After 3 weeks of being sleeved, especially if you have a lot to lose, start going to the gym IMMEDIATELY. You DON'T have to start cardio but you DHOULD start a weight training regimen. This will greatly assist in the saggy and loose skin problem. TRUST ME. As a trainer, one of my clients is 44 years old and weighed 402 lbs. He had the sleeve almost a year and change now and I realized after losing all that weight he has little to no loose or saggy skin... He weighs 202 right now and looks like a trainer himself.

I understand some drs may tell u to wait a little longer but three weeks is the best time to start! Even if it's light training every bit helps because your body will notice it before you do.

Terrific information to be armed with before my surgery. Thanks.

After 3 weeks of being sleeved, especially if you have a lot to lose, start going to the gym IMMEDIATELY. You DON'T have to start cardio but you DHOULD start a weight training regimen. This will greatly assist in the saggy and loose skin problem. TRUST ME. As a trainer, one of my clients is 44 years old and weighed 402 lbs. He had the sleeve almost a year and change now and I realized after losing all that weight he has little to no loose or saggy skin... He weighs 202 right now and looks like a trainer himself.

I understand some drs may tell u to wait a little longer but three weeks is the best time to start! Even if it's light training every bit helps because your body will notice it before you do.

Question. Why should you start weight training as opposed to just flat out cardio? I've always been told to do cardio to loose the weight and after you loose is when you start weight training to tone... Something about lifting too much weight add muscle mass and slows down the weight loss. Is this accurate?

Also, when do you think it is appropriate to start ab workouts... crunches, situps, etc!? I don't want to hurt my tummy but the majority of my weight is in my midsection so I need to do something quick!

Question. Why should you start weight training as opposed to just flat out cardio? I've always been told to do cardio to loose the weight and after you loose is when you start weight training to tone... Something about lifting too much weight add muscle mass and slows down the weight loss. Is this accurate?

Also' date=' when do you think it is appropriate to start ab workouts... crunches, situps, etc!? I don't want to hurt my tummy but the majority of my weight is in my midsection so I need to do something quick![/quote']

That statement is false. Cardio does indeed helps lose weight but that's all it does. Losing weight means losing muscle weight in the process which is a no no. To defeat loose skin you muscle train the muscles you already have.

Look at it this way if you do cardio alone you lose weight but once your finished with cardio the calorie burning process is complete. With strength trainibg youre building muscles which burn more calories through the day even at rest you're burning calories. Once you stop doing cardio it is extremely easy to gain all that weight back, but once you stop doing strength training it's harder to gain that weight back unless you become super lazy and sleep all day.

Stomach workouts should be completed 2 months after surgery to ensure the newly formed stomach has healed properly. Nothing is worse than tearing it and ending up back in the hospital for a month or longer. Leaks due kill! So becareful

That statement is false. Cardio does indeed helps lose weight but that's all it does. Losing weight means losing muscle weight in the process which is a no no. To defeat loose skin you muscle train the muscles you already have.

Look at it this way if you do cardio alone you lose weight but once your finished with cardio the calorie burning process is complete. With strength trainibg youre building muscles which burn more calories through the day even at rest you're burning calories. Once you stop doing cardio it is extremely easy to gain all that weight back, but once you stop doing strength training it's harder to gain that weight back unless you become super lazy and sleep all day.

Stomach workouts should be completed 2 months after surgery to ensure the newly formed stomach has healed properly. Nothing is worse than tearing it and ending up back in the hospital for a month or longer. Leaks due kill! So becareful

Makes sense. Thanks for the advice!

I don't think there is going to be any help for my inner thighs, they have gained and lost and gained and lost over all these years they gonna be a sad excuse for a pair of leg, Im here to tell ya.............

Jimmy,

I have been neglecting my weight training. I know my legs and heart are strong. I bike and hike. I found out just how weak I was when my daughter told me to do a "bridge." Now I can do pushups (sort of), but as I lay there on my back I realized that I couldn't get my shoulders off the ground.

Pathetic huh?

I have 2 free weights that go up to 12 pounds each. There are so many exercises that I'm overwhelmed and sort of lost. Which exercises? How many reps? How heavy? How much time in between reps?

I wish I could afford a trainer.

I am 30 and will be sleeved Aug15 I weigh 400 and I'm 5'4" I very worried about saggy skin. Do you have any suggestions on certain excrises that I should start doing immediately to lessen the loose skin. I open to any suggestions I have a bike and weights at home.

What should I be doing ???

I would love to hire a personal trainer for the strength training stuff. I feel totally lost in that department. I'm pretty sure my body is going to need it.

My 5 year old son is enrolled in swimming classes, to learn all the competitive racing strokes. I'm thinking about hiring his swim coach to teach me the strokes like breast stroke, butterfly, etc. all I know how to do is freestyle

I wish there was a short video of sime post op exercises we could do immediately. I would like to minimize the sagging skin myself.

