Athletes in television commercials aren't shown to scale. Most are tall and slender, their muscles flexing as they swing a tennis racquet, cycle down a mountain or swim laps.
In real life, most adults are overweight or obese. The national obesity rate climbed to 26.1 percent in 2008, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This means many adventure buffs are... well, not that buff.
Many outdoor and adventure participants are packing a few extra pounds. Obese adults can also join the fun but they need to take special precautions when starting a new sport or fitness program.
GETTING STARTED:
Obese participants should check with their physician to gauge their fitness level and understand what realistically can be performed, said Kathy Weber, a sports medicine physician and director of the Women's Sports Medicine Program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Ill.
Selecting appropriate gear is also important before beginning a new sport or fitness program. Shoes must be supportive and activity appropriate. "It's really important because they may have excess weight on their limbs, they need to make sure they have a supportive shoe to absorb the impact," Weber said.
Obese participants should consciously select activities that will be less strenuous on joints. Some movements create a tremendous force that is partly absorbed by the body. Walking, for example, generates a force that is about four times the person's body weight. Running creates a force about eight times greater.
"Your body is under a lot more stress when you have more weight so higher impact activities would not be the first choice for an overweight individual," Weber said.
Low impact activities such as swimming, walking or hiking are recommended. Weber also advises obese participants to consider the surface in which the activity is performed. Soft surfaces such as a treadmill or padded track will absorb more force than hard concrete.
Cycling or skating is an appropriate activity if the participant does not have a distorted center of gravity which could cause imbalance and risk of injury, Weber said.
Once an activity or fitness program is determined, obese participants should set realistic goals. Setting obtainable goals is helpful in creating an exercise habit, said Chuck Barnard, national fitness director for Tennis Corporation of America and general manager of Midtown Athletic Club in Palatine, Ill.
A goal of twice a week for the first two weeks, followed by three times a week for the next two weeks can help obese participants ease into the habit of exercising, Barnard said.
STAYING SAFE:
Obese participants should exercise during a cooler point in the day or take their workout indoors to a climate controlled setting. "They don't want to overheat, they have excess adipose tissue, they may overheat quicker," Weber said.
Hydration is important but water should be consumed instead of sports drinks. "We typically tell people 12-16 ounces every 20 minutes," Weber said.
Obese participants should also be aware of the activity's impact on their body and stop if joint pain is experienced, Weber said.
STAYING MOTIVATED:
Positive thinking is crucial for continuing with exercise or sport participation. Eliminate discouraging thoughts such as 'This won't make a difference' or 'I can't do it'. Barnard recommends replacing these thoughts with encouraging ideas. "'I'm going to enjoy it', 'I'm going to establish this as something I'm going to do', 'I can do this.' Just having a thought process of being positive, that goes a long way," he said.
Obese participants should also step off the scale and find other ways to measure their results. "The things I like to do in terms of asking people how they feel. Do you have more energy? Do you feel better about yourself? Those are positive outcome of exercise," Barnard said.
Also consider how muscle is significantly more dense and heavy than fat. "Muscle is the only thing that burns calories but muscle is dense," Barnard said.
Keeping records of hip, waist and chest measurements can demonstrate weight loss to participants who are trading fat for muscle and don't see movement on the scale. A loss of inches may provide the right encouragement.
Also consider the progress made. Can you now run a mile without stopping? Lift 20 pounds instead of five?
Another measure of success is the ability to progress into longer, harder workouts. Barnard advises against starting out with an intense, time consuming program. Instead, he said endurance and resistance should slowly be added.
Variety should also be added slowly, Barnard said. Variety may mean a combination of yoga, hiking and weights. Or it may mean the participant goes through phases such as a few months of cycling and weights, and then a few months of running and weights.
Variety is crucial to motivation and so is a realistic goal not tied to dramatic weight loss.
Barnard cites the show "The Biggest Loser" where contestants' success is measured solely by the scale. "They have great results but look at the mindset when they don't make it. They are deflated," he said.
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(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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