Weightlifting routines for Class III morbidly obese beginner male

Hi folks!

I'm wondering if any of you knowledgeable and passionate people happen to know a good beginners weightlifting routine for an obese man (aka me!). Trying to "unfat" myself and go about it in a healthy way. Never a bad time to get healthy!

[B][U]Stats:[/U][/B]

Age: 32 (33 in June)
Height: (6ft 2 in)
Sex: Male
Current Weight: (378.6 lbs) [Highest weight was 416 lbs]

[B]
[U]Current Exercise:[/U][/B]

I have a really good elliptical machine that I'm up to using 30 minutes daily for LIIT and HIIT (really hoping I'm using those right), depending on the mood. My heart rate kind varies from 140-165 range depending on intensity. I also like going for long walks (9.2 km the other day). The goal is to get up to 1 hour of cardio a day (30 minutes in the morning, 30 in the evening).

I also have dumbbells (10, 20, 25, 30, and 35 lbs), a small bench for bench pressing, and a bosu ball and swiss ball. Nothing fancy all-in-all, but certainly good enough for starters. But I need a good routine to put these to good use!

Unrelated side note: I work an office job, BUT - I have a standing desk, so I'm going to set a goal to be standing at least 25% of my workday.

[U][B]Current Diet (very recent mind you, if that wasn't evident from my weight):[/B][/U]

1. I'm doing a 20/4 intermittent fast, 7 days a week [fast for 20 hours per day, consume all food within a 4 hour window, generally 5pm - 9pm] (nothing to do with weightloss, this is more for: (a) faith reasons, and; (b) to reset my behavior with food, instilling an 'eat to live' rather than 'live to eat' mindset, and teaching myself it's okay to feel hungry). This is manageable for me, I ordinarily don't eat breakfast and lunch anyways.

2. That said, my calories are lower than usual, right now I generally consume about 800-1000 calories per day. [Again, this is manageable for me. I'm not starving and I'm not in medical distress]. I take a multivitamin to fill in any gaps.

3. I only drink water and black coffee during the day (if necessary I add a pinch of salt to my water for electrolytes).

4. I have a food scale to weigh things out, and I track them in the MyFitnessPal app.

5. I'm not overly obsessed with macros, but I do find that a piece of squirrelly bread, toasted, with 16 grams of adams 100% natural peanut butter and 1/2 a banana (65-70g) with a fresh cup of coffee seems to give me the energy I need for exercise. I like to eat protein afterwards (had a little bit of salmon (74 g) and then some pork loin (187g) that was cooked in the air fryer with some montreal chicken spice - delicious!)

[U][B]The ultimate question:[/B][/U]

1. Do you know of and/or could recommend a weightlifting routine for obese beginners that I could do based on my equipment above? or
2. Should I stick to cardio and basic bodyweight exercises for now? (Boo to this option, but I'll do what I must).


Thank you kindly in advance for all of your help! There's a lot of conflicting and confusing information out there, just looking for a recommendation on a solid path forward.

Cheers,

Jay (aka "Pudgeypaws")

I think moving in general and body weight exercises are your best bet at the moment. I wish I could give you better input but I remember Wetbreast's from a few years ago and he just started off moving around and doing BW stuff.

Good luck to you.

[QUOTE=Cruiser4life;1660695913]I think moving in general and body weight exercises are your best bet at the moment. I wish I could give you better input but I remember Wetbreast's from a few years ago and he just started off moving around and doing BW stuff.

Good luck to you.[/QUOTE]


Thank you my friend. As an update, I'm at 357.8 today. I might just do some interwebs research and try to piece together a routine.

Take care and have an awesome day!

[QUOTE=PudgeyPaws;1660883873]Thank you my friend. As an update, I'm at 357.8 today. I might just do some interwebs research and try to piece together a routine.

Take care and have an awesome day![/QUOTE]

Congrats on your work thus far. I think that 800-1000 calories is probably going to be regarded as pretty low, potentially hazardous.

However regarding your question, there are plenty of good fitness routines that you can do with <35 lbs worth of dumbbells and just bodyweight. The links in the workout forum are a good place to start. I like this thread [url]https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=179232481[/url]

Very overweight guys can safely run a large calorie deficit - the kind that would be inadvisable for more average sized people.

The main constraints are appetite and getting enough essential nutrients - like vitamins, minerals, protein and essential fatty acids.

