Remaking myself-stretch band advice, please!

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LeeH31
LeeH31 Posts: 312 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey y'all! I am a morbidly obese upper-middle aged ;) lady. I have struggled with weight since I got married (39 years ago). My problem is that I'm a good cook/baker and I like to eat! Angina has slapped me upside the head and got me working on not dying. So. I have begun a lower carb diet and am losing weight at a reasonable speed. I have also begun walking(2 miles 4x/wk) and cycling(2 miles 3x/week) and am doing well with that.

I have also started doing the Launchpad exercise series(3x/week) for beginning strength training. I am going into level 3. The question I have is, do you find that one brand of stretch bands is better than others? I would really like to add resistance to my workouts, but leery of buying bands touted by the website Launchpad is on. They may be great bands, but I'd like some opinions from experienced people.

Also, did anyone start with seated exercises and progress amazingly? I like inspiring stories to build my motivation. :) I'd really love to go to a gym and have a personal trainer, alas, not available near me in any reasonable drive time.

I have been pretty pleased with how well my body is responding to exercise. I haven't done anything like this for over 20 years (then it was walking 15-minute miles, 4 miles a day plus physical work). Looking forward to getting some muscles under my "protective layer", and getting rid of that layer, too!


Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    If you're talking about their bands a handle at each end, they're probably fine, since they have metal connections, not plastic. But you can't go wrong with Bodylastics or Black Mountain.

    It's difficult to train legs properly with bands, so eventually consider getting a pair of adjustable dumbbells.

    Make sure you have a doctor's approval to do strength training. :+1:
  • LeeH31
    LeeH31 Posts: 312 Member
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    Cherimoose, thanks for the advice. Doc sez no problem with strength training as long as I remember 2 things. Because I have aortic stenosis with an elongated aortic arch, and a bicuspid aortic valve my heart function is only 40%. Therefore, I must not do any lifting that causes me to hold my breath, and I should not try power lifting, dead lifts, etc. He said I am good for lighter weights and work on increasing reps before adding more weight. If at any time I feel extreme rapid heart beat I MUST STOP. He thinks resistance bands are a good idea for me.

    So, all that being said, I am currently using 1# soup cans for weight :D . Don't think I'll be shifting to milk jugs any time soon! Makes me cry when I think back to my youth, I could sling 80# hay bales with the big boys. Sigh. Now I will be happy if I can just not be so weak. I have begun doing wall pushups, get spaghetti arms after 15 reps :'( .

    Wonder where I'll be a year from now?
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Good for you for getting started. Make some notes of what you’re doing now andvtrack your progress regularly. You’ll be amazed st where you are in a year when you are CONSISTENT!💪🏻
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
    edited October 2019
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    LeeH31 wrote: »
    Cherimoose, thanks for the advice. Doc sez no problem with strength training as long as I remember 2 things. Because I have aortic stenosis with an elongated aortic arch, and a bicuspid aortic valve my heart function is only 40%. Therefore, I must not do any lifting that causes me to hold my breath, and I should not try power lifting, dead lifts, etc. He said I am good for lighter weights and work on increasing reps before adding more weight. If at any time I feel extreme rapid heart beat I MUST STOP. He thinks resistance bands are a good idea for me.

    So, all that being said, I am currently using 1# soup cans for weight :D . Don't think I'll be shifting to milk jugs any time soon! Makes me cry when I think back to my youth, I could sling 80# hay bales with the big boys. Sigh. Now I will be happy if I can just not be so weak. I have begun doing wall pushups, get spaghetti arms after 15 reps :'( .

    Wonder where I'll be a year from now?

    Stronger! ;)

    You're doing great so far; if you keep approaching it this way, progress is inevitable. :flowerforyou:

    (I'm 63, my transition to being active started earlier, but this idea of gradual, managebly-increasing challenge is really productive in my experience. Go, you!)

    ETA: Yeah, I didn't answer your original question. I don't use bands much, so don't know - apologies. But I like your attitude!
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Lee these are similar to the ones that I have. My advice is to get a set with multiple bands. You will quickly outgrow the lightest one. Make sure that it comes with a door anchor...I use mine all the time. Ankle straps are nice but I don't use mine that often...I hate lower body workouts.

    https://www.amazon.com/Black-Mountain-Products-Resistance-Exercise/dp/7245456313/ref=sr_1_48?crid=104FFAU16R4YX&keywords=stretch+bands+with+handles&qid=1569966739&sprefix=stretch+bands+with+ha,aps,174&sr=8-48
  • LeeH31
    LeeH31 Posts: 312 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and advice. I got my bands today, Bodylastics. The set I have has 2 of each strength and are stackable to increase resistance. Annie, isn't it funny, legs can be made stronger with walking or biking, etc, but to really get a great butt...gotta do the work. Of course, I'm so far from that it's ridiculous, and even so, with all the saggy skin I'm sure I'll look like a really fit Shar-pei :D!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    LeeH31 wrote: »
    Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and advice. I got my bands today, Bodylastics. The set I have has 2 of each strength and are stackable to increase resistance. Annie, isn't it funny, legs can be made stronger with walking or biking, etc, but to really get a great butt...gotta do the work. Of course, I'm so far from that it's ridiculous, and even so, with all the saggy skin I'm sure I'll look like a really fit Shar-pei :D!

