09 Feb, 2009

Ask the Coach: Overweight, where to start?

Question

I am very overweight and I want to start exercising. What is the best form of exercise to help improve my energy and my health markers?

Answer

Changing body shapes is a mixture of the correct training methods and a diet of healthy fresh foods. Diana Schwarzbein, an endocrinologist studying the body’s hormones says that the worst thing diabetic patients could do is aerobic training. She suggests weight training as increased muscle mass, increases metabolism and reduces stress on the joints from the pounding of the joints running when they are overweight.
Recent research from James Timmons, Heriot-Watt University professor of exercise biology says that short bursts of exercise every few days could dramatically cut the risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. He says that rather than slave away for hours in a gym he recommends 4 x 30 second sprints on an exercise bike three times a week. This study was published in the BMC Endocrine Disorders. The participants in the study took a few minutes of complete rest between each sprint. After two weeks, Prof Timmons said the results were “substantial”, with a 23% improvement in insulin function.
He added when you go for a jog or run you oxidise glycogen- energy but you are not depleting the glycogen in your muscles. The only way to get to this glycogen is through very intense contractions in the muscles. This form of training is known as High Intensity Interval Training.
Exercise should be prescribed on an individual basis. Initially I would prefer to start with a controlled weight training program before considering embarking on an intense sprinting program like the one mentioned. Exercise is tough and an intense workout for one person could mean walking up a stairs whilst another could mean a sprint on a bike with heavy resistance. Exercise is like a drug, you get the wrong drug, it can hurt more than it can help.