Weight Lifting for a Fat Guy?

ehimass

Hi,

I'm a fat guy, (6 ft 0" 280 lbs). I'm down 10lbs from my all time high thanks to giving up sodas and starting to count calories this year. I'm currently aiming for 1800 cal/day.

Anyway, I've been trying to exercise too but obviously can't run/jog without destroying my knees. I can't even walk more than about 10 minutes a day or my shin splints killing me, so I usually stick to Ellipticals and Bikes. I feel like I get good workouts on those machines, with no problem getting my heart rate up into the 160 bpm range for 30 minutes during an average workout.

However, I keep reading that I should be lifting weights. I am honestly clueless about weights. I have never been very athletic and am your typical nerdy/dorky guy. Due to my job I live in hotels for 2/3rd of every month but most hotels have a gym with some kind of cable/pulley "weight machine" and often a set of dumbells. At home I have a decent apartment gym with machines and dumbells.

Is there a guide out there for the kinds of weight training exercises a person in my condition should be doing, or should I just stick to the cardio as a more productive use of my time? I find that I can't really exercise more than an hour per day before exhaustion sets in on my current calorie restriction, so I need to figure out if it's good to spend the whole hour on cardio or if a 50/50 cardio/weight split would be better.

Thanks in advance.

ChrisLindsay9

I think you're right in wanting to start weight lifting. Weight lifting can be bodyfat pretty quickly with less impact on the knees. Although training legs is a great way to get the heart rate up which facilitates burning bodyfat, so training legs will be something to look into and research.

You said you do a lot of traveling. I'm wondering if maybe you should get a membership at a local gym to your home that has personal trainers on staff, and see if you can get a free consultation or a discounted 2-3 session package. Most trainers have a lot of flexibility in their schedules, so maybe you can work out with a trainer one or two weeks each month, and then with a set of 5, 8, and 10 pound dumbbells be able to work out on your own when you're traveling?

If that's not an option, then here is an example of some workouts that you might be able to do to get you started.

Lower Body (bodyweight or holding dumbbells)
Bodyweight squats (aka sit squats) http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/sit-squats
Dumbbell squat http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/dumbbell-squat
Bodyweight walking lunges http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPmjFqNlDIw
Walking lunges with dumbbell http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/dumbbell-lunges

Upper Body
Decline Push-Ups http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/decline-push-up
One Arm Dumbbell Row http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/one-arm-dumbbell-row
Standing Dumbbell Press http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/standing-dumbbell-press-
Front Dumbbell Raise http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/front-dumbbell-raise
Dumbbell Shrug http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/dumbbell-shrug
Hammer Curl http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/hammer-curls
Concentration Curls http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/concentration-curls
Seated Tricep Press http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/seated-triceps-press
Tricep Dumbbell Kickback http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/tricep-dumbbell-kickback

For other exercises, you can bookmark this site: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/ and sort by muscle group and equipment available.

I hope this of some help. With a good diet, you should start noticing changes after 6-8 thirty minute or longer sessions. Good luck!