    Y'know, you might be positively surprised by your long-term results. Give it a chance.

    Loose skin shrinks more slowly than fat drops; mine kept shrinking well into year 2 of maintenance. Genetics is a factor, of course, but I suspect being active helps. (All of the things that help other organs be healthy also help skin be elastic, because skin is an organ: Exercise (both cardio and strength), good nutrition, adequate hydration, avoiding crazy-fast weight loss, etc.).

    If I do a plank, I have a pretty good dangling shar-pei effect going on there :lol: (probably a function of the maybe 5 or so pounds I keep gaining/losing in maintenance, too ;) ). Otherwise, especially when in street clothes, I don't think I look much saggier than women my age who've been at healthier weight long term - new acquaintences are visibly surprised (not just being polite) when I happen to mention that I was obese a few short years back. (And sometimes I get the "you wouldn't know about needing to watch what you eat" line, until I tell them. :lol::lol::lol: .)

    Keep going, and be hopeful. Best wishes! :flowerforyou:

    (Check out some of the threads in the Success Stories area to see before/after pics of various people, not all twenty-somethings; sometimes they even have bathing suit "after" pics. I think most people starting out fear worse results than a lot of people actually have, especially a couple of years in.)
  • LeeH31
    LeeH31 Posts: 312 Member
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    AnnPT77 thanks so much, I appreciate your insight and humor. Humor is how I approach most things that are unpleasant. In the long run, I'm not much worried about how my skin looks, it is what it is. I AM concerned about not dying because of obesity and overworking my heart.

    The saddest part of all this is trying to understand how I went from an active, strong young woman to a fat, weak, old woman! I used to be so proud of my strength...

    Don't know how much of that strength I can regain without over-stressing my heart. I suspect that losing weight and walking/cycling will help my cardio fitness, and that may just enable me to do more strength training. That's what I am hoping for; and my cardiologist is rooting for me as he monitors my heart health.

    The before and after pictures are amazing. I am determined to be there someday in the not too distant future.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 909 Member
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    i love my bodylastics, my favorites of all the bands i tried. but there is one thing i don't like about resistance bands in general.

    when you work out with weights, lifting 10 pounds throughout a motion still weighs 10 pounds. when you work out with resistance bands or spring resistance, the weight changes throughout the motion. that's important to be aware of if you're a go-getter. don't overdo and don't do your motions too fast. stay aware of how hard each rep is, and don't push too hard. you will still gain muscle.
  • LeeH31
    LeeH31 Posts: 312 Member
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    zebasschick
    i love my bodylastics, my favorites of all the bands i tried. but there is one thing i don't like about resistance bands in general.

    when you work out with weights, lifting 10 pounds throughout a motion still weighs 10 pounds. when you work out with resistance bands or spring resistance, the weight changes throughout the motion. that's important to be aware of if you're a go-getter. don't overdo and don't do your motions too fast. stay aware of how hard each rep is, and don't push too hard. you will still gain muscle

    That's the brand I ended up getting. Since I am just beginning to do resistance work, and I am SO unfit, it will be quite awhile before I will outgrow the bands. But WHEN (not if) I get to the point of doing free-weight work, I know it feels much different, and works differently, too. I may have to suck it up and make the hour drive to a gym that offers a personal trainer when I get to that point.

    My biggest gripe with my exercise videos is that they do the reps too fast for me to FEEL the muscle I am trying to target. I usually have to pause the video until I can do the movement correctly and then continue. The Launchpad videos I am using now tells you to squeeze the target muscle during the movement, but they do them so fast there is no way to isolate the squeeze! Anyway, I just do them at my pace, then go to the next one. My biggest challenge is trying not to overdo. I don't want to damage any muscles, tendons, or ligaments, and I know it takes time for them to gain elasticity after being sedentary for so many years.

    Sorry for the novel, but I am EXCITED about exercising again. ;)
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    LeeH31 wrote: »
    My biggest gripe with my exercise videos is that they do the reps too fast for me to FEEL the muscle I am trying to target

    Despite what they say, there's no need to feel the muscles you're working, and squeezing is rarely required too. As long as you have good form, you're automatically working the proper muscles, regardless of whether you feel them. Some exercises use dozens of muscles at one time, so you might not feel individual ones working.. but as long as the movement is challenging, they're working! Just watch yourself in a mirror to check your form, or video yourself.

    That said, if their video is too fast, check if your video player has a speed option.
    LeeH31 wrote: »
    But WHEN (not if) I get to the point of doing free-weight work

    You actually use free-weights now. Any time you lift groceries, your handbag, or other objects, you essentially use free-weights. They make dumbbells as light as a soup can - and some people just lift cans or other household objects, like water jugs. Freeweights are generally safer for beginners, since bands get more difficult as they're stretched, which your body isn't used to. Keep using your bands though, but at some point, consider getting a pair of adjustable dumbbells. :+1:
  • LeeH31
    LeeH31 Posts: 312 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Cherimoose- I do actually use soup cans for some exercises, usually not until the last set of reps when my arms are too tired for the resistance bands. We are still unpacking from our move here; somewhere in a box is a set of light dumbbells, and assorted wrist and ankle weights. I just have to ferret them out!

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