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I come from a long line of non-exercisers. I am not convinced that constant exercise is necessary. Look at large primates in the wild. They forage around all day, munching on whatever is ripe and then they take a nap. Occasionally, they may have to walk a bit to water, or to find something to eat, but overwhelmingly physical exercise is done purely out of necessity sake. And large primates live longer in captivity than they do in the wild.
Primitive human tribes in the Amazon and South Pacific do not "exercise" for it's own sake. The objective for most is to spend as little time exerting themselves as possible. Up until the dietary influences of modern civilization entered into the picture, these primitive people had very minimal health concerns and were generally in good health.
My thoughts are that with it comes to being healthy diet is a lot more important than exercise. Eating a very bad diet and doing all the exercise in the world will not benefit you. There are TONS of examples of people who were very fit dying early because of medical issues.
If you are eating well (and you should be), then I would not stress out so much on the whole exercise thing.
20yrsinBranson
Your post reads like a self-justification for being sedentary.
Large primates in the wild are hunted and die for many reasons. I also don't think the data is especially conclusive about captive vs. wild since data on the wild is difficult to come by.
As for primitive tribes....I bet very few of them smoke tobacco, eat refined sugar, or trans fats. I also think you may be taking liberties with the words "generally good health." How are you judging good health? None of these primitive tribes are likely to live much past 40 or 50 years.
The science is clear - exercise resulting in good cardiovascular fitness erases many of the things we all do "wrong." Exercise reduces blood pressure, raises HDL, etc.
I come from a long line of non-exercisers. I am not convinced that constant exercise is necessary. Look at large primates in the wild. They forage around all day, munching on whatever is ripe and then they take a nap. Occasionally, they may have to walk a bit to water, or to find something to eat, but overwhelmingly physical exercise is done purely out of necessity sake. And large primates live longer in captivity than they do in the wild.
Primitive human tribes in the Amazon and South Pacific do not "exercise" for it's own sake. The objective for most is to spend as little time exerting themselves as possible. Up until the dietary influences of modern civilization entered into the picture, these primitive people had very minimal health concerns and were generally in good health.
My thoughts are that with it comes to being healthy diet is a lot more important than exercise. Eating a very bad diet and doing all the exercise in the world will not benefit you. There are TONS of examples of people who were very fit dying early because of medical issues.
If you are eating well (and you should be), then I would not stress out so much on the whole exercise thing.
20yrsinBranson
I suspect that you're underestimating the amount of physical activity that wild primates perform while doing their daily foraging. If gorillas and other primates live longer in captivity than they do in the wild, the most likely reason is the care that animals in zoos receive, such as excellent health care, as well as the fact that they are sheltered from hazards found in the natural environment.
It's also true of primitive tribes, just as it has been true of those throughout human history who have worked the land for their livelihoods, that they most likely perform a prodigious amount of physical activity just earning their daily bread. They don't have to exercise for the sake of exercise, because they get abundant physical activity just performing their daily labor. This is often so strenuous that you may be correct that they try to reduce activity as much as possible, but they still get far more physical activity than most people living in industrialized societies.
Elephanteazul, try sports or any kind of physical activity that you might find fun and enjoyable just for the sake of the activity. Play tennis, racketball, or badminton (yep, badminton--you'll run around plenty if you really play an intense game). Give volleyball a try. Go hiking. Swim, or if just plain swimming seems too much like exercise, see whether you can find opportunities to participate in sports like water basketball, water volleyball, water polo, etc.
By the way, just as a precautionary measure, you may want to have a physical exam. No one here can know for sure how tired you really get walking up stairs, but if you really find this difficult, that's not something I would usually expect with someone your age. It might not be a bad idea to get checked out and make sure there's not some condition that needs to be treated which is causing you to be weighed down physically as long as it's left untreated.
Bottom line is, if someone is capable of running/jogging (not so obese that they cant run and they are not battling injuries) then recommending walking is a poor poor poor thing to do. A personal trainer you are most definitely not.
And neither are you, my dear, because you refuse to include personal preference into the daily workout equation.
Not everyone wants to run, even if they are capable of doing so. A wise personal trainer would not recommend a person undertake a workout that person has no interest in; instead, a wise personal trainer would ask the person what he or she is interested in. When the person says he or she enjoys walking, a wise personal trainer would encourage that preference, and would show the person how he or she can build on it to achieve better health.
OP - I don't want to call your bluff, but something doesn't add up. You are 20 years old and claim to not be overweight but get out of breath and see spots when you go for walks and out of breath just going up the stairs? That does not sound like someone who is healthy to me.
Have you seen a physician? If health problems run in your family, perhaps you should make sure you do have a clean bill of health.
As far as excercise goes - if walking is currently a problem for you, then keep walking. Don't stroll or meander along, walk. Keep up the tempo. Power walk. Get your heart rate up. I second the idea that wii/wii fit would be a good thing to do. Or DDR. Whatever will get you moving. I would also like to suggest that you swap out a computer chair for a balance ball if you say you spend a lot of time at a computer. May not be a huge change and won't help with cardio, but will help with core muscles.
On a separate note, what are your eating habits like? The ambition to exercise is great and you have to be self motivated to do that. But to contribute to a healthy life style, you need to have the nutrition too. Watch your calorie intake, make sure you get enough fruits, veggies, protein, ect. Really watch the sugar and sodium intake. It is just as important if not more so than the exercise habits.
I second the recommendation of getting a check up if you are that young, not overweight, and getting out of breath that easily. Sure you don't have asthma, allergies, or some other problem? I was once on a birth control med that impacted my breathing and made exercise difficult.
Just something to think about, probably not a big deal but if it's something medical you may enjoy exercise a whole lot more if you didn't have shortness of breath!
you can try some yoga. it's easy and simple to implement and the best part there is mo need to go to gym. you can do yoga at your home very easily.check out some more exercise and tips from your health orbit like basketball jumping exerciseor abdominal fat exercise.
I hate actual exercise for the sake of exercising.
A woman asked me today if I run. I asked, "From what, dear?" (True story.)
I do not run. I'm not in that big a hurry to get anywhere.
I don't even run from the neighborhood dogs that come charging. They can't make me run. Instead, I'll bite them back.
I live in Minnesota where you see people running outside, in shorts and t-shirt, or in lycra, when the weather is below zero. They'll also ride their bikes in three feet of snow. (Again, true story.) In Minnesota they don't ask if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask which side they're on.
I'm a reader. I don't "do" exercise other than what I do for enjoyment, like walking and hiking. Well, that's not true. I do my one sit-up a day. When I wake up in the morning, that's half. When I lie down at night, that's the other half. (No, I'm not fat or unhealthy.)
Still, I love exercise. I can sit and watch people do it all day. It's really funny, what with all the faces and noises they make. Not to mention the colors they turn.
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And a darn good one at that. 
