Workouts for 300+ lbs

StacySkinny

Right now I wish I had a trainer who knows how to train people who are "morbidly obese" (Goodness I hate that term). But I don't have a trainer. What I do have is YOU guys! So here's a question for those of you who are experienced in working out as a super obese person (300+ lbs at less than 5'6" tall) or who is experienced in training a super obese person. I need some advice on what the best workout exercises are for someone my size.

Here's my stats:
I'm a bit short - 5'4"
I weigh 342 lbs [155 kg] (down from 385 lbs)
and I'm 32 years old

I need some advice as I have a lot of restrictions - I can't afford a gym membership as I'm only working part time, I don't own any gym or exercise equipment besides one dumbbell and 2 resistance bands, I have a bronchial/respiratory issue right now that keeps me from working out outside in the cold air.

I'm focusing on being more active but I need some help. I know I need to push myself to go beyond my limits to reach my weight loss and fitness goals but there is still so much I can not do physically. Hard work can transform a body and a mind and I need some workout and/or exercise that I can do physically that are still going to burn a lot of calories. That's a tall order, I know. But hopefully there is at least one of you out here in MFP land that can lend some advice.

Right now I'm doing walk/jog (more like a fast walk with a little bounce lol). I'm afraid of putting too much stress on my knees so I don't run. I know that at my height and weight it's not a good idea to run and put that much stress on my knees and joints. I don't want to damage my knees/joints and knock me off my training all together. And honestly I doubt I could run even if the knees where not an issue. Other than the walk/jog I'm doing a few floor stretches and using the resistance bands to work out my arms. My workouts have gotten a bit routine though and would love to get ideas on more stuff that I can do at my size. I've looked up a few workouts on youtube but they are kind of useless to me because I can't do 95% of what they are doing on the screen.

Any of you guys know how to train a person of my size? Advice please!

Umeboshi

Bump!

kir911

My husband is a personal trainer and is on the site too....I will have him message you and give you some ideas.

lacroyx

I walked. I did that for a long time. 6'3 485 lbs. when I started. after a while I added in stairs and then added in light jogging. my doctor too was against me jogging @ my weight. I've been jogging for over a year now and haven't hurt myself yet. sounds like you have that covered so if you can find stairs inside a building somewhere or if hills to climb. it's a good workout. also helps getting a good pair of shoes. for me it was a huge difference. I was able to go out for longer and further. I also do Zumba. I suck at it. I can't do about 50% of the moves but I do what I can. YouTube has lots of free videos you can check out.

cinditree

Dancing to music..anything to get your heart rate up and get moving.

I love just dance for the wii, but there are alot of things you can do with out having to buy equipment.

jumping jacks, or modify the moves to other exercize videos, there are free ones on you tube. move the best you can and don't think about how you compare yourself to the people on the video, just keep moving at a modified pace and eventually you will be able to do some of the moves, some you may not be able to do for a long time due to size, but you will be surprised at what your body can do... do not be afraid to push yourself, the body is an amazing thing

Also swimming is awesome and not bad on the joints..If you volunteer, or get a part time job at a local YMCA you can get a free membership, you only have to work 3 hours a week : )

heybales

Spare those joints!

You don't want them so abused now during weight loss that you can't use them to the full later when lighter and wanting to run like the wind over the hills!

(bit much perhaps?)

Your walking is great, just keep the pace going up as you get more fit. Remember, it's really more of a workout for you than for someone lighter.

Now, you do have a good idea in there. Throw a 30 sec sprint in. That sprint may not be outright jogging, but the fast walk as you described. Just given enough time (4 min) to recover.
Do that 7 times in a walking session, 3 times a week, for 2 weeks.

Then move to slightly less time on recovery.
You can also make hill work be the sprint. Try to walk up the hill at flat pace (or part of the hill). Equivalent to sprinting really.

Here is a routine from http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/JogWalkProgram.html modified for weight instead of time.
As your weight drops below a level, that is what the intervals move up to.

