Hello,
I have a new client who is obese and wanting to get back into shape. For our one hour session this is what I have planned.
Cardio on Treadmill
10 minute warmup
10 minute increase the speed.
5 minute increase speed more and slight incline
5 minutes decrease speed and cool down
That leaves me with 30 minutes of stretching and strengthening.
I am trying to think of a stretchs for the lower back and tsoas and glutes that an obese person can physically do. She's not very flexible either.
thanks!
I would do a 10 min warm up and THEN your stretching and strengthening work (the most important part) and then finish with the other 20 mins of cardio.
Her goals were to have more energy, loose weight and avoid lower back pain. All of which will be resolved once she looses the weight and starts exercising. I have an hour with her and her heart isn't strong enough to do more then 30 minutes of cardio. I thought I do some flexibility exercises and eventually once she's more mobile add strengthening. Once she increases her cardiovascular ability I'll use the hour for more cardio and less time on stretch and strength. Does that sound right?
Annie, I don't like the end of the plan. Anyone can do cardio, with or without a trainer. Your primary goal should be the strengthening/flexibility stuff that she won't know how to do on her own and is much harder to spot form mistakes. I would strive to get more and more of that in the workout. It will also help a lot more with metabolism. As her cardiovascular ability increase I bump the intensity up rather than the length. Its better use of her time and money.
As for specific flexibility stuff I would look at a lot of bodyweight lunge varities. They will loosten up the hips as well as get the heart rate up and work the muscles.
Danny
__________________
Limitations are for people who have them.
Danny, You have to remember that some people are so unfit, so unco-ordinated, so weak, and so immobile that even what you and I consider to be very basic stuff is still next to impossible to them.
With an obese person, conservatism rules, especially if we've never met them (i.e. talking about them on the Internet).
If this woman makes the correct changes to her nutrition, and starts a basic exercise program, she can easily lose several pounds per week. Two online clients I've started with lost 10 pounds in a week with nutrition changes only.
Im curious as to what the strengthening part entails.
__________________
"The strongest steel goes through the hottest fires."-Anonymous
"When you begin to believe nothing is heavy, all weights become light." -Rossbow
"Just remember, somewhere there is a little Chinese girl warming up with your max."-Jim Convroy
"It's a round hole, dammit. Everyone fits."--Anonymous Mod at Strengthmill
Exactly what I was thinking Craig. Some of you guys forget that 99.9% of people are not fitness buffs like most of the younger people on this board. It just doesn't work that way. I've got a friend right now that walking 20 minutes at 3mph just about kills him and squatting and bench pressing the bar is a strain. He's knocking on the door of 300 pounds with a good 30% bodyfat. Been very inactive for a decade at least. You've got to start somewhere and it's definitely not a HIIT sprinting program and Westside.
A good nutrition program will knock off 2-3 lbs per week easily with someone obese. 20-30 minutes walking on the treadmill is a good place to start and some machine work. I know that will raise eyebrows among some of the more freeweight oriented but some people are just too uncoordinated and unfit to even consider squatting. When they can't hardly get out of their own chair, you can't put a bunch of weight on their shoulders and tell 'em to squat down.
I agree with both of you, but I am talking in the gym time. Nutrition obviously will be the largest part of the results and anything will take the weight off at this point. But, a person can run on a treadmill for an hour without a trainer after learning how to use the machine which shouldn't take more than ten minutes. The motivation helps but personal training is expensive. When I said increase intensity, I meant intensity as a relative term to her level of fitness.
If I were to work with a client and put them on a treadmill for an hour I would feel like I am robbing them. They are coming to me to give them what they can't do on thier own. Lunge variations for an obese person could be long steps to the front and some lateral steps to learn a bit more stabilzation or basically anything that will get them to start moving and using muscles. I should have been more specific in my first post but as a trainer I feel that you have a responsibility to give a client something they couldn't have easily figured out on their own like going for longer and longer walks.
Danny
__________________
Limitations are for people who have them.
If she could have done this on her own, she would have a long time ago. If this woman does not make an appointment, she will likely not do anything.
Again, you just don't understand how physically unfit some people can be. For some people, walking around the block is as difficult as running a 10k in 40 minutes for a generally fit person.