If you stick to eating meat, eggs and salad vegetables, you can more or less eat to appetite and still lose lots of weight.

[QUOTE=SuffolkPunch;1661237993]Very overweight guys can safely run a large calorie deficit - the kind that would be inadvisable for more average sized people.

The main constraints are appetite and getting enough essential nutrients - like vitamins, minerals, protein and essential fatty acids.

If you stick to eating meat, eggs and salad vegetables, you can more or less eat to appetite and still lose lots of weight.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I actually switched over from intermittent fasting to a water fast (got hooked on some research by Dr. Jason Fung). Initially just started doing it. Then I wanted to see if I could hit 3 days, and I did. Then went for 7. Tomorrow is day 13. I'm taking sodium, potassium, magnesium, and a multivitamin. I'm keeping tabs on my blood pressure and just paying attention to my body. If I start feeling off, I'll stop. (I'm also going to ask my doc to recommend some bloodwork just to check everything is okay).

[QUOTE=WarEeyore;1661235073]Congrats on your work thus far. I think that 800-1000 calories is probably going to be regarded as pretty low, potentially hazardous.

However regarding your question, there are plenty of good fitness routines that you can do with <35 lbs worth of dumbbells and just bodyweight. The links in the workout forum are a good place to start.[/QUOTE]



Thanks man - I'll check out the forum for sure! I was recommended some really great videos by Ryan Humiston on youtube too. I've started rearranging the furniture in my apartment to get the bench out and start getting into it.

As a happy note, clocked in at 340.8 today. My goal was to start Monday in the 330's, so fingers crossed.

[QUOTE=PudgeyPaws;1661370253]Thanks man - I'll check out the forum for sure! I was recommended some really great videos by Ryan Humiston on youtube too. I've started rearranging the furniture in my apartment to get the bench out and start getting into it.

As a happy note, clocked in at 340.8 today. My goal was to start Monday in the 330's, so fingers crossed.[/QUOTE]

You will be surprised how fast the weight comes off with just minimal dietary changes and some increased activity. I have a client who is down 80 pounds in 8 months with just diet and walking alone (300 lbs down to 220 lbs last week). He eats a consistent 2200 calories per day and takes 2 brisk daily walks of about 45 minutes each, with that routine right now he's averaging just about 1lb per week of loss now. Ideally he would have been doing some strength training to but he wasn't able to consistently get to the gym so we just found something that worked for him. His high blood pressure is gone and his resting heart rate went from 107bpm down to 70 bpm.

[QUOTE=PudgeyPaws;1661370203]Agreed. I actually switched over from intermittent fasting to a water fast (got hooked on some research by Dr. Jason Fung). Initially just started doing it. Then I wanted to see if I could hit 3 days, and I did. Then went for 7. Tomorrow is day 13. I'm taking sodium, potassium, magnesium, and a multivitamin. I'm keeping tabs on my blood pressure and just paying attention to my body. If I start feeling off, I'll stop. (I'm also going to ask my doc to recommend some bloodwork just to check everything is okay).[/QUOTE]
Sounds good but just as a cautionary measure, I would set a minimum amount of protein per day - say 50 grams with a long term average of at least 100g per day. Muscle loss isn't usually a problem for overweight guys but it would be nice to keep as much of that lean mass as possible when dieting down.

[QUOTE=xsquid99;1661372413]You will be surprised how fast the weight comes off with just minimal dietary changes and some increased activity. I have a client who is down 80 pounds in 8 months with just diet and walking alone (300 lbs down to 220 lbs last week). He eats a consistent 2200 calories per day and takes 2 brisk daily walks of about 45 minutes each, with that routine right now he's averaging just about 1lb per week of loss now. Ideally he would have been doing some strength training to but he wasn't able to consistently get to the gym so we just found something that worked for him. His high blood pressure is gone and his resting heart rate went from 107bpm down to 70 bpm.[/QUOTE]

80 pounds?! That's awesome! Cardio has definitely been a game changer for me, for sure. Down to 332.4 as of this morning, so 46.2 pounds in 25 days. I was initially worried at the rate, but my blood pressure has already improved, and I had blood work done (which came back clean). So unless or until I get some biomarkers telling me I should slow down, I'm going to keep at it (I hope to be under 300 by mid-July).

I haven't yet jumped into the weightlifting yet. Need to take the time and learn the proper form first! But I can't wait!