best exercise for the very unfit over 300lbs?

Bekarington

Hi guys, I've started walking more. forcing myself to walk home from work (approx 2.72m), which is currently taking me about an hour. Runtastic tells me I started walking at 2mph, I'm not up to 2.5mph.

I'm working up to swiming....or at least being seen in public in a swimsuit! and I've been advised not to run until I lose a lot more wieght because it will put stress on my joints.

What else could I be doing? (preferably free/cheap)

mrmagee3

Hi guys, I've started walking more. forcing myself to walk home from work (approx 2.72m), which is currently taking me about an hour. Runtastic tells me I started walking at 2mph, I'm not up to 2.5mph.

I'm working up to swiming....or at least being seen in public in a swimsuit! and I've been advised not to run until I lose a lot more wieght because it will put stress on my joints.

What else could I be doing? (preferably free/cheap)

Walking is good. Any sort of body weight exercise that you can do would help, too -- pushups from the knees, bodyweight squats, etc. Movement-based stuff. But, really, if you're very unfit -- anything helps. Do you have a yard? Moving something that's heavy (but not so heavy that you can't manage it) from one side of the yard to the other, and back again, isn't the most glamorous workout, but it's activity.

Generally, if it gets you moving, makes you use your muscles a bit, it's good. As it gets easier, make it harder or do more of it.

_Zardoz_

Walking is fantastic. I lost my first 30 pounds just with walking and diet. Then I moved on to swimming. Try to increase your walking distance and speed. Over time you'll be amazed

lilRicki

I'm a walker too, and I use the elliptical for a quick burn. I'm about to try aquasize, love lifting heavy in the gym, body weight exercises (i'm seriously sore today from all the crunches, squats and incline push ups from yesterday :bigsmile: )

monicastryin

Hi, I am in the same boat. You can find all kinds of FREE exercise on YouTube. I just modify what I am currently unable to do and keep it moving. ☺

jaecamp1

Walking is great! You can always increase your speed as you feel able to. Doing something is going to be better than doing nothing, so even if you choose something small, or just a few minutes of anything, its better than sitting on the couch. I'll jump on my elliptical for five minutes if I get the chance, because it does add up.

mfclingan

Walking is a great start...and really cheap.

When I was over 300 pounds I started with a bike. It is low impact, which is a good thing.

Basically whatever you can handle doing...do it!!!

msneave

Great job on the walking. If you want to increase your activity level try a basic total body circuit that targets all the largest muscles groups. This is great for endurance, strength, and fat burning too. Here's a basic circuit that includes 6 exercises at 10-12 reps per exercise or 30 seconds per exercise:

wall sit (squat position with back against wall knees over heels
wall or stair pushups at an angle that you can do with excellent form
bent over dumbbell row or resistance band rows (band attached to door or sturdy post)
step up on stairs or bench or modified reverse lunge (not going very deep or holding half lunge for time, knee over heel always)
opposite arm opposite leg reach from hands and knees
bridge also called a hip thrust (laying on floor with legs bent lifting lower body off ground)

This is the most basic circuit that I would do with a client to help them build endurance and speed up metabolism. You can do something like this twice a week building up to 4 times a week then as you get stronger and lose more weight you can start progressing to more advanced versions of these basic exercises : )

PikaKnight

There are a lot of bodyweight exercises you could do.

You could look into NerdFitness or You Are Your Own Gym. There is also Convict Conditioning available too.

Or you could browse around bodybuilding.com's database and make up your own routine if you feel comfortable doing that.


Some other options for strength/resistance training that would require some money would be sandbags and TRX Suspsension for Home use.

polo571

If you can get to a gym the cybex arc is a great tool. Takes the pressure off the joints and still gets you breathing hard.

ames105

I started at 306lbs just by walking. I'm now at 230, and I still walk. I try to run, but it is hard on my knees. I ride a bike too, but I did need a bigger seat to be comfortable on my bigger bottom. I practice yoga (even when I was heavier, there are modifications that can be done to accommodate a bigger body). I incorporate some weight lifting too.

Walking is great exercise, I am a huge fan. It is my opinion that it is the best place to start. When I started, I could only do seven minutes. Now, I walk 1-2 hours a day (broken up into 15 minute or half hour increments). My speed has improved as my weight has gone done. There is nothing wrong with sticking to a walking program until you are comfortable with branching out.

SanteMulberry

Hi guys, I've started walking more. forcing myself to walk home from work (approx 2.72m), which is currently taking me about an hour. Runtastic tells me I started walking at 2mph, I'm not up to 2.5mph.

I'm working up to swiming....or at least being seen in public in a swimsuit! and I've been advised not to run until I lose a lot more wieght because it will put stress on my joints.

What else could I be doing? (preferably free/cheap)

Three 40-minute walks per week will do wonders, as will body weight calisthenics (they have all kinds of stuff on the web about that type of exercise). Anything that increases muscle mass in your upper body will be a definite benefit (large people automatically get big leg muscles just from walking around). Water exercise is great and will help your core muscles to get fit. There are LOTS of really BIG women at my local public pool. I wouldn't worry too much about being self-conscious.