Let's leave it at this:
I'm not robbing anyone, and I don't think that any other trainer that visits this board and asks questions on how to train someone is interested in robbing anyone either.
Craig, I understand what you are saying, but tend to fall under Danny's thinking. Both my parents are in the same boat as this lady. They went out and purchased a treadmill and use it now about 2-3 times a week with no instruction. What they don't do is lift or train with weights and it is holding them back. Most overweight people are scared of weights and lack the knowledge to use them. That is where I feel an obese person would benifit from having a trainer most.
I think it comes down to motivation. If you need to pay someone to put you on a treadmill so you actually do something, then I can't fault the trainer, but it certainly shows why they are fat. They lack dedication and will...
I don't think you are ripping anyone off. In fact, you might be the only reason she sticks to the workouts, but that shouldn't discount the fact that Weight training would be best mixed with high intensity training for short bursts if they want good results. If they can lug their 400lb ass to a fast food joint, they CAN workout if they try.
Originally posted by Newlife: If they can lug their 400lb ass to a fast food joint, they CAN workout if they try.
If it was easy, we would all be perfect.
Yes great point! It's all in the will and dedication to a fitness program. If someone does not want to become lean by being willing to diet and sweat, etc., then that person will likely not succeed. So as trainers and people with all this great fitness knowledge, all we can really do is help to motivate those who want to become healthier.
Anna
__________________
You live in too much of a logical world!
If you just stepped out of it and forgot the worldy limits, ANYTHING & EVERYTHING would be possible... - anna kubit
Craig, I can agree with just about everything you guys said and most of Annie's plan. The part that I disagreed with was this (and I guess I should have been more specific)
Quote:
Once she increases her cardiovascular ability I'll use the hour for more cardio and less time on stretch and strength. Does that sound right?
That once she starts making progress and dropping weight she will focus less on the strengthening and stretching. This is the part I felt was backwards. I will agree with you in a second that at the beggining it needs to be a really slow change and just walking will do wonders. I can also agree that she probably wouldn't start walking on her own. But once she gets into a program their needs to be a progression to something a bit more challenging. A trainer needs to be able to address this in a safe way.
Here is a quote from Alwyn in the link to the newsletter you posted:
Quote:
CB: What type of questions and lifestyle review do you do with overweight clients? Are there any common factors among overweight clients?
AC:
Primarily we see people with more structural weaknesses – it’s their ability to move their body that is the biggest problem – not just their ability to transport oxygen! So we need to begin with a full body strength and stability program.
Trying to address purely the cardio system is like trying to put in a new engine in a car while the front end is still out of alignment. We can increase engine “output” by working on alignment first.
Common factors: structural weaknesses, flexibility issues (i.e. they would be unable to walk on a treadmill for 15 minutes continuously), lack of nutrition (funnily enough we see overweight, almost malnourished people all the time).
And Craig, I hope you know that I never meant that you or anyone else on this board is robbing or ripping people off. That was never the point of any of my posts. If it came off that way I apologize. I can really sum up my main point of all this in one sentence. I feel that a trainer has a responsibility to progress beyond simply increasing the amount of time a client spends on a treadmill and dropping strength and flexibility in favor of this approach is a bad idea.
Danny
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Limitations are for people who have them.
I was talking about only the initial visit. My apologies as well.
I meant that in the initial visit, you will quickly run out of strength exercises you can do. If you do more than 1 set per muscle group, the person might be too sore to function for days after.
Therefore, spending some time showing a person what an interval is (even for obese people, they can do intervals, only the difference may be 3.0mph vs. 3.3mph for example and only done for 1 or 2 intervals), showing them how to monitor their intensity levels on a subjective and objective level, talking to them and figuring out "what makes them tick" regarding their fat loss program (so that you can best help and motivate them according to their personality, etc.), and educating them on nutrition will make up the rest of the session.
So a bit of misunderstanding on my part about what you were alluding to.
Craig
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc.
Men's Fitness Training Adviser
President
CB Athletic Consulting, Inc.
I wonder how often that happens on the internet, two people who agree on a topic arguing because they don't realize they agree. I think you are spot on in the intitial visit and I should have been more clear that I meant a progression over time.
