Workouts For Obese People
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Walk and swim, yes but what ever is out there, just learn to listen to your body and do it. I go to Jazzercise. If it HURTS (ie I am afraid I might mess up my knee), I just march in place. I modify the moves so I can do them and over time I have been able to do more.
The Leslie Sannsone suggestion too - I have been trying to use it at work but just have not had time. I have heard lots of good things about it and one of my friends has had great luck with it (she can do it in her office over lunch).
And I wish I could swim but it takes too much time : (0 -
I was 370 pounds when I started and I didn't push myself because it was too much so I started off slow 5 minutes 2x a week in the very beginning. I walked outside and on the treadmill. Moving is moving. To lose a lot of weight you have to start out slow and work your way up into a routine. You are not going to be training for a marathon, yet so be realistic. I now work out 4x a week about a half hour each time. It took me two years to get to that amount. If you feel uncomfortable pushing yourself, don't. I had that same feeling. That's why I started off slow. Eighty percent of your weight loss will be with your diet. If you eat whole and healthy and stay within calories giving yourself bad food once in a while, you can still lose a lot of weight and not kill yourself with exercise.0
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I started with Vbarre classes when I was about 88kg (195lbs), which was painful but doable. With the foresight of having tried Tae Bo, Pilates and Zumba, I would recommend Zumba, since it feels like a party and gives you the chance to do things your way.
However, walking is also an awesome idea. I would also recommend switching your commute to a bike, i.e. biking instead of driving, this is also a great way to bring some action in your life. Being obese is by no means an obstacle to biking :-)0 -
I started at 400lbs and I doing things on the floor was no where near comfy so I changed it out for my bed because it wasn't so bad. I'm not a big fan of body weight exercises because there is too much of my body getting in the way so my main source of exercise was and still is walking. It was easy to do and doesn't cost or have equipment to buy. I didn't like the idea of people being able to see me working out so I go to a local school and use the track after the kids have left. it seemed a little more private that way. The only people I see are others using the track too most of the time.0
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i cant believe nobody mention chair cardio! you just sit in the chair and do stuff.
find small ways to incorporate movement into your day. it doesnt have to be a "workout" it can just simply be "more" of what you are doing. bringing groceries into the house? carry less and make more trips. find a reason to walk from one end of the house to the other.
r.e pain: if its muscle soreness (google doms) work through it. if its bone or joint pain, dont work through that. rest it, ice it, and do something that doesnt hurt.0 -
First off, I want to cheer you on for making an effort to lose weight!! Yay!
I think it's a very brave thing to do.
I am also obese and have always had difficulty losing weight and keeping it off. I completely agree with you. It is not only awkward, but also painful on your joints. I also have flat feet, so the extra weight adds pain to my feet. In the past, I've done exercise classes at a pool. Check around your area. There might be one at a local college or gym. It's called Aquatic Fitness. The pool reduces the pressure from your joints, and the water act as resistance. So the faster you move, the harder it is and the more calories you burn. You burn a lot of calories, while staying cool.
I just started this running program on my phone. It's based on the Couch to 5K program. The app is called Run Double. It's a 9 week program that builds your endurance. It starts out by running 60 sec intervals and then progressing to long time intervals and distances. You have the option of repeating the workout if you feel you are not ready for the next one. I'm on week 6 and I feel really awesome. It's 3 times a week, and really progresses slowly.
Also, definitely listen to your body. I once used a personal trainer, who had me do a lot of strenuous exercises. I ended up hurting my knee, and had to completely stop working out until it healed. It was a real bummer. Exercising a couple of times a week may not seem like much, but it actually really helpful. I used to workout 5xs a week thinking that was the only way to see results. I only ended up burning out within a few months.
I hope this is helpful. Keep it up! 0 -
I like the Just dance videos on the Wii. If you have Windows 8 there is an app that is free and similar to Just Dance, but it uses the computer camera and that freaks me out lol! Water aerobics are great and walking. The fitbit has helped me and I just try to get as many steps in as I can, I even did extra house work today just to get more steps in.0
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They're kind of old school, but I loooooove Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies series. I love the music, the dancing, and that he uses real people, not crazy then sports models. The people in the videos are obese people and they're shaking their booties all over the place. And, if they can do it, so can I!!! You can find them on amazon 0
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I was going to suggest Leslie Sanson too. She has walking DVDs. I personally haven't done them, but know people who have. Nice and low impact.
And don't let anyone chastise you! You are making the first steps and you need to do it in a way that won't cause injury! We all have to start somewhere.
Good luck! 0 -
First off, I want to cheer you on for making an effort to lose weight!! Yay! I think it's a very brave thing to do.
I am also obese and have always had difficulty losing weight and keeping it off. I completely agree with you. It is not only awkward, but also painful on your joints. I also have flat feet, so the extra weight adds pain to my feet. In the past, I've done exercise classes at a pool. Check around your area. There might be one at a local college or gym. It's called Aquatic Fitness. The pool reduces the pressure from your joints, and the water act as resistance. So the faster you move, the harder it is and the more calories you burn. You burn a lot of calories, while staying cool.
