People who are going through the problem of an uncontrolled weight gain can only feel the discomfort, physical as well as mental. They feel shy to move out of their "shell" and they fear that they would not be able to carry on with a fitness program for a long time. But we can help those individuals who are going through the problem of obesity. We can offer them the maximum level of comfort by guiding them on their workouts. It should be the responsibility of every gym member and the trainer to see that the overweight persons are comfortably fitted into the atmosphere of the gym. The trainer should also focus on the health conditions of the obese people while they are initiating an exercise regimen. This is how overweight individuals can start off with a fitness program:
1. Seek Support
Your family members, friends, doctor and trainer can help you come out of your health and mental issues. If you are planning to start with a fitness program, then you should let your doctor know about it. He needs to examine your health conditions closely since you might be suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and shortness of breath. While enrolling in a gym, inform about your health conditions to your trainer. It is best to consult a trainer who is experienced in dealing with obese persons. You can also get yourself enrolled in a wellness center which is affiliated to a hospital. In these places, you can get the best workout options based on your health conditions. These are the places where you can opt for the low-impact classes like chair or water aerobics.
2. Try to Overcome Your Mental Barriers
People with obesity often find it difficult to adjust with any other normal guy. We all have fear of social rejections and this fear is a bit more intensified in overweight individuals. Some of the overweight individuals not only feel shy on their body shape, but they also show too much of concern on injuries and pains which might result during or after a workout. If you are overweight and if these factors are keeping you away from fitness programs then you should know that this would not be the picture tomorrow. For a better tomorrow, you have to come out of your mental convictions. Today's openness and courage would play their part tomorrow!
3. Get Ready with Your Accessories
- You should choose clothing which would support your body movements. Chafing is common in the leg and groin area. So wearing shorts with a loose T-shirt is recommended.
- You should carefully choose your exercise shoes. Support plays an important part in your exercises and let the store staff make some recommendations for you.
- You should keep on monitoring your weight, diet and exercises. Many smartphones are equipped with these applications and there are online tracking systems as well. You can also wear a pedometer. It can be a powerful reminder that every step counts, and soon you will be finding ways to add steps to your day.
4. Begin with "Tiny Steps"
- If you are an overweight individual, you do not have to make a start by running several miles! Your aim is not to become the "Biggest Loser". Rather, take a few steps to cover a small distance in your neighborhood daily. Gradually increase the time so that you can walk 30 minutes comfortably three or four times a week. If you don't have full 30 minutes to walk, then break the 30 minutes down into several shorter walks, for example, three 10-minute walking sessions. The key is to be consistent.
- After you feel that you are gradually getting habituated with your daily walking activity, consider joining a gym. It is not essential to workout for 6 days a week. Rather, you should focus on visiting the gym three times a week at the initial stage. Later as your fitness level increases, you can increase the number of your weekly workout sessions to five.
- You cannot think of running immediately after you start off with a fitness plan. This is because your heavy weight is already putting a lot of pressure on your joints and running might cause your knee joints to suffer injuries. Just opt for a brisk walk followed by a few minutes of light jogging on soft grasses.
- Speed is not an essential requirement in your walking sessions. You can be an average walker, but you should be able to cover the targeted distance.
- Both strength training and cardio exercises should be part of your workout session with more focus on cardio in the beginning. Cardio exercises like walking, elliptical, stationary bike and water aerobics will help you lose weight, whereas strength training will add strength to your muscles. When doing strength training without a trainer, use weight machines instead of free weights to reduce your chances of injury.
- Consider working out on a recumbent bike or a recumbent stepper (exercises done lying down) as these provide sufficient support to the back, knees and hip joints.
Just remember that "patience is a virtue" and "Rome was not built in a day". Thus, you need to be highly patient to see noticeable results. And don't compare yourself with other persons. They might be fit enough to start off quickly with high-impact exercises. But you need to wait for some time before your trainer permits you to do so. Once you show the courage to get enrolled in a gym, you come on the way to become the "Biggest Winner'.
A nice motivating article.