Overweight but need to exercise?!
Question: Overweight but need to exercise!?
Hi! How would you approach a good weight management plan if you know that you are seriously obese regarding exercise!? I know I need to lose at least 40kgs but my knees are pretty well stuffed!. Would you reccommend light walking or swimming and if so can you reccommend some guidelines to time and distance etc!. I'm confident that I could handle walking!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
First of all, congrats on realizing that exercise is key!. Many people think they should just cut calories but don't put the exercise portion into play, and it is also very important!.
You are a good start, you understand that walking and swimming are good ways to kickstart an exercise plan!. Why are these so great!? Because they are easy on your joints!. Having some extra weight puts alot of pressure on your knees and trying to do alot of pounding exercises will not only give you pain but also may turn you off to exercise!.
Here are some of my suggestions:
Walking: make sure you have new supportive shoes and if you have a decent pedometer, use it!. It will help give you an idea as to how many steps you are taking!.
Start off on supportive surfaces, grass, tracks, etc if you can!. Treadmills can be boring and roads can be too hard of a surface if you aren't used to walking on them!. Though changes of scenery can be helpful!. Set a goal for each week, maybe you only can walk a mile a day!? But so what, that's 7 miles more a week than you have been doing!. Also bring music or a friend/pet to make the workout go by faster or for more fun!. I wouldn't increase your exercise until you've done it for a week and evaluated how you felt!. With most running athletes the suggestion is no more than a 10% increase in mileage a week!. So if you did 5 miles week one, then next week you should not be doing more than 6 (this would be 20% but since you are just walking it should be okay--but follow your body and it's cues!. If you feel good, go for the increase) Also drink more water, since you are exercising more now!.
As for the pool, as long as you are a good swimmer, it is a great option!. You aren't putting the weight bearing stress on your joints, which can help increase your cardio without the overuse injuries to the lower legs!. Try just walking in the water too, you'd be suprised how effective that will be with the resistance of the water!. Same idea, set a goal, you want to swim/walk X amount of laps this week, then maybe add 5-10 minutes of walking in the shallow end after each workout!. Alternate your pool work outs with walking so you don't get bored!.
Also, the other thing I would reccomend is weight training!. Lifting weights won't do much for you calorie wise inititally, but over time it will help increase your muscle mass, which will help increase your metabolism!. And you will feel stronger and start to become toned over time!. Keep in mind this is a slower process! Maybe try to do weights 1-2x a week, focus on large muscle groups, hamstrings, quads, biceps, triceps, upper back (lats, deltoids, traps), lower back/abs(core exercises)!. If you belong to a gym, most have machine's so you don't have to worry about researching all the exercises you should start doing with free weights!.
Make a plan to go to walking a specific day(s) of the week, then do this for swimming and weight lifting!. If you have a set plan and put it on your calander, it's much easier to adhere to!.
Good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
You are a good start, you understand that walking and swimming are good ways to kickstart an exercise plan!. Why are these so great!? Because they are easy on your joints!. Having some extra weight puts alot of pressure on your knees and trying to do alot of pounding exercises will not only give you pain but also may turn you off to exercise!.
Here are some of my suggestions:
Walking: make sure you have new supportive shoes and if you have a decent pedometer, use it!. It will help give you an idea as to how many steps you are taking!.
Start off on supportive surfaces, grass, tracks, etc if you can!. Treadmills can be boring and roads can be too hard of a surface if you aren't used to walking on them!. Though changes of scenery can be helpful!. Set a goal for each week, maybe you only can walk a mile a day!? But so what, that's 7 miles more a week than you have been doing!. Also bring music or a friend/pet to make the workout go by faster or for more fun!. I wouldn't increase your exercise until you've done it for a week and evaluated how you felt!. With most running athletes the suggestion is no more than a 10% increase in mileage a week!. So if you did 5 miles week one, then next week you should not be doing more than 6 (this would be 20% but since you are just walking it should be okay--but follow your body and it's cues!. If you feel good, go for the increase) Also drink more water, since you are exercising more now!.
As for the pool, as long as you are a good swimmer, it is a great option!. You aren't putting the weight bearing stress on your joints, which can help increase your cardio without the overuse injuries to the lower legs!. Try just walking in the water too, you'd be suprised how effective that will be with the resistance of the water!. Same idea, set a goal, you want to swim/walk X amount of laps this week, then maybe add 5-10 minutes of walking in the shallow end after each workout!. Alternate your pool work outs with walking so you don't get bored!.
Also, the other thing I would reccomend is weight training!. Lifting weights won't do much for you calorie wise inititally, but over time it will help increase your muscle mass, which will help increase your metabolism!. And you will feel stronger and start to become toned over time!. Keep in mind this is a slower process! Maybe try to do weights 1-2x a week, focus on large muscle groups, hamstrings, quads, biceps, triceps, upper back (lats, deltoids, traps), lower back/abs(core exercises)!. If you belong to a gym, most have machine's so you don't have to worry about researching all the exercises you should start doing with free weights!.
Make a plan to go to walking a specific day(s) of the week, then do this for swimming and weight lifting!. If you have a set plan and put it on your calander, it's much easier to adhere to!.
Good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
Is there anyway you could go in and get some advice from a nutritionalist and a physical trainer!? I would definitely invest in that if possible!. However, start by meal planning!. Decide what you think you need to eat each day the night before and stick to your plan!. As for the exercising, you need to start off with light exercise and work your way up to heavier exercises eventually!. For example if you can handle walking, walk as far as you can twice daily!. I would think that a good amount of time to walk would be at least 30 minutes twice daily!. Go for a walk when you first get up and then sometime again in the evening!. Try to walk as fast as you can so that you can get the maximum benefits out of it!. You should keep track of your heart rate and try to increase your maximum heart rate as you progress in working out!. To calculate your target heart rate zone go to http://www!.changingshape!.com/resources/c!.!.!.
The key to getting back in shape is in your mind- you have to be mentally ready to take on this task!. You can do it! Keep strong! So!.!.!.
1!. Make up your mind to change and don't let down
2!. Eat properly- you really are what you eat!.
3!. Exercise- your way to burn off part of what you eat!.
also- exercising is not an excuse to eat more when you are trying to lose weight!.
Okay those are few pointers- good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
The key to getting back in shape is in your mind- you have to be mentally ready to take on this task!. You can do it! Keep strong! So!.!.!.
1!. Make up your mind to change and don't let down
2!. Eat properly- you really are what you eat!.
3!. Exercise- your way to burn off part of what you eat!.
also- exercising is not an excuse to eat more when you are trying to lose weight!.
Okay those are few pointers- good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
I would definitely recommend swimming!. Try some light water aerobics!. If you stick to it for about 30 minutes 3 times a week, you should start seeing results in no time!. Walking could also be substituted, but water aerobics burns many more calories, and if your goal is weight loss, it will definitely help you to lose more than walking!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
here some useful ideas
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