I just started this running program on my phone. It's based on the Couch to 5K program. The app is called Run Double. It's a 9 week program that builds your endurance. It starts out by running 60 sec intervals and then progressing to long time intervals and distances. You have the option of repeating the workout if you feel you are not ready for the next one. I'm on week 6 and I feel really awesome. It's 3 times a week, and really progresses slowly.
Also, definitely listen to your body. I once used a personal trainer, who had me do a lot of strenuous exercises. I ended up hurting my knee, and had to completely stop working out until it healed. It was a real bummer. Exercising a couple of times a week may not seem like much, but it actually really helpful. I used to workout 5xs a week thinking that was the only way to see results. I only ended up burning out within a few months.
I hope this is helpful. Keep it up!
I love the Run Double app! I started with couch to 5K years ago and have since used the Run Double app and use RunKeeper lots. Good luck! You never know what it will lead too. I've run I think 6 half marathons now and I'm running my first full in November! EEEK! 0 -
swimming seems like an awesome idea!
I would say just start walking! Find a walking buddy and just walk and walk and walk! I live next to a pond with a cement trail around it and there is a woman who literally walks all day. I see her out there every time I pass by. Now, it may not be possible to walk all day because well life gets in the way lol but find someone to talk to and start off by doing a ten minute walk. then everyday try to add 5 minutes to your walk. if you keep up that pattern you will end up with over an hour within two weeks! try to carve out the time
then when you're comfortable you can start jogging. Take a few minutes out of your walking time and just try to jog even if its for two minutes. the more you do it, the easier it will get and the longer you can go. even if you have to jog for a minute, walk til you feel better then jog again, it will really help if you stick to it!
Also, if you have a treadmill, walk on it ALL the time! put your TV in front of the treadmill and instead of sitting and watching TV, you can walk (it can be slow!) and enjoy your favorite shows.
good luck i hope this was helpful 0 -
I started at 310 lb and most of my exercise was walking and a recumbent bike. Now I also swim and do aquatic aerobics. I'm going to add rowing and elliptical in the next week or so.
Like you I was not comfortable doing anything in public. Leslie Sansone DVDs are a great in home walking system. Wonderful for hiding inside or rainy days. Many of her DVDs include a stretchy band or light hand weights to add a little resistance training. Use them or not.
Kelly Bliss (kellybliss.com) is an instructor who focuses on the obese. She has a series of DVDs including chair aerobics, stretching, and various levels of low impact aerobics. Kelly is plus sized and she usually has someone very large doing modifications. I still use them because she is very good at coming up with moves that do not hurt, but her videos can get my heart pumping.0 -
Don't have access to a pool? Go to the local Y or join a club.
Just do something.
Walking for 30 minutes a day is a good start, you're 19 years old you should be putting in more than 30 minutes a day. When you get started you'll tire quickly but that will pass, hell I'm 51 and started at about 330lbs and I'm down about 50lbs and I try to do an hour of cardio a day (treadmill/stationary bike/stepper etc) and 3-4 days a week I add weights to that. Just start moving, it doesn't matter if you're walking peddling swimming stretching jumping or whatever else you might want to do, just make it happen!
You need to start counting calories and determining what you're REALLY eating not what you think you're eating. Once you start logging calories and exercise most everything else will start to fall into place.0 -
Hmm, I started last year at over 300 lbs (and over 40 yo) with no exercise experience, but now I workout for an hour a day 6X a week, plus walking.
When I started I focused on being gentle to myself. So I started with just stretching and "warm up" exercises only, probably less than 10 minutes a day. Pretty quickly got the hang of that and gradually added more minutes and actual workouts, though focussing on low-impact ones. Modified anything that my body wouldn't do or that hurt, but TRIED everything. Always gave new things a chance.
If you go to FitnessBlender.com you can stream lots of free workout videos. They seem to cater more to people who workout regularly (definitely not customized for the obese!), but their site rates every workout from easy 1 to crazy hard 5 and they are pretty good about talking through how to do things properly. The easiest workouts at "1" are just stretching only. There are plenty of "2" workouts though that actually do move you around and are pretty challenging when you're new to exercise and obese.
Start there, and be gentle and forgiving with your body, but also stay determined and don't give up; 90% of success is just showing up. You'll get used to it faster than you might think!
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing the info about FitnessBlender.com. I've found that variety is good for me, but I don't want to buy tons of workout DVDs. This site looks perfect for some activities I can do at home.
