Leg Workouts for Morbid Obesity Weight Loss
Morbidly obese people face a catch 22 when it comes to exercising for weight loss. Joint pressure can prohibit increased use of the legs, so how can one expect to make progress without injury?
The legs are the largest muscles of the body and provide the greatest cardio effect for conditioning. Use a heart rate monitor and a sensible progression to enable greater use of the legs for increased cardio for weight loss. Do not be discouraged; just remember to walk before you run! Sounds obvious, but baby steps will get you there without risk of a setback.
Exercise professionals assess a client before they progress them to more intense work. Find a level and duration for weight-bearing activity that is pain-free and start with that baseline to begin progress. Jumping ahead too soon will only risk injury and discouragement. This is the way to condition the legs gradually without high risk, so keep risk factor in mind.
The calf muscles of the lower legs are considered the “second human heart” for the reason that when they pump they enable the return venous blood flow. This is a key to remember for the morbidly obese weight loss client. You can greatly increase circulation for the legs by merely remaining seated while performing heel-raising repetitions. This will reduce leg swelling and allow you to progress to greater durations of weight-bearing cardio activity.
Cross training with non-weight bearing or seated workouts will enable you to condition yourself for longer, more intense bouts of weight bearing exercise. Expect that you will be sore when you increase your legwork. Embrace this as a welcome side effect as you are gaining fitness for your weight loss goals.
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