5 Low Impact Exercises for Obese People
When you’re overweight, it’s easy to feel self -conscious about how you look when exerting yourself doing exercise. It feels like everyone is looking at you, and your red flushed face. That’s why it’s important for obese individuals to be able to exercise discreetly and to do exercises that reflect their current fitness level. We’ll discuss several ways to get started with exercise if you’re overweight, and how to shed some of that weight and get comfortable in your body again.
Note: These exercises are the same for the elderly and out of shape. Use them as a diving board into the world of fitness!
Stretching
Stretching is a great place to start if you’re overweight. You will be surprised how inflexible you are if you have not been exercising regularly, and how much more limber you can become with just a little effort. Great stretches include the Hippie, the Pecs Flex and the Leaning Tower.
Chair exercises
Exercising in a chair is a great way to take some of the pressure off our back and legs and transfer that energy to our torso and arms. Chair exercises include Hinge and Cross and Leg Lift and Twist .
Water workouts
You can do all sorts of exercise in the pool, where your body’s natural bouyancy helps you achieve what is very hard for you to achieve against gravity. Exercises include jogging in place (knees up high), bicycle (hold onto the edge of the pool and kick your legs in a pedaling motion) and squat jumps (squat low with your arms parallel to your shoulders and jump as high as you can, slapping your hands together at the apex of your jump).
Walking
Walking is a well-known low impact exercise that can get your heart really pumping and create a great sweat for your body. Try walking up stairs, inclines or go for a hike in nature. In the city walk to get groceries, to pick up the kids from school or to dinner. Include some music with your walk, or at the very least an audio version of a book you have been wanting to read. Bring a friend and go walking together, or take your pet for a walk.
Standing instead of sit
All it takes is a willingness to stand rather than sit at a desk, and in some offices standing desks might be the norm. A standing desk is a desk that can move from a sitting position to a standing one by means of a motor and remote control. Stand a few hours a day and sit the remainder and you will definitely get a bit of a workout for your legs and back.
Getting exercise when you’re obese doesn’t need to be hard, in fact, it isn’t hard at all. If you supply the willpower to get started there are plenty of ways to get exercise in a low-impact and healthy way. All it needs is for you to take that first step towards a healthier vision of yourself.