Need an exercising plan....

I was wondering if any of you guys had a good weight lifting/cardio routine? I'm 2 months out (RNY November 12, 2007-49 lbs down) and I have hit my first stall. I exercise occassionly, but I know it's not enough. If any of you guys can help me out, it would be much appreciated. Rusty

I'm hoping that the guys who have regular routines will respond to you.  I looked back 20 pages in our responses and on 12-18-07 (p 11 at 1:35am), BigAL2029 Had a post titled "Nautilus vs Free Wts. A good place to start is the Fitness and Exercise Forum.  There are links for various types of exercises.  You may want to check the beginning routine.

I am still pre op but I can suggest one thing to you. I am not sure how much you need to loose to get to your goal but I will suggest walking at least 30 minutes to an hour a day six days a week. It does several things to you as a person in my opinion. First it is a slow muscle developer but steady. If you carry some light weight with you for your hands they will begin to get your arms stronger. Jumping into weightlfting if you are morbidly obese can cause a shock value to your system. If you do need to go to the gym go light on your workout until it is something you can control. As for the benifits of walking you will begin to strengthen your feet. If you are like me and had not walked alot until the last several months the break in period on your feet may take a while.. On the other hand while walking for extended periods of time will help release endorphines in your body to combat fatigue and pain in your joints and muscles. This will not last forever and you may need to get a good ice pack or soak later when you get home. I started out going about a half a mile then turning around and coming back for a full mile. At my size it was a challenge but only took a few weeks to up that to a full mile out and a mile back. Then I began to put in challenges such as steep hills and longer grades up with hopefully some down hill to actively rest. (we laugh about actively resting since sometimes downhill does not make you pant but can really work your upper legs hard).Even in pre op I can walk at least six miles without feeling like I am going to have  a coronary though if it is all up hill for the three miles out to turn around I have to stop alot to get my wind. I guess the main concept here is to take it at  a pace you can live with without tearing up the body you are working so hard to get back into a workable shape. If you can devote an hour a day six days a week and take one day to rest up it may make a big difference in the stall.

Hey Rusty. I have a few questions for you. Do you belong to a gym? If so, do you have access to a personal trainer? That person should be able to work with you to show you the how's and why's of the various machines and free weights and help design a program for you. After a time maybe you try a class or two, see if that interests you. As for cardio, I like to mix it up. I started slow as pushnowind suggests above and then tried to take it a little further every week. A little more resistance. Challenge yourself. Keep a chart. You'll be surprised at how far you can come with a bit of consistency. As far as a workout schedule, I'd be happy to tell you mine, but I don't know how much it will help you at this point. Monday - BodyPump class at the gym. 45-60 minutes working out most muscle groups with weights and stretching. Lots of squats, clean and presses, dead rows, dead lifts, biceps, triceps, chest, shoulders, hamstrings and quads. Tuesday - Cardio 45-60 minutes. Eliptical and stationary bike mostly. Wednesday - Swimming. I'm training for a triathlon right now and working on getting my stroke down and increasing my comfort in the water. Thursday - rest Friday - BodyPump Saturday - Long run. About 7-8 miles Sunday - Swimming. Usually more playing with the kids at the Y and working on my stroke a bit. Again. Find something that works for you and stick with it. If you get bored, switch it up. Nobody can make you do this other than you.  Hope this helps. -Dan

What I do pales compared to what some of the animals do on this forum but I've found I can sustain it and that is what really counts; being consistant and diligent. I get up at 4:00 AM and drive into town. I work out in the mornings 3 days a week before work. I don't like getting up that early but if I wait to think about it I can too easily talk myself out of going. So I get ready the night before and then I just get up and go. I have a 40 min. commute to work. I hook up with about 6 other guys (if I don't show up the amount of **** I have to take is ubelievable, its easier to just do it ) :) and we begin at 5:30 am and work out until 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. During that time I run on an ellipitical for 30 min and then do strength training exercises for 30 min. Thats it. I try very hard to do this each and every week but sometimes life gets in the way. I have also started to try to work out on the off days of Tue and Thur. after school. (I'm a teacher)However since the Xmas break I got out of that routine and am trying to get back in but for this week anyway I've been too busy with meetings etc. to get the time.  What I do is a whole lot more that what I used to do (nothing). But I still feel I should do some more. Hope this helps some. I started this routine about 3 months out. It took awhile to get to 30 min. on the elliptical. Don't over do it or you will hurt yourself. Go easy on the weights: use light enough weight so you can do 3 sets of 8 reps on each station to start.

If you can join a gym that has a variety of classes.  Cardio workouts in the early stages of your weight loss is great.  I spent a lot time in spinning classes.  I also joined a couple of body pump classes early on, because I was bored with the nautilus weight regime.  I also got hooked up a personal traniner early on to give me a workout that kept me motivated.   Scope out the trainers at the gym and figure out which one you would enjoy working with and go for it.  The biggest thing early on is to keep in constant movement for your 30-40-50 minute workout.  Don'[t hang on the equipment, there is plenty of time to rest at night. Good luck. Rob

hi rusty. my advice is to set some attainable goals and don't try to progress too quickly so you won't injure yourself. do cardio daily 5 to 6 days a week and weights 3 days a week concentrating on major body parts.

i'm training for a marathon next month and the escape from alcatraz triathlon in june. my traing schedule is as follows:

monday
morning - 4.5 mi run
lunch - 3.5 mi run + full set of stadiums + chest
evening - swim 1100 meters

tuesday morning - 4.5 mi run
lunch - 4 mi run
evening - 1100 m swim

wednesday
same as monday except I work shoulders and back in the gym and cycle 25mi on my bike instead of swimming

thursday
same as tuesday

friday
same as monday except I do arms in the gym

saturday long run day :)
this week will be 15 mi.

I increase all my distances, especially the runs by 10% a week. trying to work my way up slowly to 20 by next month so I will be ready for the marathon next month. heh, i've got a ways to go yet.

Thanks guys for all your help. Im just trying to get in a good routine. I just encountered my first stall and I need to kick it into overdrive. Well, thanks again guys and kypdurran......you're a beast!!!!