Exercises for a 50-Year-Old Obese Male

Obesity is diagnosed when you have a body mass index of 30 or higher. You can calculate your BMI based on your weight and height using a BMI calculator. Obesity was labeled a disease in 2013 by the American Medical Association because of its strong connection to heart disease, diabetes and premature death. For a 50-year-old obese man, exercise is imperative to getting your health back on track, since exercising and losing weight will only become more difficult with age.

  1. Aerobic Exercise

    • If you haven't been exercising at all recently, start by doing low-impact aerobic exercises only, before moving on to strength training exercises or high-impact cardio. Aerobic exercise will burn calories fast to help you shed off the first several pounds. Do low-impact aerobic exercises for 30 minutes, three to four times a week. It's okay to break up your exercise into 10-minute segments in your day if a 30-minute exercise is too tiring. It's important to start out slow in the beginning, especially if you have high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease. If you experience dizziness, nausea or shortness of breath during exercise, stop immediately, rest and rehydrate with water.

    Low-Impact

    • Don’t start with high-impact exercises if you haven't been working out, since you'll be putting a lot of weight on your joints and feet. To prevent pains and injuries, do low-impact exercises and wear supportive, well-cushioned running shoes. The best exercise to start with is walking. Once you've been walking for a while, start using the elliptical machine. The stationary bike, water aerobics and swimming are other effective low-impact aerobic exercises. Once you're able to do a variety of exercises, mix up the exercises you do from workout to workout to keep your muscles challenged. When you lose enough weight to feel comfortable jogging without leg pain, you can start doing high-impact exercises, like running and jumping rope.

    Strength Training

    • Move on to strength training after you're starting to see weight loss results. According to MayoClinic.com, men lose muscle mass with age, especially if they live a sedentary lifestyle. This causes your metabolism to slow, which means you burn fewer calories each day. That's why it's important to gain back your muscle mass by doing resistance training exercises for each of your major muscle groups twice a week. Use machine weights at a gym instead of free weights when you can, since machine weights ensure proper technique and help you avoid injury. Do one to two exercises for each of your major muscle groups, including your chest, arms, shoulders, back, abs and legs. It's best to have a personal trainer help you in the beginning.

    Tips

    • Find a friend to work out with to help motivate your commitment. Try not to compare yourself to others or send yourself negative messages about your weight loss efforts. You won't see results overnight, so be patient and take it one day at a time. You should also be cutting calories in your diet for faster weight loss. Instead of eating less food, consume small meals throughout the day and switch unhealthy foods for healthier options. As you get slimmer and stronger, keep increasing your exercise intensity by increasing the amount of weight you lift and the speed or intensity of your aerobic exercise.