Isometrics won’t work for seriously overweight people, right? Mistaken!
There is a myth that people who need to lose a significant amount of weight can only do so with strenuous, high-intensity, high-impact exercise. But a myth is exactly what it is. Isometrics can be the perfect exercise for the morbidly obese, since many of the exercises can be performed sitting down; physical limitations are not a barrier to success.
According to the owner of a popular gym, at least 35% of his clients need to lose more than 35 pounds, and about half of them need to lose 100 pounds or more.
So… make them use treadmills and “torture chamber” gym equipment? Does it make them run endless laps around a track? Do you close your eyes to your physical limitations and yell, “No pain, no gain!” to them until they are reduced to tears and give up, disgusted and discouraged by failure, once again?
No way! She starts them on an isometric exercise program. She then steps back and watches them beaming with delight when, within the first week to 10 days, they have lost inches… increased energy levels… and safely begun to lose pounds.
People who are severely overweight often have many physical limitations. One of the most common problems is “bad knees,” which miss and restrict the ability to stand for any length of time or move easily. In addition to knee problems, the morbidly obese suffer from shortness of breath…low energy levels…and burn very few of the calories they eat with their meals. Unburned calories turn into new fat cells, setting off an ever-increasing spiral of failure and despair with seemingly no way out.
But there is a way out, and that is the isometric exercise. Is anyone going to lose 35 pounds and several dress sizes in the first week? Certainly not! But you have to start somewhere, and the several pounds and an inch or two that are typically lost in the first week of an isometrics program are a great start. The heart-warming thrill of success alone is priceless, when you consider how often the first week of a standard, high-stress exercise program results in sore muscles with nothing to show for it.
Most effective isometric exercises can be done while sitting in a chair. And even those designed for standing can be adapted for a sitting position, should someone require it.
Another really nice aspect of an isometric program for the morbidly obese is that through the use of a DVD, the exercise can be done whenever you want, in the comfort and privacy of your own home. That means no sneering or sneering from “gym bodies” in public workout centers… and it also means that if the best time to exercise for you is midnight, all you have to do is swipe the DVD and do it.
If you or someone you know is morbidly obese and thinks you’re just “stuck” being that way, check out isometric exercise and experience healthy success for a change.
