Too overweight and too sore?

WhipxSmart

I've been using MFP for a while now, but this is my first forum post. This question isn't actually pertaining to me, but I hope that's alright. I've been working out with my husband, who weighs over 350 pounds at only 5'5". The problem we seem to be having is that if he has a workout that can be considered anything more than light or moderate, he gets extremely sore and stays too sore to workout for approximately a week.

Are there any suggestions on how he can get a good workout and still be able to workout every other day without spending four to five days after each workout in too much pain? I'm relatively new to this, and my soreness after an intense workout is more than manageable, so I'm not quite sure how to help him.

Thank you for any advice. It's all appreciated.

Jessicahanzlik

If he's getting sore so easily, he shouldn't work out so intense to start off with. Push until he thinks he's okay. And there will be soreness, it comes with the territory of working out, but once he actually builds muscle, it'll go away. (I've done insanity, trust me, He will get sore, but he needs to push past that)

laele75

There is nothing wrong with light workouts. It's a start. Until he loses some weight so that moving isn't so much effort, all he will do is run the risk of hurting himself. Walking, low impact aerobics and yoga are all good exercises for him. Yes, yoga. I was doing beginner's yoga at 320 lbs. Your husband can too.

piratesluver

Swimming might help a lot, if it is his joints that are hurting.

Tessyloowhoo

Why not do something upper body focused one day... like punching a bag
Then alternate with something lower body the day or two days after... like biking

Edit: recumbent biking might be easiest because of his weight

elyelyse

Is there anywhere for you and him to go swimming? It's a good way to use your muscles without putting any stress on your joints. General muscle soreness is kind of a given when using muscles in a new and stronger way, and he may need to just suck it up, unless there is actual injury. Short walks are good, at his size, any activity is beneficial, so, even a 5-10 minute walk for starters should be manageable, and after a while he'll be able to go longer. I was 300 pounds (I'm 5ft3) when I started walking and my back hurt and my knees hurt, but I started slow and short distances, and it got easier every week.

action_figure

I didn't work out at all until I lost 50 pounds (347 - 297). I had a knee injury that needed healed. Then I started super simple. I went for half mile walks. I did Wii Fit. And that was IT! For about three weeks. Then I gradually made those things more intense: I added wrist and ankle weights to the Wii Fit exercises. I added a riser to my step. Another month in I started doing kettlebells, with a 10 pound kettlebell. I didn't try to go balls to the walls from the very beginning. Now, after nine months of gradually increasing, I walk about 10 miles a week, bike 25, kayak 10, and do three strength training workouts each week. No soreness. Slow and steady.

carrieo888

Does his doctor have any recommendations?

I usually recommend walking (even if it's just around the block, increase distance each week), swimming (it lessens impact), recumbant stationary bikes and ellipticals (both minimize impact on knees).

And I might recommend that he find something physical that he enjoys (gardening, ballroom dancing,...) that gets him moving, but it doesn't seem like the chore that exercise can be.

Having an epsom salt bath post-workout can also relieve muscle soreness. Make sure he's getting plenty of potassium and electrolytes as well.

But really, his doc can best advise.

TheRealParisLove

With 200 pounds of additional body weight, merely walking around is an intense workout. He shouldn't be doing anything aside from low impact cardio at this stage. Just imagine wearing a lead suit that weighs 200 pounds and then attempting to do P90X or even light weight training. That is what your husband is attempting. No wonder he is intensely sore!

For now he should concentrate on just walking, swimming, cycling or other low impact exercise. He also needs to log all his foods and try to balance out his diet. He should also probably see a doctor who specializes in the morbidly obese, a bariatric physician. That is a lot of additional body weight and he should be under the supervision of a physician before taking on any kind of intense exercise program.

And kudos to your husband for taking the first step!

eazy_

I haven't exercised on purpose. He can lose a considerable amount of weight by simply eating at a deficit.

_EndGame_

I've been using MFP for a while now, but this is my first forum post. This question isn't actually pertaining to me, but I hope that's alright. I've been working out with my husband, who weighs over 350 pounds at only 5'5". The problem we seem to be having is that if he has a workout that can be considered anything more than light or moderate, he gets extremely sore and stays too sore to workout for approximately a week.

