Resistance exercise is an important part of your exercise regimen. Resistance exercise involves challenging your muscles through performing repeated exercises with weights. Performing resistance exercise helps increase lean body mass which increases metabolism, promotes muscle toning, and increases strength. After surgery, this type of exercise promotes maintenance of muscle mass, strengthens bones, helps with loose skin and increases metabolism.
Recommendations: 2 days per week
- Exercise each major muscle group
- Perform 8-10 different exercises
- 3 sets of each exercise
- 8-12 repetitions
Major muscle groups:
- Arms
- Shoulders
- Chest
- Back
- Legs
- Abs
What are your goals?
Toning and endurance: more repetitions, light weight
Strength and bulking: less repetitions, heavy weight
Equipment you will need:
- Yourself
- Free weights
- Resistance bands
- Medicine ball
Starting and progressing your resistance exercise routine
- Perform 8-10 different exercises of the major muscle groups-changing exercises every few exercise sessions.
- Perform 3 sets of each exercise with a 30 seconds to 1 minute rest in between sets starting with 12-15 repetitions of a low weight, 3-5 pounds, until your muscles are tired at the end of each set
- If you are new to resistance exercise-start with your body weight as the amount of resistance and work up to adding weights. You may also want to start with seated exercises and progress to standing exercises.
- Start with a light weight that you can do 12-15 repetitions with. Your muscle should be tired at the end of the 12-15 repetitions.
- Once your strength has increased (takes about 1-2 weeks) and you are able to perform 12-15 repetitions with a specific weight, then increase the weight you use by 2-5 pounds performing 10-12 repetitions.
- Progress yourself by adding 2-5 pounds and decreasing your repetitions by 2-5 every few weeks as you become stronger.
- As the amount of weight you lift increases the amount of repetitions you do should decrease by 2-3 not going less than 2-4 repetitions.
- Discuss your goals with an exercise professional to determine what your ideal weight and repetitions should be.
- Switch up your routine by using your body weight, resistance bands, free weights or weight machines at the gym.
- Challenge yourself by doing circuit training. Do this by making a circuit of three exercises such as squats, bicep curls, and rows-perform one set of each exercise with no rest between exercises. Once you finish a circuit (have done all 3 exercises), rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute and repeat the circuit 3 times.
Performing upper and lower body exercises at the same time or doing circuit training will increase heart rate and provide a higher intensity workout.