Exercise for Underweight

Beginning Exercises for Underweight People

What program you begin as you work to get back to a healthy weight depends on how underweight you are, the causes of your weight problem and your overall fitness abilities. If you are severely underweight due to illness, you should consult with a doctor or physical therapist as to the best exercises to help you regain strength.

One problem with being underweight is that you feel fatigued more easily. The good news is that regular exercise will build up your endurance, but you will have to start slow initially. It’s better to be gentle and work well within your limits at the outset than push yourself and risk injury. Simple walking, yoga, Tai Chi or Pilates are good ways to begin introducing healthy exercise into your routine. These are particularly useful exercises for underweight people because they are relaxing and reduce stress. Stress can be a prime factor in losing too much weight. These exercises can also help induce better sleep, which in turn will boost a flagging appetite.

The Importance of Lifting Weight

One of the most important exercises you can do to start gaining weight is lifting weight. You want the weight you gain to be muscle, rather than just fat. Aerobic exercise will boost your appetite, but it will also boost your metabolism, which is not useful at the beginning of a weight gain program. Diet alone will help you increase body fat, but what you want is an even distribution of healthy fat and mostly muscle, and weight lifting will help you achieve this.

Effective weight lifting is all about form. Even if you’re just working with two-pound dumbbells, you should attend a training session to know how to handle them properly. Working with weights is fairly easy once you get the hang of it, but it’s also very easy to do wrong and that can lead to injury.

It’s also crucial that you not over-exert yourself initially. Work with the amount of weight you can handle comfortably and concentrate on slowly building up repetitions. When starting out, set reasonable goals, such as 10 repetitions in sets of three. As these become easy, increase reps before you increase weight. Pace yourself!

If you’re working with machines, lat machines, where you do pull-downs, and bench presses are the most effective exercises for underweight bodies, male or female.

Get Into a Routine

Many people are surprised to learn it is much harder to build up one’s weight healthfully than to lose weight. The key is “healthfully”. One can put on fat fairly quickly, but that involves eating high-fat foods or protein powders, which can contribute to a number of health problems. As with losing weight, you want to work slowly and reasonably. You should aim to exercise about 30 minutes a day three to five days a week, preferably at the same time every day so it becomes a routine. If you are new to exercise, you should consider taking classes. This helps establish the routine and can keep you working well within your limits while gently pushing you further. It can also be good to work out with people who are struggling with the same fitness goals, as this will keep you motivated and on target. Plus, it’s more fun!

Remember, exercise will not cause you to lose more weight. It will instead improve your body inside and out and help you maintain lifelong health.