Kenneth Gardner
Dear Mr. Gardner,
I AM at present weighing 200 lb and would like to lose some weight. My job does not provide any activity. I don't have the time to go to a gym because I will be going to school part-time and working full-time. What can I do? I have an exercise mat and some weights.
RESPONSE
If you are 6' 3" tall or taller with a large body frame, your weight of 200 lb is all right. However, if you are not that tall then you are overweight. It is important for me to know both your weight and height to make a better assessment of your body mass.
It would be good if persons were able to do an exercise session at the workplace, especially during their lunch break. Based on your day's schedule, you can choose to do an exercise session before you go to work or when you return home. This is probably not much to choose from but you will need to do what is most practical.
Having acquired some weight equipment, it is a good place to start. It should motivate you to make use of your investment. Since you want to reduce your body weight, the amount of weight/equipment that you work with is very important. Weights are generally used to build strength and increase muscle mass which is usually done with moderately heavy to heavy weights. The volume of weights with which you are working will also dictate the number of repetitions that you can complete.
In order to use weights in an exercise routine to reduce your body weight you will need to use fairly light weights that will allow you to complete many
repetitions to take you into an aerobic situation for the best results. This will require that you continue for about two minutes to ensure that the activity is aerobic. This will initiate the kind of energy expenditure that will help your body to use much of your stored energy to fuel the exercise rather than storing it as fat.
DIET IS IMPORTANT
Weight loss is better managed when diet and exercise are used complementarily. Following the commencement of your exercise programme try to keep your dietary intake at the same level as it was before. If you consume more as the exercise programme begins to take effect you will retain or even gain weight instead of losing it, so try to maintain control of your diet so that you can achieve the change that you desire.
There are many different kinds of exercises that you can do with the weight equipment that you have; a variety of exercises will make the exercise session novel and exciting. By using an interval session which involves a series of exercises followed by a rest period after each series, you can adjust the rest session based on how well you are coping. Rest sessions can be increased or decreased based on how your body responds. The intensity of the workout as well as the time factor can similarly be adjusted for your specific needs.
With the weight equipment that you have you can choose a number of different combinations from bench press, shoulder press, squats, abdominal curls, lateral raise, biceps curls and toe raise. These will help in both your upper and lower body. With the mat, you can do a wide variety of activities by lying face down and raising your trunk without the support of your hands. Move your trunk in a number of different directions as you rise above the floor.
The arms can also be used to support the trunk in the raised position to add variety to the workout. Lie on your back as well as on your sides and raise your legs to different heights and angles to work your abdominal muscles. Alternate the movements of your legs as well as your trunk while you are lying to add variety to the your exercise.
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G. C. Foster College of Physical Education; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