ETA: I have a yearly membership at my pool. It is only $150 per year, for twice a week, one-hour sessions. Works out to about $1.50 a session--cheaper than a gym. AND you will feel really GREAT working out in the water. The other serious exercise I do is walking. Walking increases adiponectin (the fat-burning hormone) better than other types of exercise because it does not increase cortisol levels.

kimswisher

bike riding and swimming and stayed within my cal range and lost 6 lbs.

kimswisher

f*** it if people don't want to see you at the pool. you have the right to be there. If people would ridicule less and support more........

JoRocka

Diet.


Diet.


more diet.

Not "dieting"... mind you- just focus on it- find ways to tune it- make better choices- stuff that makes you feel full longer and serves to fuel your body. Like- a fruit/veggie snack is going to help a lot more than say a snickers bar- or whatever your choice of the day is (I'm a HUGE sucker for chocolate covered expresso beans- but I have carrots instead LOL)

anyway- walking is great- keep walking.

walk walk walk.

Make sure you do some stretching- start working on your mobility (google/youtube)

And congrats on taking the first steps (pun totally intended) on your fitness journey!

sympha01

I started using the free workout videos from Fitnessblender.com recently when I weighed in at about 320 lbs. At higher weights like that, you have to be pretty selective about which videos (even some of the easy ones have exercises that seem unsafe or put way too much strain on your joints if you're carrying a lot of weight), but I've definitely found a groove of low-impact stuff I can do that gets my heart rate up and has me sweating. My flexibility and endurance have definitely improved.

You can also find Zumba videos on YouTube, which are actually really good fun and very sweat-making. Depending on your tolerance for looking really uncoordinated around other people (spoiler: everyone looks uncoordinated doing Zumba!), if you like the online videos you might try to find a class, Zumba is everywhere.

Walking is a great, sustainable exercise though, because it's cheap, easy to add variation to if you get bored, and does make quite a difference if you do it consistently.

Some advice though: it's good that you're taking the advice not to run until you've lost more weight. Don't rush into any high-impact exercise before your body is ready just because you want to burn more calories. If any exercise (even walking, even low-impact) starts causing you pain in your knees, ankles, or heel (plantar fascitis hurts, and once you get it, it hurts even when you're not exercising!), stop. Modify exercises that cause you pain; don't play through the pain.

Do take care of your joints. You'll miss them when you're older.

SanteMulberry

I started using the free workout videos from Fitnessblender.com recently when I weighed in at about 320 lbs. At higher weights like that, you have to be pretty selective about which videos (even some of the easy ones have exercises that seem unsafe or put way too much strain on your joints if you're carrying a lot of weight), but I've definitely found a groove of low-impact stuff I can do that gets my heart rate up and has me sweating. My flexibility and endurance have definitely improved.

You can also find Zumba videos on YouTube, which are actually really good fun and very sweat-making. Depending on your tolerance for looking really uncoordinated around other people (spoiler: everyone looks uncoordinated doing Zumba!), if you like the online videos you might try to find a class, Zumba is everywhere.

Walking is a great, sustainable exercise though, because it's cheap, easy to add variation to if you get bored, and does make quite a difference if you do it consistently.

Some advice though: it's good that you're taking the advice not to run until you've lost more weight. Don't rush into any high-impact exercise before your body is ready just because you want to burn more calories. If any exercise (even walking, even low-impact) starts causing you pain in your knees, ankles, or heel (plantar fascitis hurts, and once you get it, it hurts even when you're not exercising!), stop. Modify exercises that cause you pain; don't play through the pain.

Do take care of your joints. You'll miss them when you're older.

Good advice! I totally agree that it is VERY important to take care of your joints. Once damage is done, it is very hard to undo it. If you like Zumba, a lot of public pools have WATER Zumba. I haven't tried it yet, but that is one of my exercise goals for this winter. Water "boot camp" is even tougher. I tried it one time--a really BIG woman in the class put me to shame. AND she was almost as old as me! Shows that you can get in much better shape with increasing effort over time.

lacroyx

Walking is great. It's all I did for the first 6 months when I started and still do it to this day. I'd add in hills and stairs to add to the challenge.

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

It's not free, but it is cheap to join a waterfit class. The one I go to is later at night and it's mostly older women in the class anyway.

If you're really self conscious you can buy some cute swim shorts and just wear an athletic top and bra for more coverage. No one will judge you, and even if they do (for some stupid reason) you're underwater and people can't see you clearly anyway.

WaterBunnie

Dancing - just around your living room burns calories! Walking, swimming, aqua aerobics (really good fun!)

MexicanOsmosis

Walking outside is great! I switched it up and went with the elliptical, now I'm on a treadmill at an incline and slowly going to increase the speed.