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10 Reasons You Absolutely Have To Exercise After Weight Loss Surgery

June 26, 2011 By

Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program to make sure that you’re healthy enough for exercise.

Here are 10 great reasons to start an exercise program after weight loss surgery

1) Regular exercise has been proven to help mood. Exercise can help lift depression and decrease anxiety. It releases natural chemicals into the brain that help reduce depression and anxiety.

2) Exercise reduces stress. After exercise, most people feel more relaxed and centered because it reduces negative emotions like anger, stress, and irritability.

3) Exercise helps your cardiovascular system. The resting heart rate for most people is between 60 to 80 beats per minute. If you’re out of shape, your resting heart rate could be as high as 100bpm. Professional athletes may have a resting heart rate as low as 30bpm. Have you ever wondered why?

Because regular exercise makes the cardiovascular system more efficient. A steady exercise program reduces cholesterol and blood pressure, and helps prevent cardiac problems. This is especially important to make sure your system fully recovers after lap band surgery.

4) Exercise limits your vulnerability to osteoporosis, especially if you do weight-bearing exercise. When women age, they tend to lose bone mass, but women who exercise regularly are much less susceptible to this problem. Exercise to prevent osteoporosis needs to be consistent, and needs to progress in intensity. As you get more fit, increase the intensity of the exercise!

This is especially important for gastric bypass patients, because of the dangers of malnutrition and malabsorption after gastric bypass surgery. A standard bariatric multi-vitamin may or may not be enough to take care of your bone-mass needs when you exercise. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor and find out if you should take a bariatric calcium supplement.

5) Regular exercise improves muscle tone. As you lose weight, you want to do all you can to improve and enhance muscle tone. Exercise increases muscle and reduces fatty tissue.

6) Regular exercise will make you more energetic. Being stronger and more fit will let you do more in your daily life.

7) If you have a family history of breast cancer, exercise has been shown to reduce the incidence of it. The chances of getting breast cancer are reduced by a regular exercise program, because it causes positive changes to your hormones.

8) Weight lifting exercise builds strength while cardiovascular exercise builds stamina. People who are fitter can accomplish more in a day because they don’t get tired out so easily.

9) Increasing lean muscle mass will actually help you burn more calories throughout your day. The calories you burn during exercise are only part of the benefit you get from cardiovascular exercise. People with more muscle actually burn more calories.

10) Your body burns calories at a faster rate after exercise than before, even when you’re done exercising. Exercise speeds up your metabolism, even after you’re done.

If you’re out of shape, start off slowly on a new exercise program. Before starting an exercise program, always check with your doctor to make sure that you are healthy enough to exercise and to make sure there are no contraindications for you to begin a program.

Top 10 Reasons to Start an Exercise Program after Gastric Bypass Surgery:

1) Regular exercise has been proven to help mood. Anyone suffering from anxiety or depression will find help through regular exercise. Research shows that exercise increases endorphins that help boost mood.

2) Exercise reduces stress. After a good workout, people feel less angry, stressed and irritable.

3) Cardiovascular exercise reduces the incidence of cardiac problems. The resting heart rate for most people is between 60 to 80 beats per minute. If you’re sedentary or out of shape, the resting heart beat can be as much as 100 beats per minute. But in trained athletes, the resting heart rate can be as low as 30 beats per minute. Have you ever wondered why?

Cardio exercise strengthens the heart and lungs. A steady exercise program reduces cholesterol and blood pressure, and helps prevent cardiac problems. This is especially important to make sure your system fully recovers after bariatric surgery.

4) Exercise makes your body look better. As you lose weight, you want to do all you can to improve and enhance muscle tone. Exercise increases muscle and reduces fatty tissue.

5) Regular exercise will make you more energetic. Being stronger and more fit will let you do more in your daily life.

6) If you have a family history of breast cancer, exercise has been shown to reduce the incidence of it. The chances of getting breast cancer are reduced by a regular exercise program, because it causes positive changes to your hormones.

7) Weight lifting exercise builds strength while cardiovascular exercise builds stamina. People who are more fit can do more in their daily lives because they don’t get tired out so easily.

8) Increasing lean muscle mass will actually help you burn more calories throughout your day. The calories you burn during exercise are only part of the benefit you get from cardiovascular exercise. People with more muscle actually burn more calories.

9) Your body keeps burning more calories after you’re done with exercise than the number of calories you were burning before exercise. Exercise speeds up your metabolism, even after you’re done.

10) Exercise after weight loss surgery reduces the risk of osteoporosis, especially if you do weight-bearing exercise. When women reach menopause, their hormones change, causing vulnerability to osteoporosis, but if they are in a regular exercise program, they’re much less likely to have bone loss. Exercise to prevent osteoporosis needs to be consistent, and needs to progress in intensity. As you get more fit, increase the intensity of the exercise!

Filed Under: Back Exercise Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Weight Training For Senior Citizens

June 26, 2011 By

 

 

Weight training, also known as strength training, is not just for the aspiring body builder, everyone can benefit from weight training. After all it is with weight training that we build muscles and muscles keep our metabolism strong and a healthy metabolism means more energy. So it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that weight training is actually an appropriate and beneficial form of exercising for older adults.
As we age, our bodies experience physical and physiological changes.

