Questions about Weight Training

At almost 7 mos post-op, I am 16 lbs from my goal weight.  I am 54 yrs old and have sagging skin on my upper arms and excess flab on my lower abdomen.  I have been walking 30 min/day and going to Curves 3 times/week since surgery but today joined a regular health club because Curves is no longer challenging enough.  My plan is to do cardio and weight training on alternate days.  I got an introduction to the weight machine circuit today that consisted of maybe 8 machines, doing 1 set of 15 repetitions with the least amount of weight, on each machine.   I know that everybody responds differently to weight training, but can anybody give me an idea of how long it might take to see results from it? Also, is there a minimum amount of time I should spend doing the weight training per day?  15 min?  30 min?  what? Finally, is it really worth it to hire a personal trainer?  My health club charges $25/hr for this service and I have heard of people paying $80/hr.  The guy who signed me up at the club said the trainer just "encourages" you by "getting in your face".  I had hoped that a personal trainer would be able to design an exercise program tailored to my needs, not just bully me into compliance. thanks, Jean

Hi Jean.   You can see results within a few weeks but there's only so much you can do for sagging skin.  Building muscle tone WILL help but you have to be realistic with your expectations.   I have loose skin around my belly and butt that I know that no matter weight training / running / biking / swimming I do nothing will make it snap back into place short of plastics.

If you have never lifted weights hiring a personal trainer for at least a few sessions will help you establish a proper lifting techniques and also setup a training plan.   Sure, there are some that will 'get in your face' but they are few and far between.  The personal trainer is there to HELP you establish a base and to help you do the exercises right so you don't end up getting hurt.   $25 is a pretty good rate too.   I'm getting my personal trainer certification in a month or so and the gym I will train at starts me out at $65 hour as a 'new' trainer.

Best of luck.

Chad

Chad, Thanks for the advice.  If weight training does even a fraction for me of what it's done for you, I'll be a happy camper! Jean

OK, I'm probably going to get chewed for this but here is my personal take on your weight training. I agree with Chad about a $25 a hr trainer to get started if you need to learn proper form for doing weight training moving the weight properly is essential to reaping the desired results. I agree with Chad also on losse skin happens to WLS patient and usually the older we are, the less resilient/elsatic our skin is to recover short of Plastics. Now the dicey, my experience/opinion part.  Keeping in mind, everybidy has to start somewhere and I admire your success and moving up to a greater challenge.  Way to go.  But,...you need to get to a MINIMUM of 30 minutes to see real gains.  You also need to do more than 1 set of reps.  With whatever weight you are doing, do a set, rest 30 sec or so, and do another set.  A third set is desireable and if you can get all the reps in (reach failure) you have pushed the muscle to exhaustion and had a good workout on that exercise.  If you can do 3 sets with the same weight, it time to add a little weight and that is progress you will see and feel.  I'd also recommend a warmup on the treadmill, bike, stairs, or ellipitical for maybe 5-10 (building to 10-20) miutes before the weight training and maybe again after for build to that, or hit the pool if ones available to cool off and get a little cardio.  You don't have to kill yourself but youhave to get to fatiuge and push the envelope a little to get the body to recognize you expect more. It will respond if you continue. Don't foget to keep taking your vitamins, protein and water all the while or you will run out of gas with your increased physical exertion. You are setting a good example for a successful recovery.  You will be pleased with your results as you stick with it.  Remeber the best results take some time but last longer.  NO magic, eat right and exerise with your new digestive system and you will change your lifestyle which will change your appearance and attitude.  It is such an amzing journey.  I am 19 months post-op and still being amazed. Joe 

Joe, Thanks for the great advice! Jean

Hi, Jean.  Kudos to you for stepping up your exercise.  You've gotten some great suggestions from the other posters, so I won't duplicate what they've said.  I did, however, think you may find some general information about strength training helpful, so here's a couple links to get you started: http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/a/weight101.ht m http://weighttraining.about.com/od/beginningweighttraining/a /atoz.htm http://weighttraining.about.com/od/weighttrainingforhealth/q t/gym_health.htm

I hope some of this information is helpful - good luck on your continuing journey.

Kellie

Kellie, Thanks so much! Jean

Hey Jean, Welcome to the club. Generally, I agree with most of what Chad and Joe said. I just have a few different opinions. I'm a believer in beginners started light and easy, with 1 set of a group of full body exercises and then adding sets and weight over a few weeks to make it more challenging. I never saw the purpose of beating a beginner into the ground the first workout because you usually just end up sore and quit. If you gradually add to the program over time, you won't be as sore. 12 to 15 reps is a good rep range for beginners because you learn by repetition, more reps means you get to practice the exercise form more and the higher reps keeps the weights light so you can concentrate on form and not worry about breaking a world record or your back. They are saying the people that the most successful maintaining weight loss long term are the ones that exercise in some way at least 90 minutes a day. Best thing I ever did for weight loss was just get up and walk for an hour every day before breakfast. That's wasn't even a workout.  Good luck Earl