Low-impact training for overweight people

Before retiring Roger Wolfson taught in schools on several levels. However, being retired has not held him back. Nowadays, he still holds seminars and workshops, trains people in gyms and public demonstrations, takes classes, and receives physical fitness and nutrition certifications. He has even taken to blogging.

For today's blog, Roger Wolfson shares some low-impact exercises for overweight people because the fact of the matter is, being overweight or obese is a tough situation to be in. For many overweight and obese individuals, it can be a vicious cycle. The more a person is obese, the tougher it is to recover and go back to normalcy.

1. Walking

The problem with overweight and obese individuals is that their weight puts added stress on the bones and joints of their knees, ankles, and feet. Sudden movements may result in sprains or fractures, which can halt the progress of the individual. In the initial stages of an obese person's fitness plan, Roger Wolfson suggests walking, which is low-impact and a lot easier on all the legs' bones and joints.

2. Gentle resistance

Roger Wolfson explains that when people are obese, they are already dealing with some form of weight resistance when they move about doing everyday things. Additional metal weights might not be necessary for the time being. So, when working out, instead of carrying weights for deadlifts and squats, doing the action repeatedly without weights may be the safer alternative.

3. Pool workout

When Roger Wolfson says pool workout, he doesn't necessarily mean swimming. For overweight and obese people, it's not much of a risk to do calisthenics, which involves a lot of limb movement in a pool. The water lessens the impact dramatically. A bit of light running and jumping in a pool will be just fine – and fun.