exercise recommendations please

mykaylis

hi there! i'm looking for both cardio and strength options. i'm 40, morbidly obese, and i have chronic back pain (lumbar, thoracic). i am extremely sedentary due to ongoing exhaustion.. i'm hoping activity will help give me more energy.

i have asthma that can be exercise-induced, but that rarely happens. and really high impact stuff hurts my back.

so, what should i start with? i'm extremely weak at the moment and would probably require bodyweight-only exercises for a while.

DancingMoosie

Do you have access to a stationary bike or pool?

47Jacqueline

Aqua fitness (either traditional or aqua zumba) Try a few classes if you don't like the first one. Like everything there are good and bad instructors.

Make sure the instructor teaches from the deck, not in the pool with you. Also, most of the class (96%) should have your arms in the water, not above. Most of the pace of the class should be half-tempo or slower.

Start with shallow water classes (up to your armpits) where you stand on the pool bottom. Deep water is fun, but hard to balance if you're new, can't swim, or are afraid. Wear aqua shoes - I stub my toes otherwise.

I go to an Aqua Zumba class where one participant is about 350lb.

blueakama

Just start with walking as your cardio and gradually add in more time and hills. You might want to get a pedometer or activity tracker and aim for 10,000 steps per day. You could also try resistance tubes or 1kg weights.

mykaylis

no access to any pool, unfortunately, and to get a stationary bike i'd need to join the gym.

are there DVDs that are appropriate? i'd love to build up some muscle but what i'm seeing on the shelf is things like P90X which might be completely impossible (not to mention expensive).

queenliz99

How about Leslie Sansone: Walk Away the Pounds Ultimate Collection. A lot of people love her.

UmmSqueaky

How are you with walking? If that's too much stress on the joints, I would see about joining one of the cheaper fitness places (24 hour fitness, snap fitness) to get access to a stationary bike. Any fitness DVD, even the lower impact ones, would be of similar stress as walking.

I do a lot of different kinds of exercise, but still always try to fit in an hour of walking a day. It's better than sitting on the couch

TheVirgoddess

I'd start with walking and maybe a little bit of stretching/yoga. You don't have to jump in the deep end

TiberiusClaudis

Similar to other answers: Walk
Many of us started that way. Eventually we jogged and then hit the weights but walking is an excellent beginning.

myheartsabattleground

FitnessBlender
ToneItUp
Blogilates
FitSugar

middlehaitch

As most have said, start by walking, just get up and walk around the house for 5 minutes. If you have stairs, go up and down them on each of your 5 minute walks. Build up your daily frequency to a few tours of the house a day, then start adding minutes. By spring you will be ready to start outdoor walking.

Google seated exercises, there are a number of different ones on YouTube, and start moving while you are seated. Some of these exercises also include light hand weights, a couple of cans of soup will be a good weight for you to start with.

Ask your doctor for a recommendation for a physical therapist who will structure a safe plan for you to start on.

Congratulations for being brave enough to make changes in your life, I'm proud of you.
Cheers, h.

Chieflrg

mykaylis wrote: »

hi there! i'm looking for both cardio and strength options. i'm 40, morbidly obese, and i have chronic back pain (lumbar, thoracic). i am extremely sedentary due to ongoing exhaustion.. i'm hoping activity will help give me more energy.

i have asthma that can be exercise-induced, but that rarely happens. and really high impact stuff hurts my back.

so, what should i start with? i'm extremely weak at the moment and would probably require bodyweight-only exercises for a while.

no access to any pool, unfortunately, and to get a stationary bike i'd need to join the gym.

are there DVDs that are appropriate? i'd love to build up some muscle but what i'm seeing on the shelf is things like P90X which might be completely impossible (not to mention expensive).

Walking and stepping up the stairs will do wonders for a beginner. You can build strength, but building muscle is really not an option when you are eating in a deficit. You certainly can retain muscle with exercises though which is a very good thing to do. Just be active as your body allows you to be. Eventually as the pounds shed you will look for bigger challenges as your body gets more strong and has more endurance.

jacksonpt

As others have said... start with walking. Add hills and stairs to increase difficulty.

Bodyweight work is probably a good starting point. Lots of stretching, yoga, and bodyweight "lifts". Start with the basics to develop a good foundation before you move onto other stuff.

mykaylis

thank you everyone for your suggestions and support!

i had my first appointment with a physiotherapist today. it went wonderfully, she worked out a lot of knotted muscles for me and then did some accupuncture on my upper body. we have yet to address the lower back which is my kryptonite, but i feel good about her and her treatment suggestions.

she confirmed that walking was a good fit for me. so i went to the library and picked up "walk off weight", as well as "you are your own gym" (i think that's the title, it's not handy at the moment).

i really hope i can get this to work for me so i can follow my dreams.

middlehaitch

Great to hear everything went well at physio today. You are going to have a great journey because you have such a positive outlook.
I have been curious about 'you are your own gym' for a while, never thought of going to the library. Thanks for the idea.
Cheers, h.

mykaylis

oh, our public library is so awesome! we have something like 50,000 books. if they don't have what you need, inquire about an interlibrary loan which means they can order in the book you want from another branch of your city library. or, look for ebooks. i read those on my computer but most people prefer a hand held ebook reader such as a kindle or kobo. there are always lots of options in libraries!

lemon629

Do exercises to strengthen your abs and glutes. That will help your back.

Regular cardio exercise will help your exercise induced asthma. You should be doing cardio at least three times a week. (I have exercise induced asthma, too.) Just be sure to use your inhaler beforehand, and take your inhaler with you to use if necessary during exercise.

I noticed the comments on libraries. Libraries usually have exercise videos, too, not just books. I have borrowed quite a few. You might want to try Leslie Sansone videos.

bwogilvie

You Are Your Own Gym is great. You can modify some of the exercises to make them easier. A tip on push-ups, which are great for overall strength: many people do them on bent knees when they start. A better solution is to do them against a wall, so that you practice keeping your legs straight and in line with your torso. When the wall gets to be too easy, switch to a countertop, or to a staircase if you have one in your home. The staircase is good because you can move down a step when you're ready for a bigger challenge.

I had some serious lower back pain a couple of years ago, and my physical therapist gave me a set of bodyweight exercises to do to strengthen my core. They worked wonders.