Special Concenrs for Overweight and Obese Exercisers
By Lanny
Many individuals exercise to lose weight, but the very overweight and
obese have special concerns. Their whole metabolic and hormonal systems
are different than normal or moderately overweight people. Because of
their extra weight, they are often less coordinated and prone to injury
and athritis.
Many chronic and acute illnesses are associated with obesity,
making it imperative individuals be fully screened by their physician
before beginning an exercise program. Once you have a physician's
clearance you should work only with a fitness professional who has
certification in training with the obese and overweight.
When it comes to program design, traditional strength training and
cardivascular conditioning programs aren't always the best indicators
for success. This is because traditional motivators rarely work with
this population. The key is to find activities each individual enjoys
and do not lead to pain or discomfort.
Also, the US Surgeon General's recommedation of 30 minutes or more
of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week doesn't apply to
the overweight or obese. Many of these individual's are happy to walk
out to their mail box or make it up a flight of stairs without being
winded.
Low intensity and moderate duration is best for this special
population. Using ratings of perceived exertion (choosing a number on a
scale of 6-20 which represents how hard you feel you are working)
instead of taking heart rates is a more accurate judge of intensity.
Ten to fifteen minutes at a low intensity works well for many
overweight clients.
Often specialized equipment is needed. For example, it may be
necessary to build a special seat for an obese person performing
cycling. If the person has arthritis, their chosen equipment and
activity should protect the joints. Elliptical crosstrainers, recumbent
bikes and recumbent steppers are popular among the severely overweight.
Water based activities are excellent for the severely overweight
and those with arthritis. It reduces the weight bearing effects of
dryland training. Some overweight individuals, however, do not feel
comfortable wearing a bathing suit in public.
Some experts recommened overweight people perform some other sort
of resistance training for 10-15 minutes, three days a week.
Weightlifting can be difficult because they may not have the
coordination to lift free weights and may not fit into the machines. A
better choice would be to use lighter hand held weights or elastic
bands. Resistance training has been shown to increase muscle mass,
decrease fat mass and improve self esteem.
Despite our best trainer's efforts, adherence among obese and
overweight clients is low. For some, movement itself is new and
intimidating. Many are self conscience and don't want to be seen
working out for fear of being ridiculed. Luckily, there are always
those clients who will stick to their routine because they don't want
to continuing living their present lives. They will do everything it
takes to reach their health and fitness goals.
About the Author
Dr. Lanny Schaffer is an Exercise Physiologist and The President of The
International Fitness Academy. For more savvy fitness ideas go to http://www.aerobics-exercise-coach-.com
