Cardio for the overweight and unfit

[PreppingForSchool]

Hi,

I've had two children in the last few years and have gained a ridiculous amount of weight. My BMI is way too high and I'm trying to incorporate exercise but I'm finding it tough.

I'm slowly rebuilding core strength via online videos but know that I really should do some cardio as I'm obviously of an unhealthy weight and my body needs it. I'm now managing to fit in two lots of exercise a week.

I just struggle to find something. Between work and the children and no help I don't have time or money to go to the gym for swimming or to any classes. I can't run as I have/had a double prolapse that I'm working hard on improving. So I can't really do anything too high impact yet as I don't want to influence the great progress I'm making with that. I also think at my weight running may actually be awful for my joints.

Is just walking enough? What else could I do at home? And how often should I aim for?

Have you seen the low impact HIIT workouts on YouTube? They're specifically tailored to being low impact so might be doable for you, but still get the heart rate up 😊

You can specifically find ones that are no jumping / low impact / no equipment too. MadFit and Heather Robertson are good, I started out with MadFit 😊

It does cost a bit but worth looking into MUTU, it's specifically for postpartum strengthening and repair (plus weight loss). It has all the modifications for things like prolapse and pelvic girdle pain etc. It's a really good program.

Walking is good. My physio suggested after exercise to have a few minutes lying down to help my pelvic floor recover.

Walking or swimming - I do lane swimming and all sizes go. It's very supportive in the water and my favourite thing is I work hard but don't get hot and sweaty 'cause you're in water. You definitely don't need to do HIIT, easiest way to do yourself an injury.

Walking at a good pace is good exercise. It puts no strain on the joints and gets the heart rate up. Just keep focused so you don't slow down. Set yourself targets in either distance or time taken so you can see improvements to motivate yourself.

@pawz thank you, I'll check these out on YouTube. To be honest I haven't really tried anything yet! I am just kinda getting back into the swing of things.

@CupOfAnxieTea excellent, I'll have a look at it. That sounds very good. I had awful pelvic pain in both pregnancies and the prolapses. I had one vaginal and one C-section. So I do need something appropriate.

@DrJump thanks, lying down after exercise sounds perfect 😅

There are some good apps for walking too, that tell you to speed up for short bursts etc.

@MrsJamin thank you. I wish I could do swimming but at the moment it would be almost impossible to fit in and to be honest with paying childcare and the rising costs in general it's also too expensive. Walking it may be!

@MarshaMelrose thank you. I think I'd have to work on my pace rather than going for a leisurely stroll

@BatsPigeonsRatsSquirrels oh really? I'll have a look, thanks. I did C25k a few years ago so something like that but for walking would be good..

Walking workout - see You Tube

Walking is one of the best things for weight loss but you have to do lots of it, at least an hour a day. Plus you need to do a moderate to brisk pace, not a slow amble. Try to up your walking, plus gentle weight bearing exercises at home. Increasing your lean muscle mass will help a lot. Look up beginners weights workout for body weight only, where you don't need equipment. And remember weight loss is 80% what you eat. I love using the free version of My fitness pal to track. Good luck. You got this.

Walking definitely. Try and get out 3 times a week for 30 mins to start, then you can add more days and up your time on some days as you get stronger. Use strata to track your distance and times, it's really motivating when you get the little 'This is your longest walk' badges or '5k' badge. Start with flat walks and then add some hills.

Take a look on Google maps and see where you can walk to, how can you stretch it the school run walk or popping to the local shops. I've discovered that if I go to the local shop and then walk a little bit further to the edge of the village that's a mile so I can easily do 2 miles every time I go to the shop. Pushing a pram or pushchair might slow you down but it will increase your fat burning.

If you can't get time out of the house, try the YouTube channel Walk at Home.
Ive an app called Walking for Weight loss.

I second walking, I love it because I can just fit it in whenever I get a bit of time, it’s free, and you get out in the fresh air! I would also thoroughly recommend The Body Project on YouTube.. look for the 30 minutes beginner cardio with Daniel. He is an an excellent, friendly motivator and they have ordinary people alongside him with ordinary bodies. Got me through lockdown!

