Quote:
Originally Posted by mjf
What other exercises do you do, besides planks, push-ups, and sit-ups?
Ab exercises (planks and sit-ups) will not contribute very much to weight loss. I recommend not doing sit-ups because you might injure your back.
The best strength-training exercises for weight-loss are compound exercises (e.g. squat, deadlift, bench press (or push-up), pull-up, bent-over row, overhead press).
If you can't do push-ups, you should try to increase the weight gradually, just like any other exercise. One way to change the weight is by using a staircase. Start with your hands 3 or 4 steps up, and gradually decrease the number of steps until you can do normal push-ups (however, keep in mind it's supposed to be difficult, so don't make it too easy for yourself).
If your legs wobble, it might be that your legs are weak, so squats would be a good way to fix that.
If you have no stamina, there are a few possible causes. Do you get enough sleep? Do you eat healthy? What time of day do you normally exercise? Do you do any cardio? If you do cardio and strength-training on the same day, I'd suggest doing the strength-training first.
Oh, I eat so well, sleep 9 hrs a day (seriously) and since I'm a housewife, get plenty of time to rest during the day too, with light to moderate work.
It is just that I have led an extremely lethargic lifestyle for so many years now, and that coupled with all my weight, makes it very difficult for me to exercise.
To begin with, I have started walking (which I am doing for the past 7 weeks) 2.5 miles a day. And then I joined a fitness club (small group personal training) and so far attended 10 sessions of strength training mixed with cardio for 2 hrs a week (in addition to the everyday walk).
At the club, they did ask me to do all the compound strength training exercises you have mentioned and just that anything that causes my legs to hurt or my heartrate to increase rapidly, makes me stop immediately and not pursue any activity for the next 3 minutes or so...
So as you can find out, I don't sweat a lot, and my weight has been coming off very slowly.
So these things are making me feel annoyed at myself, to begin with. I'm so scared I'll fall back to my old habits of not doing any activity and living like a couch potato.
If it is the easy enough walk of up to 3 miles a day, with some strength training for 1/2 hr 2 times a week, I'm ready. If not, if I have to sweat, my heart-rate has to increase to 165 beats per second, etc, then I doubt if I'll stick to my weight loss plan.....
I'm wondering if anybody is in the same boat as me, but has had success with weight loss, like the proverb 'slow and steady wins the race' (quite literally
).