Weight Run Walk Repeat
start 30 sec. 150 sec. 7
270 30 sec. 90 sec. 10
260 60 sec. 60 sec. 10
250 90 sec. 90 sec. 7
240 2 1 7
230 3 1 5
220 4 1 4
210 6 1 3
200 9 1 2
190 10 1 2
180 12 1 2
170 20 0 1

For your needed strength training, just use the fact that muscle burns fat. The more muscle you can gain, the more 24hr fat burning you have, because metabolism is higher.
So best to spend limited time/energy on the biggest muscles right now, you can add in more later for balance or toning.
Your legs are the biggest, followed by back, chest, stomach, arms. Best to alternate between groups though so muscles get chance to recover, and can be used to the full.

What can you do at home? Scan over these and see what can be done with free weights. And you know empty milk jugs can be filled with water and tied to a stick for weight. Or dumbbells too. And some exercises on here are for the bands.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Here is decent order to separate the muscle groups, going in order from largest to smallest. Be careful of the lunges for know, unless the above site agrees with your knowledge of doing them. Again, save the knees.
Glutes
Upper back
Quads
Chest
Hamstrings
Lats
Stomach
Shoulders
Lower back
Outer/Inner thighs

AshDHart

I started out at 377 lbs. I'm on oxygen so I was always worried about that too. When I started out I would just "dance" for 3 minutes and then need to rest. My dancing was really just moving my feet a bit to music while standing. Then after a bit I added in arm movement. Then moving my whole body. I also use the Walk at Home dvds. Once I got used to that I added in hula and belly dancing. You don't need fancy equipment just turn on some music and move the best you can! :flowerforyou:

It's been about 7 months and I'm down to 300.8 and I can now walk a mile or do 20 minutes of active dancing without any issues.

BobbyClerici

Before you do anything, always see your doctor to make sure you can safely exercise without hurting yourself.
I'd suggest just walking and doing some Jack Lalanne rehab workouts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTF9QCb33hw

That's be a good start.

Once you're past this, try something more challenging. Consider buying a set of 25lb dumbells or whatever you're comfortable with:
Start with a program that works all muscle groups 1-3 non-consecutive days a week.
Warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio or with warm up sets of each exercise.
Choose 1-2 exercises for each muscle group (see below) and do 1-2 sets of 8-16 repetitions of each exercise. As a beginner, you may want to start with about 15-16 reps until you feel comfortable with the moves and build some strength. After that, you move up in weight and reduce your reps for a different challenge.

Here is a list of muscle groups along with sample exercises. If you're a beginner, you only need to choose 1-2 exercises for each muscle group in the upper body and 3-4 moves for the lower body.

Chest: bench press, chest press machine, pushups, pec deck machine
Back: seated row machine, back extensions, lat pulldowns
Shoulders: overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
Biceps: bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls
Triceps: tricep extensions, dips, kickbacks
Lower Body: Squats, lunges, leg press machines, deadlifts, calf raises
Abdominals: crunches, reverse crunches, oblique twists, pelvic tilts

Have fun, experiment and go easy, be patient with yourself and allow yourself one day each week to eat the foods you love,
GOOD LUCK!

sillymesillyyou

I would suggest walking, but as you can't really go outside, maybe marching on the spot. You could aim to do it in front of the tv for the duration of your favourite tv programme, then the time will pass quicker.

sheshe32

I would suggest walking, but as you can't really go outside, maybe marching on the spot. You could aim to do it in front of the tv for the duration of your favourite tv programme, then the time will pass quicker.

I agree. I was just over 300lbs (now just under) and walking is great. I love the elliptical trainer, as its easy on joints. But since you dont have access to gym etc..definatly walking. Until you get fitter. I wouldnt recommend jogging/running until you are used to walking (or marchign on the spot) good luck, fingers crossed for you!

netchik

Try Leslie Sansone walk dvd's. She will have you walking 5mph in no time andvworking upper body too, to get you fit enough to start looking at oher higher impact vids.

