Patient Education Bariatric Surgery Patient Education | Page 18

Aerobic Exercise
• Check with your doctor before starting any form of exercise program.
• The best form of aerobic exercise is one that you’ll enjoy. It’s hard to
stick with an exercise program you don’t like.
• Doing more than one type of aerobic activity can help you from
becoming bored with your exercise program. Try doing different
activities on different days.
• Swimming and water aerobics are a good form of exercise, especially if
you have joint pain or problems.
• If you want to take an aerobics class, always start with a low-impact
class. Make sure the class is geared for beginners.
Research has shown that increasing activities or changing the way you do
things in your daily life can have the same effect on health and weight loss
as a structured exercise program.
Examples include:
• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Parking at the far end of the parking lot and walking to the office or
store.
• Mowing the lawn and raking leaves.
• Getting up from your desk to deliver a message instead of using e-mail.
• Walking to do errands instead of driving.
Strength Training is not recommended until cleared by your surgeon.
• Check with your doctor before starting a strength-training program.
• Strength training may include the use of weight machines, “free”
weights (hand-held weights), and/or resistance bands.
• It’s very important to use correct form when doing strength training.
This will help to prevent injuries.
• When starting a strength-training program, it may be helpful to take a
class or hire a personal trainer. The instructor or trainer will show you
the correct way to use the equipment.
• Always warm up for 10-15 minutes by walking or riding an exercise bike
before you begin your strength training workout. This will raise your
core body temperature and prepare your joints and muscles for the
training.
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