Special Concerns for Overweight and Obese Exercisers

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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 recommendation 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 recommend 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 conscious 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 continue living their present lives. They will do everything it takes to reach their health and fitness goals.

~HealthCrazed.com

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