What to do?

[cindygenit]

My partner is 40 lbs overweight and wants to lose the weight. He wants to exercise with me but yoga is physically too challenging on his knees (he had knee surgery and now wears a knee support everyday).

The problem is that he wants me to go to the gym with him to work out. I despise the gym. I prefer something like Yoga because is it low impact.

Can someone suggest other workouts that we can BOTH do?

 

[marcy]

Walk. I have horrid knees and my orthopedic surgeon told me walking was the easiest form of exercise for me. Pretty much everything else I''ve tried just made my knees worse. The more weight I lost the more I could walk and the better my knees felt. Good luck.

 

[cindygenit]

Thanks marcyc. He walks by himself sometimes when he is home alone.

He carries almost all of his excess weight in his stomach so i should probably encourage him to do sit ups too??

Is there any other forms of exercise that won''t hurt or aggravate his knee?

 

[stone-cold11]

Swim?

 

[marcy]

Setups can bother the knees as well maybe see how he does with them. Straight leg lifts work with strap on ankle weights and that pulls on your stomach. That would also help strengthen his knees. For my knees they had me start with 1 pound weights and adding a pound at a time working up to 10 pounds. You do 10 reps (10 sec each, rest 5 sec) on each leg and repeat 4 times. Again working up to that many.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/5/2009 1:20:45 AM
Author: cindygenit
Thanks marcyc. He walks by himself sometimes when he is home alone.


He carries almost all of his excess weight in his stomach so i should probably encourage him to do sit ups too??


Is there any other forms of exercise that won''t hurt or aggravate his knee?

Situps won''t really do much if you have a layer of fat over your abs except strengthen the muscles underneath. This is of course important but don''t think that he''s going to lose weight in his stomach by doing situps.

I also was going to suggest swimming. And biking too is low impact and something you could do together!

 

[Haven]

Walking and swimming sound like your best bets.

The great thing is that once he loses some of that weight he will probably feel a difference in his knees, so then he''ll be able to do yoga with you.

 

[tap02150]

Water walking, water aerobic classes (SUPER FUN), swimming.

Walking, hiking (if his knees are up for it), biking (great for building the muscles around the knee; help support them!)

 

[LamborghiniGirl]

Walking outside or on a treadmill at a moderate incline does wonders. I am not an expert, but from what I understand, everyone has a 6-pack in their tummies, we just can''t see them as the muscles aren''t being exercised to grow bigger. The only way to see them is to lose all the belly fat and then do the sit-ups or whatever workout you are doing for your stomach (doesn''t have to be sit-ups).

Sit-ups definitely won''t get rid of the excess belly, cardio and diet will though.

Also-- I am not 40 lbs overweight, but I hate running or anything else with impact like that (even walking downhill) because it makes my knees hurt pretty badly. I''ve found that like I said above, walking at an incline on the treadmill works really well and doesn''t hurt my knees. That would be at the gym though, and I guess he would do alone.

What about getting a Wii? Then you can play together and it really wouldn''t be high impact-- just standing, while hitting a ball or punching or whatever.

 

[cindygenit]

Thank you for all your suggestions. It is really appreciated.

I think our best bet is probably swimming, water walking, and the leg lifts that marcyc suggested!!!

 

[cindygenit]

Date: 10/5/2009 8:01:42 PM
Author: LamborghiniGirl
Walking outside or on a treadmill at a moderate incline does wonders. I am not an expert, but from what I understand, everyone has a 6-pack in their tummies, we just can''t see them as the muscles aren''t being exercised to grow bigger. The only way to see them is to lose all the belly fat and then do the sit-ups or whatever workout you are doing for your stomach (doesn''t have to be sit-ups).

Sit-ups definitely won''t get rid of the excess belly, cardio and diet will though.

Also-- I am not 40 lbs overweight, but I hate running or anything else with impact like that (even walking downhill) because it makes my knees hurt pretty badly. I''ve found that like I said above, walking at an incline on the treadmill works really well and doesn''t hurt my knees. That would be at the gym though, and I guess he would do alone.

What about getting a Wii? Then you can play together and it really wouldn''t be high impact-- just standing, while hitting a ball or punching or whatever.

We are getting a Wii Fit soon!!! YAY

 

[tap02150]

As a physical educator, I have used the Wii Fitness myself, and in the classroom. I believe that it is better than nothing, and it definitely has some great exercises; but you must adhere and use regularly or it will become obsolete . There is no substitute for real exercise. And yes, Lamborginigirl: Doing ab workouts will not remove the fat from that area. There is no possible way to direct where you lose weight from. You must diet and exercise properly, this will help reduce body fat percentage. And then ab work outs will help to define those abdominal muscles which are so crucial to reducing back pain/injuries as we age.

Walking uphill, doing anything incline can really amp up your heart rate and produce a cardio workout that also strengthens your hamstrings and other parts of the legs. This exercise will increase heart rate without having to run and put pressure on the knees.

Anything else, and im here to help.

-Ted

 

[cindygenit]

Date: 10/5/2009 10:25:52 PM
Author: tap02150
As a physical educator, I have used the Wii Fitness myself, and in the classroom. I believe that it is better than nothing, and it definitely has some great exercises; but you must adhere and use regularly or it will become obsolete . There is no substitute for real exercise. And yes, Lamborginigirl: Doing ab workouts will not remove the fat from that area. There is no possible way to direct where you lose weight from. You must diet and exercise properly, this will help reduce body fat percentage. And then ab work outs will help to define those abdominal muscles which are so crucial to reducing back pain/injuries as we age.

Walking uphill, doing anything incline can really amp up your heart rate and produce a cardio workout that also strengthens your hamstrings and other parts of the legs. This exercise will increase heart rate without having to run and put pressure on the knees.

Anything else, and im here to help.

-Ted

Duly noted!

 

[tlh]

long walks together! (you''ll get out of the house, and out of the fridge/pantry!)

and SWIMMING!

or if you go to the gym, get on elyptical/stationary bike/treadmill - and workout next to each other so you can each go at your own challenging pace!

 

[cindygenit]

SDL, I used to wake up every Saturday morning at 7.30 am and went for a 1 hr walk along the river!!! It was my favourite way to start the weekend

Unfortunately, Fi is a baker/pastrychef and 7 am is when he finishes work on Sat mornings and he can''t ever come with me, he would be too tired!!!

He tells me he goes for a walk everyday now, even if it is only for 20 minutes! I''m really really happy to see him making an effort.

 

[marcy]

Date: 10/7/2009 9:13:56 PM
Author: cindygenit

He tells me he goes for a walk everyday now, even if it is only for 20 minutes! I''m really really happy to see him making an effort.

Hi Cindygenit, every little bit helps. Hopefully he will start feeling better and make more of an effort.

 

[cindygenit]

He lost 5 pounds already!!! And he doesn''t even go to the gym or work out.... he just walks and improved his eating habits...

And it seems that my cooking doesn''t like him LOL He says I use too much spice... oh well

Why is it always that much easier for guys? So unfair!

 

[stone-cold11]

We have higher metabolic rates. Also means we will be the first to die of starvation.