments of the workouts. They start as simple strolls but get increasingly faster and incorporate weights.

"A lot of it is building up confidence. Some people can't start with walking, even if it's for mental reasons. You need to believe in yourself," she says.

The gradual buildup promotes success, as do Lyons' continuous prompts. Along with presenting the exercises, she explains why they're important to your health, gives ideas on how to stay motivated to do them and even offers eating suggestions. (Hankering for a snack? A handful of almonds is the way to go). "That way they'll still hear me yipping at their shoulder even after the DVD is over," she adds.

One of her other tips is reaching out for support, which Lyons says she's lucky to have in abundance from her bodybuilding hubby, Gunter Schlierkamp. "I'm so fortunate we're both athletic freaks. Some people have the opposite problems — their spouse doesn't move," she says. For those folks, she recommends setting up exercise dates with pals or visiting an animal shelter to borrow a dog for a walk.

But even though Lyons and her husband push each other — she urges him to remember functional training while he encourages her to remember to visit the weight room — she says she understands what it's like to feel unable to exercise. Earlier in her career when she participated in fitness competitions, she ripped her Achilles tendon. "Just moving hurt so badly," she remembers. To heal herself, though, she knew it was critical to do whatever she could with resistance bands and the mobility she did have.

And that's what Lyons hopes the message of this series is. "It's about saving your life, not fitting into your skinny jeans," she says.

Photo courtesy Start Fitness Now