Feel free to add me. I have been there, and now i can run!

1953Judith

When I started my fitness focus several years ago, I did not meet the criteria you set in the original post, but close.

I found that while diet and exercise where the backbone of my fitness focus, just forcing myself to become more active on a daily basis was a huge component in making my lifestyle change. As a matter of fact, writing the previous sentence is a huge reminder to me that I have been letting that aspect of fitness lag the past couple of months. Possibly this explains my current lack of progress. But I digress

If you can get a cheap pedometer, wear it, see how many steps you take in an average day, set goals to increase it each week that fit in with your lifestyle. It is an easy fun challenge to see if you can get to a certain number of steps.

I wish you luck. I think you are focusing in a thoughtful, holistic way. So much of the underlying energy requires that mental and emotional focus.

MaddameKat

Hi
I wanted to say well done for making an effort to have better health!
I agree with the others about walking, do you have a back pack? if you could put some books in it to add some weight ( maybe around the weight you have lost? you muscles are already strong enough to carry it) and go for a walk or if you have woods/ park/ hill take a wander up an incline.

I like to do this now and again as mu outdoor workout and i'm dead afterwards.

Also how do you feel about swimming/ aqua aerobics?

1proudmomma9909

Im not experienced but I would say try speed walking on the tredmill...if that isnt avalible to you then just go for long walks/hike and switch it up with straight,uphill and downhill. I have a friend who is probably around 300lbs and she just started marathon training awhile ago..and she swears by it!! best thing though is talk to your doctor for excersize advice. me personally i have been doing yoga for weightloss and i am seeing results in my muscles already....if ur interested i can send u some beginner stuff i do..i swear by it!!!

Tkwild

Cheap easy exercise that you can do in front of a TV or to music, is organise yourself a wooden chunk of wood to your required height and use it to do step exercises for as long as you feel comfortable. You can always add more height to up the intensity as you get fitter!

StacySkinny

These are some fantastic ideas! Some of you went above and beyond and really gave me some in-depth info! For that I'm very grateful! Thank you so much, you guys!

There are a few things mentioned here that I'm going to be doing for sure. I feel silly not having come up with them on my own, but am glad I asked! You guys rock!

diviana

I was around 500 lbs at my heaviest.

For me, I do have a gym membership. I did aqua aerobic classes in the pool, which is non-impact. I was in a very bad car accident about 9 years ago, and had severe problems with sciatica. That has lessened significantly with my weight loss, but I still have to be careful.

I do light weight training and walking on the treadmill. You already have a dumbbell, and walking is free! Walk around inside the house if cold air bothers you. Or, go to the mall and window shop. You will still be walking around indoors where the air is warmer. I have one of those little circular trampolines and I just boing around in front of the TV for a while. It all adds up!

runiechica

All movement really helps. Try giving your cleaning some more vigor, dancing, stairs are great, anything really to add movement. I also recommend push ups. If you aren't up to full push ups (and 'm still not) you can modify them to either on your knees or even wall push ups to build muscle strength. Sit ups are also good and there are a bunch of different kinds. I started with being able to do 2-3 a night, but your strength builds up.

debpre16

I have been doing chair exercises. Youtube has lots of videos for it. I have also been walking - not very fast but walking. Good luck on your journey.

chachadiva150

Spare those joints!

You don't want them so abused now during weight loss that you can't use them to the full later when lighter and wanting to run like the wind over the hills!

Excellent advice. In the beginning, be careful with your joints. You'll want to use them later.

iuangina

I "ran" at 336, but I'm also 5'10" (it was really slow - about 4.0 on a treadmill). I didn't have any joint problems, but I was also an athlete just a few years ago. I gained a bunch of weight after a traumatic death in my family. I would recommend looking into your local pools and doing some swimming or water jogging. A lot of city pools will let you swim for like $3-$5 each time. It might be something that you could do to mix up your workouts. Walking is great! It makes you feel awesome when you are done. Feel free to friend me because I totally get it!