Exercise - what works for some...

On this website, we all share something  in common - fighting the battle against obesity whether it be weight loss or maintaining weight loss after goal weight is achieved.  This is a journey of choice.  LAP-BAND, RNY, VSG and DS are the tools we choose to become healthier, happier, more productive and live longer lives.  After WLS proper nutrition, supplementation and exercise are additional tools we use to achieve our goals. I want to talk a bit about exercise for maximum weight loss and achieving a higher level of physical fitness.  Recently we've seen posts talking about the great results through the exercise strategies HIIT and HIT.  There are countless websites dedicated to both methods, but for the sake of saving some time here are a couple of high-level definitions:

HIT - High Intensity Training is any method of resistance training that emphasizes training with a very high level of effort and performing relatively brief and infrequent workouts, as opposed to performing a higher volume and frequency of workouts with a comparatively low to moderate effort. Arthur Jones, who invented the Nautilus equipment and helped define and popularize high intensity training in the 1970's, often summarized the general philosophy of high intensity training as "...train harder, but train briefer" or "...train harder, but train less often".

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training is cardio performed at such an intense level that your body will spend the rest of the day expending energy to recover from the workout you gave it. This is commonly referred to as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and it means that you consume a great deal more oxygen recovering from the exercise bout than you would have if you'd just done a steady-state workout.  This means that you will be burning up to nine times more fat while sitting on the couch later that night than you would have if you'd spent an hour on the treadmill at a moderate pace.

There's no doubt that both HIT and HIIT are highly effective, but a word of warning...while you may enjoy the results, it's highly likely you WILL NOT enjoy the regimen.  So what's my point?  If you don't enjoy it, you are less likely to repeat it.  Do I use HIIT and HIT?  Yes, but only in small doses in order to achieve specific goals or address specific issues.  For the vast majority of folks who want to achieve their weight loss goals as well as a heightened level of physical fitness, simply find a form of exercise that you truly enjoy and one that you can/will perform on a consistent basis.  You don't have to put yourself through the sometimes severe ass-kicking of HIIT and HIT.  These are exercise regimens for those who have achieved a high level of physical fitness.  For those who are beginning to intermediate level - a brisk walk, swimming laps in the pool, lifting weights (moderately), riding your bike, hopping on the treadmill or even ballroom dancing can help you get to where you need to be.  The key is consistency.   Exercise and physical fitness are critical to long-term success.  Just as your choice of surgery was based on what was best for you to ensure full benefits and success, your choice of exercise is important too.   Just remember what delivers results for some, may not work or be appropriate for others. Once again - simply find something you enjoy, something you'll repeat and, something you can make a part of your everyday life.    Best wishes! Cards Fan "STEP OFF THE SIDELINES AND GET IN THE GAME!"

CardsFan is right. My recent HIIT posting is an effort that I have built up to over the past 10 months and certainly is not anything I recommend in the first 3-6 months after WLS.  Even then, remember in the post it clearly states, there should br a physical conditiong foundation before unfdertaking such a butt-kicking workout, or you'll just injury yourself and then slow the exercise process down you were trying to advance. Most all of us that are doing this kinda stuff started out after WLS walking 5-10 minutes and thing progressed from there Thanks for the disclaimer and clarification there oh inspired CardsFan. I sometimes forget we have many folks reading and lurking at all stages of the journey. I cetainly don't want to bow anyone out of the water or misguide them into anything that deflates there own goals and effort to get in better health. Sorry guys!!

Hi CF,

It's true, there's one point I haven't emphasized enough: I use a heart rate monitor. The Polar ones seem to be the best and start at 50-60 dollars.

I've been doing hit multiple times a week for over two months now and have no heart problems or defects, so I normally get my heart rate over 175 and sometimes over 180.

This is about 85% of my maximum heart rate and I do not recommend this during your first month of HIIT. If your doc says it's okay and you can, get a heart rate monitor and start with maybe 60-65% of your max HR the first 3-4 weeks. Also, be sure to warm up. This will  allow you the safest and least painful initiation to HIIT.

Dave

I pretty much agree with you CF.  I'm not sure there's a specific time frame or weight that people should consider HIT/HIIT workouts, but there is a level of fitness. For HIT, some principles might work from very early out (say, doing full body, single set workouts to reduce muscle loss without taxing your recovery systems too much).  But really bringing the intensity and high weights should probably wait until you've established form at lower weights/higher reps and seen how your body responds.  That said, I'm doing a traditional volume routine most weeks these days, because that's what my workout partner prefers (though I have and will take a week here and there and do my own thing).  As for the HIIT, I didn't seriously consider it until recently.  But once I got to the point I could bike at a face pace/high resistance for 90+ minutes, and play racquetball with little fatigue for 2+ hours, I thought it was a good idea to experiment with other methods.  I personally enjoyed the 20 minute HIIT sessions more than the 90-100 minute sessions I was doing before, because boredom hurts me more than muscle burn.   And at first it seemed easy, though after 5 or so HIIT workouts in 12 days, I definitely felt the fatigue and realized that I need to ease into it a bit more slowly. I also recommend a heart monitor for HIIT.  I don't think they are essential for steady-state cardio; with that, you just push yourself and your body will tell you what pace is maintainable.  But with HIIT, it's harder to tell if you are hitting the right pulse benchmarks, since you are repeatedly pushing your extremes before backing off.

One consideration might be "How much did you get  'Creamed' or "floor twisted" as a kid playing football or other competitive sports?"

Many injuries might be blamed on sprinting or running, but actually come from lateral hits on the knee or repeated jumps/ directional changes from basketball or soccer. I think HIIT on the track a lot safer and less likely to cause problems if you don't have any residual problems from sports.

Dave

I hate to sound like an endorsement commercial since I am not getting paid for it but I decided to “just do it”. In the beginning of July I joined the gym, and started working out 3 days a week doing weight training, and very fortunately for me Cards Fan goes to the same gym as I do and he helped me get started on a good training routine. For me it works great and I enjoy it very much, and I look forward to it 3 times a week. I also decided to add water aerobics, and lap swimming 3 days a week, and I love it also. Now by no means I am not breaking any speed records, or have any delusions of becoming Arnold Schwarzenegger. I just want to be as fit as I can be safely, and so far it is working I am in the best shape I have been in for a long time. I so look forward to continuing my workout routine.

You probably have a lot in common with most of us. No doubt, the "intensity" is an important factor, but so is "mixing exercises", like you are, which "throws the body a curve ball".

I think of it as a response to too much dependence on once form of exercise -or- one level of intensity over the other. Sure, a marathon runner needs to spend the bulk of his training at his marathon speed/ distance as close to that of his race pace as he can, a soccer player at a pace of maybe 3/4 sprint and so on. For these folks, mixing in too much of another variety may hinder them in their sport.  But the average fitness seeker needs a mixture.

It all goes back to:

What would a nutritionist tell you about the "fad diets" that come out? Probably, "Combine elements of all of those."

Similarly, a trainer would probably look at your condition, assess what you are *not* doing and have you do more of that and balance out the other exercise types and intensity levels that you are doing.

Then, in each case the health professional would probably tell you to add an additional helping of the one you can get most excited about (and produces results).

So, it all comes out to moderation PLUS a healthy dose of inspiration... 

(Like my cliches?)

Dave

Nothing like business, diet and fitness for the production of cliches!

Dave