What's Your Workout Today VSGers? - Thursday!

Let's Hear It!

Ok I absolutely hate to exercise, I find it very boring and the sweating is no fun either :)

But I realize I must exercise if I want to lose weight,  So I was sleeved on  10/31 /13 so this makes me just at  6 weeks out and I feel pretty good but don't really want to invest in a gym or persona trainer yet maybe in another month. 

I have two questions first what is your opinions on personal trainers? I am thinking that if I join a gym the personal trainer will keep me on track and engage so I will not be so boring, are they worth the expense.

Second question I have been doing  15 mins of exercise at a time , because I tell myself that any type of movement is better than no movement at all.  I walk 15 mins at a time 4 time of day and have been doing my elliptical for  15mins per night,  Can I burn calories just doing  15 mins at a time. I have not lost any weight in a week and I am beginning to think that maybe my  15mins at a time at not really working for me

thanks for your help -Deb

Yes, for you I would wait at least 2 more weeks before gym or heavy workouts/personal trainer. A doctor would probably clear you for exercise right now but 2 more weeks for the muscles around your incision points is what a doctor *****paired an umbilical or ventral hernia would tell you and you do not want to herniate and incision. OK, so here is the skinny on personal trainers, they are good, they will make your workout interesting but they must understand that you just had VSG and that means what they know about nutrition does not apply to you, so they will tell you to eat more, eat more carbs, crap like that. So if you can find a PT that is familiar with WLS and our special nutrition needs, then that works well, but if you can't you need to tell them your nutrition needs are special and that you are eating low carb and have a target of 600-800 calories per day and their workouts should be focused on fat burn early out and muscle building focus should increase over time. Muscle growth is important because it helps you to burn more calories at rest, but early out you want to burn fat while you still physically do not want to eat. Something else you may want to consider instead of a personal trainer/gym is these small exercise studios for cross fit or other High Intensity Interval Training routines (the one I go to is called Orange Theory, but they are cropping up all over the place). They are fun and the exercise changes all the time, they cater to all fitness levels and you will burn fat, gain muscle and improve cardio. The classes are typically 50-60 mins. Cross fit is very good too as everyone I know that has done it has significantly improved their fitness level in the 1st month.

Second answer, yes 15 mins at a time is great. You are not improving your endurance right now, but the fact that you are getting 60 mins or more in per day doing it at a pace you can stand right now is perfect. You are still burning the same calories as you would if you did it for 60 mins straight and to be honest since you are spreading it out you may actually be increasing your over all calorie burn because you will get a little post-work residual calorie burn 4 times per day instead of 1. Now what you should consider doing is incorporating HIIT into your elliptical routine and I will tell you how. For your walks, just walk, its a great fat burn exercise and you should continue doing some form of extra curricular walking even after you step it up. Now what HIIT does is it is spikes your heart rate multiple times over your workout and this raising and lowering of your heart rate increases calorie burn significantly. The way you do this on the elliptical is start with a 2 to 5 min moderate pace warm up, then for 30 seconds go as fast as you can go, the return to your previous pace, once you catch your breath, do the 30 second fast as you can again. Repeat this pattern through out your workout. You will be soaked in sweat and you will burn calories for hours after your 15 mins workout.

Thank you for taking the time to answer be.  Unfortunately there is only one Orange Theory in my area and it is still  15 miles away but maybe if they have a very early class I might be able to do it.  I have a CURVES across the street from my office and have been considering them as it is so close and I can do it during lunch, I also have a LA fitness which is  big mega gym place, might be a little intimating for me .

As for the HIIT for the elliptical, I was sort of doing that anyway..because I was trying to go as fast as I could and them would get tired so I would slow down and then speed up again. I did notice that last night  15mins was easier so I think I will try to do  20 mins tonight. Thanks again for the info you are always so helpful -Deb  

LA Fitness is a nice gym. They offer a lot of classes and personal trainers so while it might seem intimidating now, in a month you will be the boss. Orange Theory was just an example, there are probably many others. But OT is fun and I have really enjoyed it. My studio offers classes at 5am, 6am, 7am, etc. I am not sure I would drive 15 miles to go to it unless it was on my way to work.

With the HIIT what you are looking to get to is an established pattern so you can manipulate your heart rate. So keep the all out effort to 30-60 seconds and then let your heart rate come back down. That is how you get the most effective result.

Finished my 3rd workout in 24 hours at Orange Theory this morning - 602 calories burned. 512 meter row in 90 seconds!

Runnnnnning!  I haven't been sleeping because I've developed restless leg syndrome.  Yay!  And I'm so sore from kettlebells, my body feels like it's crying.  This isn't good sore.  This is just painful, OH MY GOD WHERE IS THE VICODIN, sore.  Kettlebells was awesome last night, though.  There were only two things I couldn't do full rounds on because of my hand, so I'm back in the saddle!  Instructor missed my snark, and the cute boy who gave me a thumbs up in the parking lot one time asked how my hand was doing so obviously he wants me.  Hahahahaha.  Let me have my little fantasy. :)

I found that Hyland Restful leg to be very helpful with my restless leg syndrome.  It is not expensive and can be found at most drug stores

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/images/catalog/skus/l_sh-1135.p ng

Thanks!

Who DOESN'T want you?