How often should I do seated dumbbell exercises with a 5lb dumbbell?

evilwitch452

TL;DR- Limited mobility and using 5lb dumbbells for first time. Would like to know how often a week I should do this 20 minute seated dumbbell work out plan I found online.



I can not stand or walk long because of my back/leg issues, so my physical therapist introduced me to a recumbent exercise bike to help stay active and help a bit with my weight loss. I have lost 75 pounds, but still need to lose 75-100 more. I really enjoy the bike and usually do it an hour and a half a day 4-5 times a week, but I've started to worry about doing all cardio and no strength training. I would rather be flabby then be as big as I was, but i was hoping if I do something it could help with the toning. I also read it helps with weight loss even though I thought it would slow the process down because of building muscle. The reason weight loss is more important for me is my doctor said the extra weight is making my degenerative disc disease worse. I also have noticed i can walk a bit longer since losing a significant amount of weight so if cardio only is better for that I will just continue, but if both is the smarter thing to do I would like to start trying. The workout i found for sitting is a 20 minute workout with 5 different types. Can I do this 3 times a week with a break in between, or how much should I be doing this for as a beginner?

cwolfman13

As a beginner I would start out with once or twice in the week. Being new, you will be sore...so maybe start with twice per week with a lot of rest in-between workout days...like maybe do it on Monday and again on Thursday or Friday depending on how you feel, giving yourself 2-3 days rest in between. From there you could work up to 3x per week or even 4x making sure you're not doing the workout on consecutive days and always having a day in-between for recovery.

You could start out your first couple of weeks just doing it once per week...the downside to 1x per week resistance training is that each session will likely result in DOMs (muscle soreness) whereas if you're working those muscles 2-3x per week, they get used to the stress and DOMs are minimized after a couple of weeks.

I typically do full body programs and anytime I've been out of the weight room for any significant amount of time I start back with 2x per week and work my way back to 3x per week. I usually end up doing 2x per week for 2-3 weeks allowing for a lot of recovery, and then add in the 3rd session.

ciaoder

Always good advice from wolfman. I'd only suggest running through the workout once or twice without the weights and just put your body through the movements. It'll give the opportunity to pay close attention to making sure you're doing the exercise correctly and consistently. Also good to put your muscles and tendons through the range of motion in case there are mobility surprises.

evilwitch452

Thank you both so much for the advice. I will practice the motions first and try to star out twice a week.

ciaoder

Are you really an evil witch?

AnnPT77

evilwitch452 wrote: »

Thank you both so much for the advice. I will practice the motions first and try to star out twice a week.

That's a good plan! I hope your doctor has approved your doing strength training? Especially if s/he has any concerns, consider asking for a referral to physical therapy, so you can be assessed by a pro, and get suggestions about specific exercises that would be safe and health-promoting in your case. (Physical therapists have been super helpful to me, in several cases.)

Best wishes!

evilwitch452 wrote: »

TL;DR- Limited mobility and using 5lb dumbbells for first time. Would like to know how often a week I should do this 20 minute seated dumbbell work out plan I found online.
I can not stand or walk long because of my back/leg issues, so my physical therapist introduced me to a recumbent exercise bike to help stay active and help a bit with my weight loss. I have lost 75 pounds, but still need to lose 75-100 more. I really enjoy the bike and usually do it an hour and a half a day 4-5 times a week, but I've started to worry about doing all cardio and no strength training. I would rather be flabby then be as big as I was, but i was hoping if I do something it could help with the toning. I also read it helps with weight loss even though I thought it would slow the process down because of building muscle. The reason weight loss is more important for me is my doctor said the extra weight is making my degenerative disc disease worse. I also have noticed i can walk a bit longer since losing a significant amount of weight so if cardio only is better for that I will just continue, but if both is the smarter thing to do I would like to start trying. The workout i found for sitting is a 20 minute workout with 5 different types. Can I do this 3 times a week with a break in between, or how much should I be doing this for as a beginner?

Just one small thing about the bolded, which I hope will be reassuring: Muscle gain is great, but it tends to be a quite-gradual process. It's slower than the rates of fat loss most people would aim for (or maybe even slower than the slower fat loss rates one would even notice until multiple weeks had passed). Muscle gain is very, very unlikely to mask fat loss on the scale, or interfere negatively in any way with fat loss aimed at health improvement.

Strength gains can be much faster than muscle mass gains, though, which is a good thing - very beneficial! The initial strength gains come from neuromuscular adaptation (NMA), basically better recruiting and using the muscle fibers we already have. In the somewhat longer term, new muscle mass can gradually be added, and further increase strength.

One more thing to know: When first starting strength training, there can perhaps be a jump of a few pounds on the scale. It won't be huge, and don't let it worry you: It's normal for the body to retain a little more water while it's repairing muscles that we've worked out, and that water can mask continuing fat loss on the scale. Usually it'll sort itself out in a week or few, and you'll see the fat loss on the scale again, after it outpaces that small water retention.

Best wishes!