Are there any suggestions on how he can get a good workout and still be able to workout every other day without spending four to five days after each workout in too much pain? I'm relatively new to this, and my soreness after an intense workout is more than manageable, so I'm not quite sure how to help him.

Thank you for any advice. It's all appreciated.

Swimming - that will be the answer to his exercise and soreness problem.

When I started losing weight, I was around his weight, and I too found I ended up quite sore after a decent workout. Then I started going to the gym and them swimming (despite the fact I was extremely self conscious)

Now I'm down nearly 85lbs, and I swim 5 days a week, and I love it. I can burn around 800 calories in an hour of swimming, and the best part is, it's low impact. Thee most ideal method of exercise for someone in your husbands position.

Feel free to add me/message me if you need anymore help!

rileysowner

At that weight walking is an intense workout. Getting into other stuff will be easier once some more weight comes off.

yustick

I am 5'4", started at 365 pounds. For weight loss, diet is more important than exercise, IMO.

If weight loss is his primary objective, his workouts don't have to be that intense. Walking is awesome.

Also, it may not be best for him to try to keep up with you. I recommend that he wear a heart rate monitor and do a little research on how to exercise to meet goals using heart rate as a guide. If he is working too hard, he may not be as sore as just plain exhausted. And his body may truly need rest if he is over doing it.

To reduce soreness, I suggest:

Take Advil before the workout
Stretch post workout
Drink water
Eat some protein post workout
Move through it

I find that when I'm sore, it helps to move. I am more sore the longer I rest. Like first thing in the morning, I'm sore, then I get up and move around and feel better.

I hope this helps you and your husband continue to workout together. My husband & I have truly enjoyed becoming more active and it has really been good for us.

WhipxSmart

Thank you so much for all the help! He definitely has been pushing himself too hard (he and I just got joint gym memberships, and from day one, he decided to do four sets each on ALL of the strength-building machines). I need to push him to monitor his calories since that's the only thing he doesn't like to do, but all of your advice is definitely helpful. Unfortunately neither of us have health insurance so we can't see a doctor about anything (at least not until January when Obamacare kicks in), but I am going to see about what indoor pools there are in this area. He loves swimming, so I think that will help him a lot.

bkyoun

He'll see big results from just walking and eating at a deficit.

After he loses 50 pounds, we can start looking at other exercise options.

If he counts calories and stays at it, he'll get there!

JenniTheVeggie

I think that is awesome that you are working out together. You got a lot of great advice already but I want to repeat that walking is perfect. It's something you two can do everything. Make it a new habit/tradition to go walking after dinner.

_EndGame_

Thank you so much for all the help! He definitely has been pushing himself too hard (he and I just got joint gym memberships, and from day one, he decided to do four sets each on ALL of the strength-building machines). I need to push him to monitor his calories since that's the only thing he doesn't like to do, but all of your advice is definitely helpful. Unfortunately neither of us have health insurance so we can't see a doctor about anything (at least not until January when Obamacare kicks in), but I am going to see about what indoor pools there are in this area. He loves swimming, so I think that will help him a lot.

If you can persuade him to join this site, and perhaps purchase a heart rate monitor, then he can track calories on here that he has eaten, and he could track calories burned with his HRM.

I bought a Polar FT4, it cost me £40, so in American money that would be around $75 (I think) they're brilliant devices for tracking calories burned during workouts, because it takes your age, weight, height and heart rate into account when giving you a calorie burn reading. (can be used in swimming pools, too)

Good luck to you both!

seniorbug2003

As someone who in about the same boat as him. I had to learn the hard way the best thing to do is listen to his body. I thought I could do a squat challenge. I was wrong. I did 100 squats in one day. I pulled both my quads, took about 6 weeks to recover.