Thanks for the information! Would Water aerobics do the same as using weight training?

yes

Everytime I try weights my back goes out. I do the elliptical...wish I could get my core stronger without hurting myself. Any suggestions?

swimming will help build ya cardiovascular

back to check in, jimmy!

today was my first day weight training! i went when the gym was not packed so i didn't feel stupid looking at the instructions and the body parts the machine works. lol i worked my upper body...it wasn't bad...i didn't realize my shoulders were so weak but i have arthritis in them. i think i was lifting to light...i have in my mind if i'm not in pain, about to pass out, out of breath, etc. i'm not doing anything...i've been like that my whole life. i don't think my workout was that affective today so i would like to go back tomorrow and work my upper again...what are your thoughts? i did 3 sets, 10 reps...is this enough?

here is my questions: should i be lift in the full range motion? or pulsing? what's the difference in the results? currently i'm not just looking to tone but i'm also looking to build muscle to lose weight. i remember reading some where...you're supposed to lift heavy to tear the muscle down so it can rebuild...so here was the routine....12 count heavy, 10 count heavy, 8 count heavy, as many as you can easy. something like that. anyway, the point was to get your muscle that you're working to feel weak like a noodle. have you ever heard of that? can i tone while lifting heavy? how long would you say an average weight lifting workout should take, when you're working 1 section of your body i.e. upper? for what i want to accomplish is 2 days a week sufficient for what i'm trying to accomplish? i was thinking tues. (upper) and thurs. (lower). what feeling should i be feeling after a good weight training session?

i still can't bring myself to pay for a trainer until after i get my bills from the surgery. lol probably am not going to want to fork out the money then either...lol i'll see how well i do on my own. if i keep asking you questions i'm going to have to put you a check in the mail...lol

back to check in' date=' jimmy!

today was my first day weight training! i went when the gym was not packed so i didn't feel stupid looking at the instructions and the body parts the machine works. lol i worked my upper body...it wasn't bad...i didn't realize my shoulders were so weak but i have arthritis in them. i think i was lifting to light...i have in my mind if i'm not in pain, about to pass out, out of breath, etc. i'm not doing anything...i've been like that my whole life. i don't think my workout was that affective today so i would like to go back tomorrow and work my upper again...what are your thoughts? i did 3 sets, 10 reps...is this enough?

here is my questions: should i be lift in the full range motion? or pulsing? what's the difference in the results? currently i'm not just looking to tone but i'm also looking to build muscle to lose weight. i remember reading some where...you're supposed to lift heavy to tear the muscle down so it can rebuild...so here was the routine....12 count heavy, 10 count heavy, 8 count heavy, as many as you can easy. something like that. anyway, the point was to get your muscle that you're working to feel weak like a noodle. have you ever heard of that? can i tone while lifting heavy? how long would you say an average weight lifting workout should take, when you're working 1 section of your body i.e. upper? for what i want to accomplish is 2 days a week sufficient for what i'm trying to accomplish? i was thinking tues. (upper) and thurs. (lower). what feeling should i be feeling after a good weight training session?

i still can't bring myself to pay for a trainer until after i get my bills from the surgery. lol probably am not going to want to fork out the money then either...lol i'll see how well i do on my own. if i keep asking you questions i'm going to have to put you a check in the mail...lol[/quote']

3 sets of 10 is gd... Don't work upper body again give it a couple days of rest since you're just beginning.

U should be in the mirror focusing on your technic for that particular exercise. Technic is what gets u results bad form gets you injuries.conventrate on that. Toning and building muscle is the SAME EXACT THING. You can lift heavy and do less reps or lift light and do more reps. They are both effective.

You should focus on 2 body parts a day. It should take you about an hr and a half to complete this. 2 days a week will not get u the results you're searching for. It has to be 4-5 times a week. You should feel tightness. After u stretch it should feel like ya muscles are loosening up. After two days u will feel slight pain from tearing of muscle fibers in a destroy and rebuilding stage. Make sure u have a Protein shake within 1 hr of your completed workout to help assist the recovery phase.

Jimmy- you are such a great guy. Thanks for helping all of us and wanting success for each of us. Your time and attention to helping others shows what a great spirit you have!

thanks so much Its refreshing to see and feel the love!

Omg! Im in love with this thread!!!

I just discovered this thread. If you don't mind sharing your expertise, I have a couple of questions.

I've been doing low weights, high reps, combined with 1 workout of 3 heavy weights to exhaustion of the muscle. So, if I do legs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, then I do LWHR on T and Th, then heavy weights, low reps on Saturday. I'm seeing a lot of muscle tone and some improvement in strength doing it this way. I'm working my way up to pull ups with both arms and legs. I'm still pretty heavy, 241, so I'm not having lots of success with the pull ups. Is there a better way to get to my pull up goals? Should I just continue to try doing them once a week like I'm doing, or do I add them to one or all of my weekly workouts?

Second, I just found out today that I have to lose 70 more pounds for the plastic surgeon to do my tummy tuck. Are there specific weight exercises/cardio combinations I should be doing so that I lose the fat in my torso rather than losing muscle mass in my arms?

I'm almost a year out and I do cardio 7 days a week, if that information helps.