I was in your situation not long ago. Was doing strengthening exercises 3 times a week. Wanting to get into cardio but avoiding it.

Walking is great if you can spare the time to do enough of it and are willing to go out whatever the weather. Which wasn't me.

Do you have a bike? I brought a turbo trainer for my old bike and now do some inside cycling in front of the telly a few times a week. You can get them for £50 from Halfords, or there are usually options on face book or eBay for even less.

Walking is perfect. Its massively underrated I think. Good luck OP.

That sounds really tricky, I'm in a similar position with two little ones. Going to restart MUTU this week for the first time since having my second. If you decide it is the right route for you feel free to give me a shout and we can start a little support thread if you'd like.

Walking is great, just make sure that it's brisk and gets your breathing rate up. Hills are good to include.

I eventually ended up taking up running, but it was months of walking that gave me the base of fitness to be able to start.

You can use the early weeks of C25k to alternate steady and fast walking.

Our Parks do a free fitness programme called couch to fitness, you can sign up on the website so you can add notes about your progress or they have playlists on YouTube on their channel.

It's really good, 9 week programme, you don't need any equipment just follow along with the video in your living room. 3 sessions a week starting easier and getting harder over the 9 weeks. They have 3 instructors in each videoed showing various versions of each exercise so if you have any physical mobility issues there will be a variation you can follow with smaller movements or seated instead of standing for example.

couchtofitness.com/

@FatAgainItsLettuceTime
Thanks so much for that heads-up. Just the kind of thing I was looking for. Bonus points as no costs involved!

Can I just say thank you for being so kind everyone? I feel so embarrassed about what a fat blob I am at the moment and some of the issues I've been having with my body have been so difficult to cope with. I really appreciate how kind and supportive you have all been!

@sixthreesix thanks, that's encouraging!

@Stepuptowardsinfinity thank you, I know the diet needs to follow suit. Between sleep deprivation and breastfeeding I'm like a hangry beast all the time... I do do strengthening and will continue to try and up my game with that.

@kegofcoffee I worry it might not be me too. I'd have to go in the evenings and wonder how motivated I will be. Some people have been suggesting YouTube videos which may be better on dark, wet nights. I unfortunately don't have a bike anymore.

@dammit88 thank you!

@CupOfAnxieTea (love the name!) Have you done MUTU before then? Can you tell me a bit more about it please? Just watched a video and it looked quite good but are they asking for exercise every day?

@BogRollBOGOF thank you! I hope in future, once I am stronger, I may also take up more strenuous exercise but I know right now it has to be low impact to be healthy. Good idea using the C25k app actually!

@FatAgainItsLettuceTime wow this looks great, thanks so much for sharing it!

Please do not refer to yourself as a fat blob. Would you speak to a friend like that? I'm sure you wouldn't, so please do not speak to or about yourself unkindly.

@PreppingForSchool

Your "embarrassed at what a fat blob I am at the moment", to me, is actually a pretty inspirational mother of two small children, dealing with significantly challenging medical issues yet still doing her damn best to fit in exercise between all that entails. Alongside working.

You be proud of yourself, Prepping! -->

Thank you! Or course, so I did it after my first and found it worked really well. I'm back to square one, possibly worse after second pregnancy and birth though and I still have pelvic girdle pain. Plus a lot more weight to lose but I've been doing 16/8 which has been fairly low maintenance and working well - still up all hours of the night with DC2 so I try to chose options which are manageable.

MUTU is a 12 week program (I guess with a view to incorporate the exercises in your own way once you've finished). First two weeks is 12 minute core/pelvic floor video with a 20-30 min walk as many days as you can. Then after week 2 they introduce some low impact hiit exercises. So to stick rigidly you will be doing a 12 minute core video every day (or most days depending on what is possible for you) - a daily walk of 20 mins minimum and then about 3-4 hiit sessions a week eventually. As I write this out it actually sounds quite intense! But it's good if you have a bit of time and some support. I got a bit caught up in doing it perfectly last time but this time I'm just going for doing whatever I can when the energy is there. If I have to miss a daily walk, or one of the videos so be it!

Hope that helps, feel free to ask any questions.