So start slow and listen to his body and it will get better.

k8eekins

I've been using MFP for a while now, but this is my first forum post. This question isn't actually pertaining to me, but I hope that's alright. I've been working out with my husband, who weighs over 350 pounds at only 5'5". The problem we seem to be having is that if he has a workout that can be considered anything more than light or moderate, he gets extremely sore and stays too sore to workout for approximately a week.

Are there any suggestions on how he can get a good workout and still be able to workout every other day without spending four to five days after each workout in too much pain? I'm relatively new to this, and my soreness after an intense workout is more than manageable, so I'm not quite sure how to help him.

Thank you for any advice. It's all appreciated.

Just read your post to my sister. And being that we are both former 300+ lbers, our advice to you for your hubby is - Do not force him to workout. Limit his exercise to 15 - 20 mins of walking around the house or 15 - 20 mins of some form of resistance training + 15 mins of walking around your residential property. What you need to do, is to control his eating. Find out his TDEE and have him eat at 20% less for at least 12 weeks. After the 12 weeks reassess because 300+lb on a 5ft 5 height, is way too much weight. You don't want to have him risk damaging his ankles, his knees and his back because some fad programme dictates that he needs to move to lose weight. He needs to control his eating plan. The moving about is for his cardio health. For fat weight loss, he needs to eat correctly (Calories - Macros and TDEE less@20%).

You don't want to be a defeatist for him. Your hubby needs to see results from the minutest of efforts on his part. The weight will come off!! Consistency + Commitment + No cheating (Eating and the Work out). Maybe you should look into IIFYM for him because he is in that weight category. He will need his treats. The restrictive approach is not going to work.

Live4theLift

If he is new to working out going to hard at first will cause problems. Ease into it and work your way up to those intense workout days. Being overweight can cause stress on your joints and jumping into a workout with a high intensity can cause pulled muscles/ sore joints ect... just take it east, weight loss is a road and we just have to take our time try not to rush it and enjoy.

WhipxSmart

Just read your post to my sister. And being that we are both former 300+ lbers, our advice to you for your hubby is - Do not force him to workout. Limit his exercise to 15 - 20 mins of walking around the house or 15 - 20 mins of some form of resistance training + 15 mins of walking around your residential property. What you need to do, is to control his eating. Find out his TDEE and have him eat at 20% less for at least 12 weeks. After the 12 weeks reassess because 300+lb on a 5ft 5 height, is way too much weight. You don't want to have him risk damaging his ankles, his knees and his back because some fad programme dictates that he needs to move to lose weight. He needs to control his eating plan. The moving about is for his cardio health. For fat weight loss, he needs to eat correctly (Calories - Macros and TDEE less@20%).

You don't want to be a defeatist for him. Your hubby needs to see results from the minutest of efforts on his part. The weight will come off!! Consistency + Commitment + No cheating (Eating and the Work out). Maybe you should look into IIFYM for him because he is in that weight category. He will need his treats. The restrictive approach is not going to work.

I never forced him to work out. Every workout he's been doing is what he chose to do, though I told him to take it easy at first. I'll have to force him NOT to push himself so hard. I'll definitely look into how many calories he's supposed to be taking in, though, and make sure he actually starts to count them. Thank you!

RhonndaJ

In the past I used to push myself to do a lot when it came to exercise, and it inevitably ended up the same as your husband. I'd be in such pain for days afterwards that I couldn't do anything. It wasn't much different with my eating as I'd limit what I was thinking and cut out everything I loved. The whole gung ho, all or nothing mindset.

He needs to start slowly, and he'll probably feel daft if you're in a gym, but it's the best way to do it. Start at something ridiculously small. Then the next time, up it a small amount, then the next time, a small amount more, and so on. He'll know when he hits the point of doing too much and he can work from there.

k8eekins

I never forced him to work out. Every workout he's been doing is what he chose to do, though I told him to take it easy at first. I'll have to force him NOT to push himself so hard. I'll definitely look into how many calories he's supposed to be taking in, though, and make sure he actually starts to count them. Thank you!

There is a group "Eat, Train, Progress," which features a discussion posted by Sarauk2sf where she covers several calculators, which should be helpful to you both, for your hubby's sake, to estimate his averages.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read