Weight and weight training

[afroman]

I've got a friend I work with, budget is tight, and he lives in the boonies. I mention this only because he doesn't have access to a large gym or fitness center. About six months ago, at age 59, he started shedding pounds like mad. He was already relatively thin, so he didn't have the thirty pounds he did lose to spare. Now, he's so thin, sitting is painful because he has no padding. He's looking for ways to TRY and build some mass in his glutes. Now, he's 59, got pretty bad knees, and some foot issues. Does anyone have ANY ideas I can give this poor guy? He has an elliptical that he says he can set to increase resistance, but I didn't think that would be a good idea. Would it? Weight gain and mass has never been an issue for me, but I'm lost given some of his limitations. I figured some of the brilliant minds here would have some ideas.

[roadwarrior]

If he's got dumbells then try lunges and deep goblet squats but he's gotta eat to build anything. Is he sure there is no health reason for the rapid and extreme weigth loss if he has pain just sitting etc? My mom and step dad are in their mid 70s and still do the machines, play racquet ball ( she can kick my butt still), play tennis, golf, sail a 48 footer by themselves and my mom did a 50 mile bike ride between B&Bs with my wife and me last summer while my step dad drove the kids and luggage. Age is not a factor.

[Beverly McD.]

Unexplained weight loss can be very serious. It would be good if he could talk to a doctor. If he's short on money, he can also talk to his pharmacist. They have a ton of knowledge and can be very helpful...and it's free.

[afroman]

Roadwarrior, I agree about age, my only point in saying he was 59 was to let people know this isn't a young man. He's 59 and he's an electrician. He wear's orthopoedic shoes his feet are so bad. He also has an arthritic back.
Bev, he has seen a doctor, several I believe. One thing is at night his heart races. They've checked his ticker, his thyroid, bunches of other stuff, but to this point, they have no idea what's causing his heart to race at night.

I know he is allowed to exercise, and he came to me for recommendations. Like I said, given some of his issues, I was at a loss for what to tell him.

[Beverly McD.]

If it were me I would start him at the most basic level. May sound a little strange, lol, but here goes.

Have him put the lid on the toilet down. Taking a wide stance, and keeping his center of gravity on his heels (lifting his toes if he can) chest up and stomach tight, sit down on the toilet lid. Stand by driving his heels through the floor, keeping his weight off of his forefoot/toes. Repeat.
This keeps the tension on the glutes instead of the quads.
As many reps as he can, and several different times throughout his day.

If he's in pain and not accustomed to exercising it may be hard to get him to stick with a program.
The advantage of this is he doesn't need any equipment, and it's simple and basic enough that he may actually give it a try.

Edit: Be sure to have him keep his knees in line with his ankles, not knees in front of his ankles.

[Big Sky Guy]

Toilet squats rock!

[Odoyal Rulez]

Was the weight loss intentional? If he lost 30 pounds like that without trying, he should be at his PCP before thinking about anything else. Like you said, if hes allowed to be exercising, imo id stay away from that eliptical and start small with the toilet or broomstick squats, and push ups. He could do wheel barrow pushing, or bucket farm walks... I dont rly know what kind of equipment he has to work with either, you didnt mention a home set up.

[Pixie]

Lots of equipment isn't necessary at this point. Need to get him started and consistent. Start with BW exercises. Anything he can do to get the muscles moving and as long as he can stand the exercise (speaking reps). And, I'd try to get him to do the exercises a couple times a day. He can pick a few exercises for morning and a few other exercises for evening or just repeat the exercises. "What" he's doing is less important than just doing something at first. He (with your help) should really use this initial time/beginning phase to figure out what he can and cannot do NOW and then progress him. Start with things he does every day, like sitting on a toilet (as Bev suggested), bending down to get something from the floor, stepping on and off a curb, etc. If it's something he does every day, you know it's something he is capable of doing for exercise. Just adding a gazillion reps. Also, he might not be able to do the entire movement of an exercise, so start small and work up. For instance, he might not be able to do full lunges now (as most people with bad knees and feet have a hard time with them), but he might be able to progress to it in time. So, you start with quarter lunges and slowly work down. And, as he gets stronger with the BW exercises and his body adapts, the list of exercises will increase.

Key is to stay within a PAIN FREE range with all his exercises. If an exercise hurts, he won't do it and likely the rest of the exercising will follow. And, I'm talking PAIN, not something like lactic acid discomfort.

When the time comes, household objects you can use when you need to make an exercise harder (this is what we've told our older patients that won't go to a gym and are thin): soup cans, milk jugs filled with water (starting with barely full and slowly increasing the amount of water as he gets stronger), books, belts for stretching, pillows to improve balance, trash bag or suitcases filled with bedding or laundry... this is only basics and you're only limited by your imagination. Some of my patients have created some great exercises with household object without spending a dime. One spent a few dollars for a length of rope and created a sled with a milk crate. Countless things he could do with that...

Good luck.

P.S. See rep comment too.