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Create positive muscle-strengthening experiences for those with excess weight

This is an excerpt from Obesity and Weight Management by Alexios Batrakoulis.

By Alexios Batrakoulis, Michael Stack, and Kia Williams

Creating Positive Muscle-Strengthening Experiences

Due to myths and misconceptions, reluctance to engage in regular resistance training programs is common among people with excess weight, despite the role of resistance training as a key component of a multifaceted exercise plan with numerous health and fitness parameters. Traditional weight training routines have low attractiveness to individuals with overweight or obesity; current evidence reveals high dropout and low adherence rates in this population (Burgess et al. 2017). This amotivation for resistance training may be explained by the physical limitations and poor functionality commonly observed in clients with excess weight, which may play a negative role in using conventional stationary weight machines in a gym setting. The machines do not always accommodate individuals with a larger body size, making them feel embarrassed and possibly creating a negative response to training experiences. In addition, given that negative body image is common among unfit individuals with excess body weight or adiposity when viewing fitter individuals in a gym environment, a traditional resistance training workout in crowded surroundings may not be appealing to this population.

However, muscle-strengthening is considered a vital piece of the exercise training puzzle addressing obesity, and thus, exercise professionals should create person-centered, weight-inclusive resistance training approaches, aiming to support their clients with good practices and engaging exercise options.

Partner-assisted manual resistance using isometric holds may be an effective and alternative tool for exercise professionals serving populations with overweight or obesity in various exercise settings. Manual resistance seems to be as effective as traditional resistance training with free weights (Behringer et al. 2016). Isometric exercise refers to a static muscle contraction (with little movement or no change in muscle length). This adjunct muscle-strengthening method provides beneficial, long-term musculoskeletal fitness adaptations and may be particularly useful for beginners, deconditioned individuals, and older individuals with overweight or obesity who lack previous exercise experience in resistance training (Oranchuk et al. 2019a; Oranchuk et al. 2019b). An isometric approach may help clients get familiar with resistance-based exercise regimens before progressing the training stimulus and incorporating further variety into supervised muscle-strengthening exercise sessions.

Considering that individuals with overweight or obesity should engage in at least two full-body muscle-strengthening sessions weekly (Donnelly et al. 2009), partner-assisted manual resistance could be applied as an adjunct or preparatory training tool for inducing favorable changes in muscular fitness among previously inactive persons with excess weight (Baffour-Awuah et al. 2023; Lum and Barbosa 2019). Collectively, the primary psychophysiological advantages of using partner-assisted manual resistance through isometric holds are as follows (Dorgo et al. 2009; Oranchuk et al. 2019a, 2019b):

• Proper exercise intensity: Moderate-intensity isometrics (50%-70% of maximum voluntary isometric contraction) work well for beginners with excess weight, even for those with complications (e.g., raised blood pressure or impaired musculoskeletal health).
• Pain-free stimulus: Manual resistance appears to be an injury-free and appropriately intense workout without stress on the joints, promoting favorable alterations in muscular fitness among clients with overweight or obesity.
• Emotional connection: Partner exercises are an excellent engagement strategy for inexperienced individuals, allowing exercise professionals to connect with their clients physically, mentally, and emotionally.
• Unique fitness experience: Manual resistance may help to overcome common stereotypes and myths related to resistance training for people with overweight or obesity, providing an engaging muscle-strengthening experience.

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