I'd like to start a weekly cardio/strength training schedule because I sometimes lose track of what exercises I've done when and I also have a tendency to try and do too much at once and too fast. Has anyone else created a schedule for themselves that would like to share any tips or advice. I can't afford a trainer, or even a gym membership, but I do have a lovely bike path near by where I walk three miles a day, a nice bike, a basic rowing machine, and a small set of free weights. I have a print out of other strength training exercises that can be down at home without equipment as well (squats, lunges, calf raises, sit ups, etc.) What has worked best for you?

Edited August 10, 201510 yr by Indieflickers

Rowing machine is great one of my friends works out in the rowing machine. I had lost 25 pounds in 2 months just walking 3 miles and doing squats, sit ups.... I just find it very difficult because my ankles were killing me so I pushed my self really hard after surgery once surgeon says is ok I will go back to dancing and walking and some small weights I dont want to over do it and then stop I guess we just have to find what works for us, In my highschool years I went from size 22 to 9/10 just eating alot of salads and on the treadmill everyday but I was so obsessed with the weightloss that I started eating only once a day and ended up sick:(..Good luck and hopefully you find what works for you????

@@ylluz thanks!

I do all of my workouts at home. I posted my work-out routine in another thread a while back:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/343348-workouts-post-sleeve/?hl=%2Bcrunches#entry3860702

Unfortunately, since my sister and her 4 kids moved in with me in June, I've had a pretty tough time sticking to the schedule. Working out with the kids in the house is a real challenge, since they all seem to want to kill themselves on my fitness equipment. Once she moves out in September, I plan to be back to this plan 100%.

Edit: Just realized that was only my strength training. For cardio I worked my way through Couch to 5k and now run 5k every other day. On the days I'm not running, I try to alternate between biking and resting, but it's been a lot more just resting, because of the aforementioned issues with the children in my house.

during your first fe months i recommend cardio cardio cardio. then add in your strength training. Simplest exercise routine, is, Monday wed fri back and biceps, tue, thur sat chest and triceps. cardio 5 times a week and legs/ abs every other day.

But this is a total fitness plan, and im not even there yet at 8 months post op. thats a lot of time needed and a lot of equipment. so id reccomend taking that kind of schedule and altering to fit what you like and what you have available.

Maybe you alternate walking mon, wed fri, and rowing tue thur sat, and arm xercises on mon wed fri and leg exercises on tue thur sat. , no matter how you do it. just do it. You know you can do this. Good luck on your journey!

or just follow Jamies plan. lol

@@Stevehud thanks! Those are good ideas!

@@JamieLogical great plan! Exactly what I was looking for. I want to do the C25K and after about a month of walking for three miles every morning I tried running in 30 second bursts and now I'm recovering from killer shin splints. I think it was because I was running on concrete and also because I was actually flat out running, not gentle jogging. I'm giving myself a week off from walking/running and have just been riding my bike.

I bet you can't wait to have your house back! I'd love more equipment but as I live in a shoebox studio apartment, if it's not something I can hide under my bed, I have no room. I was thinking of getting a little stair stepper because while I can walk at a good pace for a long time now, climbing a few flights of stairs still makes me über sore.

@@Indieflickers Sorry for not responding sooner. Definitely a challenge being relegated to just one room of my whole house after all these years of it being just me and my husband there. I was actually in the market for a new treadmill around the time they all moved in. So glad I didn't buy one then and very excited to buy one after they move out. They've already managed to break one of the hand-grip heart rate monitors off my old one. I don't mind, since I wear a chest strap heart rate monitor, but I definitely wound's want them damaging a new machine. And every time I get on my recumbent exercise bike, the handlebars are out of position from the little ones hanging on them like a jungle gym!

It will be such a relief to have my house back and not live in constant fear of the children either breaking something or killing themselves! Nothing about my house was child-proof or intended for small children.

I hope that strength training plan I provided is a good start for you. The nice thing about it is it's only 5-6 exercises at a time, so it really doesn't take that long and it's all stuff you can do with a pair of free weights. When I first started out, I was only doing two sets of 12 reps with very light weight. I actually have a set of adjustable weights, so I was able to gradually work my way up to 15 reps and heavier weights.

