Need Suggestions for Low Impact Activities

Hello All. I will be helping someone who is approximately 450 lbs (with bad knees) to get active. Can anyone suggest low impact activities to get him started?

if he can have access to a swimming pool, doing exercise in water is ideal to preserve joints

Stationary bike, golfing, eliptical, weight training, (would'nt do any leg presses unless he feels comfortable with them.)Low-impact aerobics, walking.

Can you get a punching bag? Upper body exercises can bring up your heart rate. Doing punches and using your arms like a bicycle can get your heart rate up - they even have pedals that you can get and put on a table and do just upper body. Lifting weights can be low impact. Oh and they have DVD's that are geared for people in wheelchairs - that would be another option. Or you could get some Leslie Sansone walking DVD's - she has videos that are from 1 mile to 5 miles and you can just go at your own pace.

recumbant bike

I agree water exercises or recumbent bike. Remember, their is a weight capacity for fitness equipment. You should look into a active cyle. The person can sit somewhere they know will maintain their weight and pedal on the active cycle like they would a bike. Ellipticals or treadmills would not be a good place to start. Also, he needs to be certain to drink a lot of water and inorder to get his metabolism going he has to stick to eating his 5 - 6 meals a day. This takes much effort and a lot of preparation if you're going to eat right and stay on schedule. Breakfast, snack (optional), lunch, snack, dinner, snack. No food after 8pm to get started. If he is diabetic as well, he will need to eat something before he goes to sleep if not his blood sugar can get too low and cause some serious problems. He needs to start slow and build his stamina, definitely get with a physician before he starts. Lifting weights and strength training are great for diabetics because muscles absorb the sugars in your body and use as energy.

lay on your stomach while watching tv and lift your leg like when we were kids. It sound small but remember his legs most likely weight more than yours and it may help with circulation too

In my opinion, water exercise is the best. At least to start with, then move onto the rubber cables, you can do low impact arm and leg workouts without adding to much pressure. I'm assuming that there hasn't been any exercise for a while with this person? Regarding the bad knee, maybe take a basketball and have them roll it under their feet. It's what my mother's doctor recommended for her with her arthritis and her weight issues. Always check with doc first though.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.