7 Steps to Exercise After Weight Loss Balloon Treatment
There are many weight loss surgery options on the market. The gastric balloon is growing in popularity because of its ease and effectiveness.
The balloon is a saline-filled silicone balloon and it’s placed in your stomach and limits how much you can eat. This is why most people lose between 10 and 15 percent of their body weight in six months after the procedure.
But can you only rely on the procedure to lose weight? Exercise is still crucial. But how do you exercise after the gastric balloon insertion? If you plan on practicing bariatric exercise, follow these 7 steps.
Step 1: Simple Cardio
Your exercise routine should begin two to three weeks after the treatment. This gives your body plenty of time to heal and become used to the balloon.
When you get back into fitness, focus on simple movements and cardio exercises. Your goal should be to increase your range of motion, avoiding intense exercises.
Start by walking. Walk around your neighborhood, in the park or beach, or on the treadmill. Aim to walk for 30 minutes between three and five days a week.
If walking is too mild and you want to increase the intensity of your cardio, try bike riding or swimming. Avoid running, intense cardio machines, and HIIT cardio during this time.
Step 2: Simple Strength Training
As well as cardio, you’ll benefit from strength training. While fat loss is the goal, you never want to lose muscle mass. Since you’re eating less, you risk losing your current muscle weight.
This is why it’s essential to start simple strength training after the surgery.
Start doing workouts with resistance bands instead of weights. You can use dumbbells and weight machines but only use the lightest weights during this time. Make sure you hit all target areas, especially your arms and legs.
Avoid heavy lifting and long strength training sessions. You should limit your weight lifting to 30 minutes at three days a week. It’s also safest to avoid ab workouts. Wait until the balloon is fully healed or ask your doctor.
Step 3: Yoga
Around six months after the surgery, your body will be able to handle more intense workouts. But it’s still advised you work your way up to your previous exercise routine.
Yoga is a great way to test your endurance. You’re forcing your body into intense stretches and positions. But the breathing techniques and movements also help relax your body.
Start with simple or beginner’s yoga. Avoid advanced yoga classes, even if you’re already experienced. You should also avoid hot yoga.
You should aim to do yoga four times a week. Each session time depends on if you’re doing yoga in a class or by yourself. Keep 45 minutes as your goal and increase or decrease that amount of time, if necessary.
Step 4: Add More Weights
If you’ve been strength training this whole time, you can add more weights to your routine. Start with dumbbells. Practice different arm and leg exercises with heavier dumbbells.
It’s also recommended you integrate other strength training workouts such as bodyweight workouts (pushups, etc.)
If you’re not a fan of weightlifting, you can practice different sports at this time. Kickboxing and martial arts help improve your strength. Different dancing workouts, such as Zumba, are also recommended.
At this time, you can also start working on your abs. Avoid weights and ab machines. Focus on bodyweight exercises for your abs, such as ab crunches on a balance ball.
Step 5: HIIT Workouts
At this point, its been a year since your surgery.
You’re pretty much healed and are healthy enough to go back to your normal fitness routine. If you practiced HIIT cardio and other high-intense exercises, this is the best time to fall back on that routine.
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, combines fast and intense movements with slower movements. Most do HIIT cardio.
You exercise on a treadmill, elliptical, or another cardio machine, increasing the resistance for about a minute and decreasing the resistance for another minute.
If you’re not a fan of cardio, you have other HIIT options. Common examples include burpees and jumping jacks.
Step 6: Outdoor Activities and Intense Cardio
If you love nothing more than the great outdoors, you can go on intense hikes after a year.
Your body is now strong enough to support the uneven terrains, uphill and downhill walks, and even some climbing. You’ll definitely feel comfortable hiking if you’ve been following the previous steps.
This is also the time when you can go back to the intense cardio training you did before. You can run again, even run a 5k if this was your routine before the surgery. You can also go back to cycling and other cardio activities.
Keep in mind, you should still talk to your doctor before going back to your intense cardio workouts.
You’ll also need the proper diet — essential nutrients and the right carbohydrate intake. Your doctor can help you develop the best diet if you plan on regularly running or hiking.
Step 7: Increase Your Workout Time
From here, you can increase your workout time to the recommended amount for weight loss. Experts recommend you exercise for at least 150 minutes per week for weight loss.
Most people exercise 30 minutes for five days a week. But you can exercise more than time. Examples include exercising for 45 minutes for four days a week and even an hour for three days a week.
Your exercises should combine strength training with cardio to lose weight and build your muscle mass. You can do classic cardio and weightlifting exercises or you can do other recommended workouts such as sports and dancing.
Bariatric Exercise Can Help You Lose Weight
The bariatric balloon insert can help you lose weight. However, you need bariatric exercise to experience the most benefits.
Are you ready to get the balloon weight loss treatment done? If you’re in Tampa, discover more about balloon weight loss therapy and our clinic.