The set I have is something like this. It's pricey, but the nice thing is it takes up WAY less space than having multiple pairs of weights:

http://www.amazon.com/ProForm-SpaceSaver-Dumbbell-25-Double/dp/B00MS36EW0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1439395346&sr=8-6&keywords=adjustable+weight+set

@@JamieLogical no worries! Your house definitely seems like a hectic place to be right now!

Those weights are great. I actually have little briefcase that sits under my desk that has a 1lb, 3lb, and 5lb weight. I'm mostly doing the 3lb now. I just wish I'd started sooner!

I limit myself on exercise. I walk almost everyday 3 miles or more. I tried running and did great, I actually ran 1 mile non stop. I lost no weight and my Dr said that the reason is that your body goes into starvation mode and you wont lose weight that its better to walk. She also said not to lift more than 10lb weights.

How is that if so many people I know are banded and do so much more cardio and lose?

Has anyone run into this?

I limit myself on exercise. I walk almost everyday 3 miles or more. I tried running and did great, I actually ran 1 mile non stop. I lost no weight and my Dr said that the reason is that your body goes into starvation mode and you wont lose weight that its better to walk. She also said not to lift more than 10lb weights.

How is that if so many people I know are banded and do so much more cardio and lose?

Has anyone run into this?

The trick is finding the balance. If you aren't eating enough calories to sustain your exercise intensity, then you WILL stall out, because your body will try to preserve itself. I didn't start intense cardio until I was about 4 months post-op and was able to eat enough calories to make it work. Everyone is different, so you have to experiment to find what works for you. If I was only consuming 800 calories a day, there is no way I could sustain the level of exercise I'm doing. However, I eat 1200-1500 calories a day and continue to lose doing intense cardio 4-6 times per week. For me, "intense cardio" is running a 5k with a 5 minute warm-up walk and a 10 minute cool-down walk. Or biking an interval program on my recumbent exercise bike for 45 minutes, followed by a slower cool-down, which usually totals out to about 14 miles.

@@JamieLogical how do you know when to increase your calories? I'm so conflicted about it. Logically I understand the concept of starvation mode but the idea of eating more calories still makes me so anxious. How do you know when your workout is intense enough to require more calories? I log every activity and mouthful in the Jawbone UP app and it tells me how many calories I've burned, but other apps say differently so I'm always doubtful of their actual accuracy.

Listen to your body. If you aren't getting enough calories, you will feel it. You will fatigue more easily and you will be physically hungry more often. Also, the scale will likely stop moving.

If you are getting enough calories, you will have more energy to make it through your day and workouts, you won't get hungry between snacks/meals, and the scale should be moving steadily.

@@JamieLogical very good advice. I wish it were an exact science. More precise.

@@JamieLogical very good advice. I wish it were an exact science. More precise.

I learned long before my WLS that weight loss is not a simple equation of calories in versus calories out, like they would lead us to believe. I wore a BodyBugg every day for almost two years and tracked literally every single bite of food I ate (not guestimates, actually WEIGHING it out). There were times when I was driving myself completely insane because my calorie deficit said I should have lost three pounds but I only lost half a pound. Or I should have only lost one pound, but I lost three. I kept elaborate spreadsheets to see if things would at least even out over time and they didn't even come close! It was incredibly frustrating!

Post-WLS, I am much more zen about it. As long as the scale is trending downward and I am getting healthier, I am happy. I have the whole rest of my life to reach my goal weight if I needed to. And I'm really not even that invested in a target goal weight. I'm getting healthy and strong. I can run 3.1 miles without stopping! I am working on improving my speed. I feel good and comfortable in my own skin. I am enjoying life. For me, finishing a 5k race is WAY more gratifying than seeing some arbitrary number on a scale.

I will probably get to my goal weight. I'm only 3.4 pounds away as of this morning. But at this point, that goal seems so insignificant compared to the true impact WLS has had on my life and health.

@@JamieLogical that's an incredibly healthy and sane way to look at it!

You mentioned you can't afford a trainer or gym membership. My local community college offers a variety of fitness and weight training classes at a much lower cost than the gym and it includes access to the school's fitness facility as well. Something to consider.