Excercise
Dr Linda Steyn is president of the South African Society of Physiotherapy and is based in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. She explains how anyone can begin a fitness routine in order to lose weight…
Is a person ever too heavy or too unfit to train/get their heart rate up?
No, in the absence of any health risks, such as possible heart disease etc., any person can train with an increased heart rate. This might have to be done in the water or on a stationary bike initially but should always be progressed as weight loss is achieved and fitness improves. It’s important to ‘find your thing’. You can do any form of physical activity with moderate intensity – you should aim for increased breathing, but still be able to chat while training five times a week for 30 minutes. The more you enjoy the activity, the less likely you will be to stop. The most popular activity by far is walking. Joining a ‘Walk for Life’ group if you don’t have a training partner can help to motivate you. Other examples are dancing, cycling, swimming, water aerobics and Zumba.
If someone’s been sedentary for a very long time, is now overweight and wants to start an exercise routine, what do they need to be aware of before they begin?
As a general rule, the body-adaptation should be a slow, controlled process. In other words, whatever you start doing that your body isn’t used to should be progressed in a slowly controlled way to prevent injuries. Prevention is far better than cure! The longer you were inactive, the slower your progression should be. Also remember that there are many aspects of a balanced fitness programme: cardiovascular fitness, strength, power, endurance, core stability, flexibility and joint mobility.
Injuries are common in the early stages if you don’t select the correct programme for your level of ability and will depend on the type of sport you participated in before your weight gain. For example, if you ran the Comrades Marathon before your weight gain, you’d probably not suffer lower limb sprains and strains in the same way as someone that might have done bodybuilding prior to weight gain.