Also wanted to add for the OP another vote for walking. It is free, and all you need to do it is a decent pair of tennis shoes. I'm on the charts as obese as well, and I've spent the past three weeks just doing some walking. Some days I can get in only a 15 minute walk, other days a 45 minute walk. But it has already helped me to shed a few pounds.0 -
Honey...there are so many things that obese people can't do as well as others. We learn to modify, move differently, or go without. I applaud you for asking such a question and I applaud everyone for not judging! I absolutely adore this group of people. The best thing I have ever done for myself when I was so big I couldn't do anything else was walk. I would walk and walk and walk some more. Even if it was a minute longer than the day before I would count that as a huge gain....it wasn't a loss.
Just keep plugging and remember not all are cut from the same pattern. Some obese people can jump right in to walking an hour on the treadmill and whatever else and some have to delicately move themselves into it. Whatever you do...just don't stop moving at all.0 -
I started out at 282 lbs doing Jillian Michaels videos like 30 Day Shred and Body Revolution (repeating workouts 1 and 2 for a very long time before going on to 3 and 4). I'm still obese and have been doing CrossFit for a few months now. I went hard and pushed myself and still do. Make sure you are challenging yourself and progressing in some way, go further or faster, increase weight depending on what you're doing.0
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I started at 319 lbs walking (treadmill & outside) and working out with Leslie Sansone dvds 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Keep in mind that exercise does not end with workouts. Just wearing a pedometer motivated me to move more. When you go to the store, park far out and take a few laps around the store before you do your shopping. With one of the big box stores like Walmart or Home Depot you can easily get at least a ½+ mile walk in. Best of luck to you!0
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Leslie Sansone walking DVDS are great for beginners and heavier people. She is low impact and as you get stronger you do more of the workout without even realizing it. Pool excercise is also a good idea because its not as hard on your joints! Good luck on your journey. 0
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From what I gather from everything everyone has been saying is that I should walk more and swim if I am able to. Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of a pool.
Are you comfortable with finding a gym or local YMCA? The YMCA near me has a pool, and I believe they did classes there as well.
I am really uncomfortable working out in front of people at this point in time. Once I feel more at ease, I will start to go to the gym at my university since it's included in my tuition/fees.
It also has classes, like Zumba and what have you.
Which reminds me: is Zumba hard on the joints? I've heard that it is a lot of dancing and movement, which doesn't bother me as much as crawling around on the ground or whatever.0 -
leslie sansone 1 mile for 15 days, then increase to her 2 mile walk, they are free on you all the way to her five mile walk, also look on you tube for workouts for people with back problems.0
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If you don't have a pool, then walking is probably your best option. Don't go nuts with it; start with a block or two and work up so you don't end up with plantar fasciitis or other foot or knee problems.From what I gather from everything everyone has been saying is that I should walk more and swim if I am able to. Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of a pool.
And don't forget strength training. Again, start with something you can do and work up. If you can't do one push up, do a half. Get on your knees with your back straight as possible and your arms straight and lower yourself to the floor with your arms. Do that every day and then work up to several half push ups. As you build strength and lose weight, try to do a full push up starting from the floor and then try to increase that by one every week or two (or three or four...whatever it takes).0 -
Echoing the comment about Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home videos! You can find her on Youtube, and her DVDs are rarely more than 12 dollars, if that much!! Trust me, as a big girl, they're great!0
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Walking is great, like others have said. You can always modify normal moves to do at home. Instead of jumping jacks, do half-jacks where you step an alternating foot out to the side. Do lunges. You're in control of how extreme you go. If it's just a little lunge, that's cool. Same thing for squats. Push-ups. Not only can you do half-pushups on your knees but you can do semi-standing push-ups on a counter top or a table (make sure the table is against a wall or something so it stays put).0
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I find yoga to be something I can do without pain. I am quite large in the belly, so I can modify the pose so that I can do it without pain. Google "Yoga for large people" you should get some good hits with that! God Bless!0
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I was morbidly obese when I started the Couch25K program this past January. I graduated from the 5K app last week and started the 10K app yesterday. I'm in my mid-30s, have back, knee, and other health issues, but have still been able to run thanks to good form and great running shoes.0
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lift weights
If your goal is to lose fat and maintain muscle mass in the process then this is the way to go. It is also going to be much better on your joints, and far more effective, than jumping around to some exercise video.0 -
When you are ready to move on to more than walking, a recumbent stationary bike is fabulous when you have back problems. I ride mine almost daily. Light hand weights (or use 2 cans, 2 jugs, 2 bottles etc) are good for upper body strengthening. I have an exercise ball and video which are fun. Stretch bands are inexpensive and easily adjustable to your fitness level too.
Truly, just move more than you currently are in whatever manner is comfortable to you. Push yourself to go a minute longer, a few feet further or just a tiny bit faster each week. Slow and steady progress is all you're looking for.0 -
Lots of great suggestions so far! Our local hospital has made a series of exercise videos designed with larger people in mind. The 20 minute warm-up got me started on my path to a healthier me and I now do hour long workouts full tilt. I had to get willing to be completely soaked with sweat and not be worried about what others thought. You can check the videos out here: http://www.wcgh.org/community-classes/exercise/exercise-videos/0
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