Comment to me with your thoughts!

[pt trainer77 0]

I am actually not a LAP-BAND® patient, I am a personal trainer who works with a LAP-BAND® patient. I am on here to find out how "bandsters" feel when they are able to start exercising after the procedure. I have been a personal trainer for 10 years and after working with my client, I have found that he and several of the people he knows in the community that are LAP-BAND® patients, are not sure how to start an exercise program and what they should be doing, frequency, intensity, etc. I would like to know if a lot of you feel this way. I do know that several surgeons have staff that help you set up a program but no one to follow you throughout the first year post-op, with adjustments to your workout, fitness assessments, and continued guidance as you contnue to change your lifestyle. (And even follow you for the first 2-3 years if needed)

I have noticed that my client is much more comfortable now in the gym setting than he was in the beginning.

If you could comment below- how would you feel if your surgeon offered you a personal trainer as a part of the pre and post op procedure??? Would you feel more inclined to exercise if you had someone there to help guide you or motivate you to keep going?

Thanks!!!

PT trainer77

[waynooo 1]

That would be some thing that would definitely interest me. I have recently started going to the gym, my biggest hang up is i am not sure what kind of work out I should be doing. So, yes a thumbs up.

[btrieger 21]

The lapband should not determine frequency and intensity. Over all health should be the key factor.

I was told I could walk or run immediately after surgery but to hold off on anything strenuous for 6 weeks.

Other than being told never to do old-fashioned sit ups I was given the green light to do any exercises I was up to doing.

[impvixen 0]

i would definately be more motivated

[ducati bonnie 0]

Yes, yes, yes!!

Actually, my clinic has monthly meetings and invites speakers. One of the most interesting was from a personal trainer who offered specialized and modified exercises (like from a chair instead of the floor, etc) and equipment (that he designed himself (mostly just extensions to machines, etc) and the other was from a yoga instructor specializing in modified yoga for 'round bodies'--also from a chair--because many obese folk have knee problems and can't kneel. My guess is if you contact the local Bariatric clinics with a viable exercise plan and modifications to suit the patients/client as they are now and as they lose weight, you will be welcomed with open arms.

Go!!

Ducati Bonnie

[Humming Bird 275]

I think it would be great if the surgeon's office offered services like that. I do think it should be an optional service offered and not included in the total package price of their normal services though. In my case, I do not live in the same city as my surgeon's office and would not want to pay for personal trainer's services that I could not use. I can not attend the support groups they offer because of the distance.

One reason I think it would be a good idea is because morbidly obese people may need to have their workouts modified in the beginning. Another reason is self esteem/body image issues that make morbidly obese people avoid gym settings. There is no way I would walk in to the local gym looking in the condition I was in 100 pounds ago. I would feel much better about it if I knew someone was there to help with specific and personal needs.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Humming Bird

[LeighaMason 19]

If you offered instruction on how not to use the gym it would be very helpful. I have been reading this board for a year and I can not over emphasize how many times I have read that embarrassment keeps people out of the gym. Whether the weight discrimination at the gym is real or imagined, the cause is the same, people don't go.

Now if you offered a program where we could start at home or at the park with bands, balls and hand weights and then when we are more comfortable transition into the gym to work on machines and free weights, this would be very helpful. I personally did not start working out until I canceled my gym membership.

There is also a financial benefit to this, my fitness expenses for the last few months consist of a good pair of shoes, a jump rope, a towel, and a stadium seat that I use to cushion my spine when I do sit ups. I am doing a 9 week (beginner) cross training program that I found on the internet but I do plan on using a trainer once I reach a certain level of strength.

Good luck with your program, I think its a wonderful idea.