At least Annie has a lot of stuff she can read through now. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Danny
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Limitations are for people who have them.
Thanks for the stuff to read. It's been helpful. I'm still looking for 'modified' ways to stretch all the muscles since I assume her mobility is lacking and she might not be able to do some of the twisty yoga moves I'm used to facilitating.
Originally posted by Newlife: If they can lug their 400lb ass to a fast food joint, they CAN workout if they try.
If it was easy, we would all be perfect.
Yes great point! It's all in the will and dedication to a fitness program. If someone does not want to become lean by being willing to diet and sweat, etc., then that person will likely not succeed. So as trainers and people with all this great fitness knowledge, all we can really do is help to motivate those who want to become healthier.
Anna
__________________
You live in too much of a logical world!
If you just stepped out of it and forgot the worldy limits, ANYTHING & EVERYTHING would be possible... - anna kubit
IMO it's important to relize that some of these people have HORRIBLE self esteem problems and HORRIBLE self image and excersising is genuinly hard for them which is terribly embarrassing.
While you can say it's their own fault and you may very well be right...it doesn't change the fact that the people have a massive mental hurdle that instead of condemning them them, they need approval...especially when they are seeking help, even if they're paying for it.
And I agree with you too on that point Danny. She shouldn't emphasize cardio over weight training. It's definitely a necessary component that will make the weight loss much easier and the final results much more impressive. However, Anna is being paid to inspire! Some people really need it. It's not ripping them off.
Oh I totally agree. Inspiring is huge. Its one of the main things we have touched on in my training so far. I never wanted to come across like she was ripping her client off, just that the time with a trainer should be spent doing things that are much harder to learn on their own. One of these is often inspiration and time spent working on self esteem is never wasted time.
Danny
__________________
Limitations are for people who have them.
This is a great post. I think it's hard to relate to how they feel unless you have gone through it yourself or have been VERY close to it with a family member.
I wouldn't BEGIN the session with cardio. I'd do the stretching and strengthening work FIRST. As everyone has stated, it could be structurally 'dangerous' for some people to even walk on a treadmill for time - their bodies are so imbalanced.
So I'd definitely do the stretching and strengthening when she was fresh - but only the stretches that are necessary and the strength exercises as necessary (as revealed by her assessment - that waswhat Craig was getting at I think).
Then after you have completed that portion, you could finish with some cardio.
Just remember that the extremely high rep repetitive nature of typical cardo training (e.g. stepper, treadmill etc) can actually cause or aggravate problems with a deconditioned person. You can get the same cardiovascular benefits in the beginning by just keeping the rest periods between your other exercises short. Just something to think about.
When you guys work with obese individuals, do you find them getting excited over getting past small hurdles such as slight increases in strength, being able to touch their toes, the first few pounds lost, etc.?? It would seem to me that motivating someone who is that overweight and out of shape, that making sure to establish a solid series of progressive and measurable short term goals would be of utmost importance to keep a client motivated and feeling that they are building toward their ultimate goal.
What kind of stretching are we talking about here? Im thinking of an obese 300lb person and I cant picture them doing lunges or anything. The upper body would be easier to stretch and work via machines, but Im not so sure about the lower body. Any thoughts?
__________________
"The strongest steel goes through the hottest fires."-Anonymous
"When you begin to believe nothing is heavy, all weights become light." -Rossbow
"Just remember, somewhere there is a little Chinese girl warming up with your max."-Jim Convroy
"It's a round hole, dammit. Everyone fits."--Anonymous Mod at Strengthmill
Ok I'm speaking from personal experience here. I am obese, being 6'0 and 320lbs. I have about 25.4% body fat. I was in college football last year and couldn't do anything for about 6 months because of a knee problem no running, lifting, anything. When I was finally able to run I willed myself into being able to do everything the team did. I finished the gasers. I am also an exercise and environmental induced asthmatic. I know it's hard for a lot of people but WILL can do a lot. I had a huge amount of support from my teammates. They would cheer me on as I was running cause they knew how hard I was pushing myself. Support and will can help people do amazing things.
:p 
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