Fitness

[Wendy79 3]

I’m 7 months post op and still wondering what are the best workouts or exercise? Need some tips

[SpartanMaker 767]

Current recommendations vary a bit, but most suggest that to lose weight and prevent re-gain, 250 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week are needed. Of that, at least 150 to 180 should be aerobic activities such as brisk walking, running, swimming or bicycling.

Moderate by the way, is defined as attaining a heart rate of 50-70% of your max heart rate. The easiest way to estimate you maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. For example, if you are 50, your max heart rate would be 170, so 50% to 70% of that would be 85 to 119 BPM.

In addition to the aerobic activities, strength training should be included. The recommendation would be to perform 2-3 sessions per week for 30-60 minutes. Detailed recommendations are beyond the scope of what I can add here. For beginners, bodyweight training would be my recommendation. Doing so you'll be at a much lower risk of injury and IMO, bodyweight training should be the foundation of all other strength training. Google "bodyweight training for beginners" and you should see some recommendations. Just make sure the website is from a reputable source. there are lots of "fads" out there and some of them could be harmful.

The reason strength training is so critical is that muscle is significantly more metabolically active than fat. By gaining muscle, you'll actually increase your overall metabolic rate, meaning you'll burn more calories even when you're not exercising. This means you'll be better able to lose weight or maintain weight at a higher overall number of calories than you would otherwise.

In addition, strength training can help you age gracefully by reducing the risk of osteoporosis, improving mental acuity, improving balance and physical functioning, and helping manage pain.

Finally, in addition to the aerobic and strength training recommendation, I also think it's a good idea to participate in functional fitness that helps improve balance, coordination, and flexibility. There are lots of options here, but yoga and tai chi are good choices if you need recommendations.

[Arabesque 7,240]

Any one that you can enjoy & don’t mind doing regularly. Still haven’t found the one for me & I’ve tried lots of them over the years. LOL!

I do a series of stretches & some basic resistance exercises at home. Mostly to support my back but also to tone my arms & keep me limber. I’m not looking at running a marathon or dead lifting my, or anyone else’s body weight.

@SpartanMaker has listed all the benefits of regularly exercising but if you’re looking at exercising predominately for weight loss there is an ugly truth: exercising only accounts for about 10% of the weight you want to lose. So only about 1 of those last 10lbs you want to lose.