Weight training for senior citizens

can improve those changes so that older adults can remain active and mentally sharp well into their aging years.
With age, muscles lose mass and strength, joints become stiffer and can even develop arthritis, making it difficult and even painful to move. One’s sense of balance can be thrown off kilter causing falls, that may lead to broken hips and many times the need for long stays at the hospital. Strength training puts back muscle mass, as well as muscle strength that has been lost.
Muscle strength not only aids with movement but also aids with balance, so strong muscles will prevent many of the falls and injuries that cause the elderly to be hospitalized and immobile for long periods, if not permanently. Weight training will keep joints limber which reduces the stiffness and pain that causes many people to become inactive.
Immune systems become weaker making the elderly more susceptible to serious illnesses. Concentration and memory also become harder as we get older. Elderly people who do not exercise at all are at a much higher risk for becoming immobile and requiring long term care such as in a nursing facility, than elderly people who do exercise.
Weight training strengthens the immune system helping senior citizens to avoid illness and the expensive doctor visits and prescription medications needed to treat various illnesses. It is well known that after the age of 50 many of the diseases that can cut a life short develop within inactive bodies. By strengthening the immune system through weight training, one can build their resistance to different illnesses, as well as developing the internal strength the body needs to battle more serious diseases.
As we age, our skin loses much of its suppleness which results in skin that just hangs, usually downwards, on the body. Weight training for the elderly renews much of the suppleness to the skin that aging can take away. Skin will be tighter with less hanging on the body which can also help the elderly to feel more comfortable with their bodies.
Studies have shown that the elderly are at a higher risk for the development of depression and other mental disorders than younger adults. So from a physiological perspective strength training helps the body to manufacture greater amounts of hormones which are naturally made by the body.
These hormones help the organs and systems of the body including the brain to do the work they do. Hormones help the brain with processes such as cognitive thought and memory, and hormones hugely contribute to how we feel and respond to different things. Senior citizens who participate in weight training programs report fewer instances of feeling depressed than those who do not exercise.
Weight training has also been proven to slow the progression of the natural effects of aging, and even thwart the development of such conditions as dementia. Exercise programs brought to senior citizen residents in nursing homes has also been shown to help those who have lost mobility to regain some movement and even improve mental functioning. If you work with the elderly in a nursing home setting, consider bringing the benefits of weight training to them.
It is recommended that a weight training program for the elderly be guided by the expertise of a certified personal trainer.

Filed Under: Balance Training For Seniors Tagged With: , , ,

Exercising at Home: Using your Body Weight   

June 26, 2011 By

Many people exercise at home without professional assistance, and this is often because a subscription to the gym is too expensive. Others prefer the privacy of exercising in their own home. With discipline and patience, at home exercises can be very successful.

When you’re exercising at home, you don’t have to spend money on expensive equipment. There are many exercises that use your body weight, and if you start with small steps, you will develop a healthier body With a little effort in the home, you can effectively do something for your health. And the excuse that you don’t have time to go to the gym no longer applies!

Bodyweight exercises are easy at home

The best exercise for the entire body and muscles is the push-up. For the best results, it must be performed correctly with a straight back. Start by using your knees, before progressing to pushups from the toes. Your starting position should be the ground, so the first thing you do so rise from the floor. Slowly and smoothly drop to the ground, and then push up again using your body weight. Many professionals perform pushups on the fists rather than the hands as the exercise is more effective.

The most effective exercises for the gluteus and thigh muscles are the well-known knee bends. Bend your knees and go into a crouch until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Don’t go any lower than this to avoid damage to your knees. You can also consider wearing a backpack with some weight in it – a book is always handy. Keep your arms outstretched, your body firm and your legs shoulder wide. Perform the exercise slowly and evenly.

You can use your body weight to increase your back muscles. Lie on the ground and place your feet under the sofa (or similar piece of stable furniture). Place your hands behind your head, with your elbow facing outwards. Slowly lift your body up and down.

The abdominal muscles don’t get missed either. Lie on your back with your feet under the sofa. Place your arms on your chest, and bend your knees. Slowly lift your body up and down to work the abdominals.

Jumping rope might be seen as a children’s activity, but it’s a great way to workout inside or outside the home. Gradually increase the length of time you perform this exercise to maintain a healthy heart and overall body fitness.

You don’t need to purchase an expensive step machine to complete step aerobics. Use a stable crate or similar piece of equipment you have around the house. Step aerobics are great for the legs and stomach. As you progress with this exercise, you can increase the height of the crate you use.

Remember also that walking is also one of the best exercises you can complete for overall body health.

The desire to build your muscles, increase overall body toning and have an athletic body is probably in all of us. With a little effort in the home, you can effectively do something for your health.

About the Author

Many people exercise at home without professional assistance, and this is often because a subscription to the gym is too expensive. Others prefer the privacy of exercising in their own home. With discipline and patience, at home exercises can be very successful.

 

Filed Under: Exercise At Home Tagged With: , , , ,
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