Exercise Advice For Someone With Feet Issues
 

Hi, my boyfriend can walk and everything but has severe issues with his feet from an accident when he was little. As such he can't really do prolonged impact exercise on his feet, he does football once a week and that leaves him in immense pain.

He says he's overweight and is really wanting to lose it, and to ease the pressure on his feet as well from the extra weight, but with not being able to exercise is finding it near impossible.

I know that you can get some sit down chair workouts on YouTube but I can't find many and such like, is there anything that I'm not thinking of to suggest to him to help him?

Thank you :)

in order to lose weight, exercise isn't necessary. all he needs to do is burn more calories than he's eating. and the human body burns calories simply by existing. exercise is merely a bonus. I would suggest he use a website to input his information to find out how many calories to eat daily to lose some weight; a quick and simple one is Calorie Calculator, or, if he'd be interested in something that actually lets him track his food online and have the support of a forum as well, myfitnesspal dot com is a wonderful website that I use and love. he'll need to use a food scale to weigh his food to ensure he's accurately tracking his calories, but you can get them for pretty cheap, maybe you even know someone with an old one they don't use, that's how I got mine.

As far as I know, cycling would be a low-impact cardio option. It would require buying a bike if he doesn't have one, of course, which for some isn't practical. It's the method I use since I have one, and have had a lot of success with losing weight and getting healthier without putting strain on my lower back and hips.

Another option is water-based workouts. They're usually more popular among people with joint trouble - such as those with arthritis - and people who want a more intensive workout from the water resistance. There are usually community classes offered, and I'm sure there are online videos too. I found a link to some low-impact exercises he may benefit from, which I found under the Google search "Low joint impact exercises": Low Impact.

I also agree with Rainbow.sprinkles is that a lot of weight loss comes from diet changes. If he has an unhealthy diet that he hasn't shifted yet, it would be worthwhile to look into it. Diet changes can also help heal old injuries.

Additionally, he may benefit to look at ways to help his joints. Visualizations are good, and can benefit weight loss as well. There are a few around, you can find a few under the Google search "Weight loss guided meditations".
Regarding visualizations for the joints, that will take some practice. A good one that is simple is to imagine river water flowing into the joint, softening and carrying away the leftover tension, stagnant energy, and scar tissue from the old injury. Have him experiment with a few visuals if he's interested, and go with whatever he feels is right.

Hi

What about swimming? And some yoga exercises (under instruction of a very qualified teacher). Maybe Iyengar certified as their training is more precise. :hug:

Cycling and swimming were going to be my suggestions but I see they have both been covered. I can suggest he joins MyFitnessPal. It's a website and an app. You use it to log your food and count calories. It helped me with losing 35 lbs.

One more suggestion and maybe because he's a guy, your boyfriend would like this. Try weight lifting. The bigger your muscles are, the more calories they burn even while resting. He could start off with some free weights at home, work up to heavier as he gets stronger and then either move over to doing them at the gym or just continue on at home with a bit of body weight exercise (push ups are fabulous for his arms, shoulders, triceps and his core muscle strength) added to the weight routine. I would think he could do many of the weight training exercises in the beginning, while seated.

The great thing about free weights as opposed to gym machines is that they work not only the muscle you're targeting but also the peripheral small muscles that maintain that limbs balance.

My suggestion would be to skip the cardio in the beginning because that kind of stress on an out of shape person releases free radicals into the blood stream which aren't healthy overall. Then if he continues with the weight training and feels like he's ready to do a little cardio later he can add it in slowly. While yoga might be good for flexibility and balance, it isn't much good for weight loss (especially in the beginning) and at a beginner level, only modest strength enhancement.

I usually start with the pushups to get the blood moving and then move on to weights.

And also clean up his diet. If he wants to get healthy and fit, it takes both, correct eating and exercise.

By the way, I'm not a personal trainer but when we bought our two horses 20 years ago, I started working out to stay strong enough to manage a couple of high strung large animals so I've been 'dabbling' for 20 years and the above is based on that experience. (my personal disclaimer folks) At this point my weekly workout amounts to this: before most showers - 50 full body push ups, 30 squats, 15 lateral raises, 40 lunges (all of these holding a 10 pound weight in each hand) and then a half hour of yoga two or three times per week. Seems to do the job. And good luck to your boyfriend!

If he is suffering from 'immense pain' in the feet he needs to seek professional help. Using ice after exercise and losing weight can only be of benefit, and swimming, cycling and a better diet etc can help achieve that, but your boyfriend has a medical issue that warrants professional guidance.

For immense pain in the feet, he should consult to a doctor. For weight loss it isn't compulsory to do heavy workout, he can also do swimming and mild yoga. Ask he to keep his diet simple and healthy.

yep no fealin ovr 2o yrs 20 yrs go i tir igmnt in my foot thn did oth foot few mor yrs lar i wz tld it wud efct me in abot 20 yrs or mor so now i try 2 do lite essiz on wii bord

Try cycling and swimming.