My Dad is 56 and overweight and he's finally ready to take the challenge to be healthy again, so I'm going to help him. In his current condition though, I don't know where he should start, I've had him walk a mile or two every morning and I've had him start watching what he eats, but I think he may need more to get his metabolism boosted. Obviously I can't take him boxing with me, but I think I could get him to do some weights with me. Ideas?
You have the right idea about making him walk, but if he is really out of shape I would try this idea... 1) Walking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach 6 days per week...7 if he would like to 2) If you can get him to a gym that would be great but only let the guy go 3 times per week to start...no matter how frisky he is feeling...you don't want to make him too sore because that will be counterproductive. 3) Make his workouts total body workouts using 1 working set per body part...something like this... Incline Chest Press 1x 8-12 DB Box Squats with a higher chair 1x 8-12 (sit down and stand up) DB Shoulder Press 1x 8-12 Lat Pull Downs...close grip 1x 8-12 DB Curls 1x 8-12 As he gets stronger begin to add a set to each movement...as he gets even stronger you can begin to break up body parts. If you can't get him to a gym a series of incline push ups, crunches, and sissy squats will do...1x 15 for 3 days per week. The key to everything is nutrition...5-6 meals per day...if you have any questions on that let me know...I hope this helps
That sounds good. I was thinking something along those lines. I just need to get him to stop eating pumpkin pie and break those meals up.
Why walk on an empty stomach? Pointless. Soreness is a sign you've stressed the muscle harder than usual. How is this counter productive? Why only 1 set per lift? And why all compound movements then db curls? Why would he want to "break up body parts"? Pretty much all I agree with.
Good questions about some of the ideas I threw out there...let me explain... 1) The key to performing low intensity cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is so your body will use stored fat for energy as opposed to the food you have just digested. Again, I stress LOW intense cardio which means keeping your heart rate under 130 bpm per minute. For a 50 year old man that would be a fairly slow walk. 2) Soreness is obviously a good thing and no matter what happens...a man at his age will be sore even if he does ten reps of ANYTHING. The key is do not want him to be SO sore as to not get out of bed the next day...then he may get frustrated and not be able to move which in turn will hinder any progression and set him back completely. 3) One set per lift is in the very beginning so he can get the blood flowing again...the reason for the biceps curls is confidence...he is a guy, we all want our arms pumped!! 4) I would begin to break up the body parts for recovery purposes...it is impossible to train every body part more than once a week without the risk of injuring yourself...especially a man his age!! AND YES...KEEP HIM AWAY FROM PUMPKIN PIE...LOL