In general, is it easier for skinny/average weight people to exercise?

[Anonymous]

Running, push ups, sit ups, crunches, weight lifts, etc. Or does it all depend on your stamina ? Just wondering c:

[kheserthorpe]

A skinny person requires less fitness to run a given distance at a given speed then an overweight person, who has to carry all the fat around with them.

Similarly pushups and crunches your weight is a barrier.

Weight lifting, it depends on the motion. Some motions like squatting you are lifting bodyweight as well as the weight. In that case an overweight person would require more power to lift the same weight on the bar. For other things like bench press or leg press, that wouldn't be true. For two untrained individuals, I'd guess the overweight person is actually likely to have more muscle, simply from moving their own body around. They may be less strong relative to their size, but hooked up to a machine the amount they can push may be better.

I honestly think its a good idea for overweight people to include a fair amount of weight lifting in their workout plans for a few reasons:

- statistically diet + weights result in faster weight loss then diet + cardio (I'd recommend all three and cardio is associated with keeping weight off)

- resistance training can build muscle or under stricter dieting, help hold on to muscle while burning fat. This helps keep metabolism up or even raised.

- psychologically, I think overweight people may find weight lifting a little easier to get into. They may not be quite as bad to start, and typically will make decent measureable gains. They can start moving from just feeling fat to feeling bigger then they'd like but strong and getting in shape.

[beastman88]

yes, also attitude is important. it can be hard to find the will to want to exercise at times. I know when I was 260 I was tired all the time, back was sore all the time, knees were starting to hurt. id tire easily. now I'm down to about 170, feel a lot better, more agile, faster, still as strong as I was. I cut out the fast food and pop, stopped drinking so much alcohol took me nearly 1.5 years to get down to this weight, still want to lose maybe another 10-20 pds. all I did was walk everyday, do body weight exercises, never really touched weights.

[beastman88]

when you're over weight like I was its an uphill battle, very tough but worth it

[Izzy2102]

Ya of course. If you're overweight you have so much more weight constntly pressing on your joints, so they start hurting earlier. If you much overweight, the fat will also press on your lungs, making breathing harder.

As for instnat difference, no matter what you do, the more weight you carry around the harder it will be to move. You run slower, because you carry more weight, push ups are harder because you have to push more weight. Give any trained athletle a 40 lbs back pack and they'll run much slower.

Now obviously muscles are weigh to, and trained muscles make more than up for that difference. Muscles make you faster and stronger. Fat on the other hand is just dead weight you're carrying around.

[notsothrillinglife]

It depends. I'm skinny, but I have terrible asthma, and I'll usually have an asthma attack from running about 150ft, and then I'll need to use my inhaler. There's a girl I know, who's overweight, but she can run like the wind...much further than I ever could.

[martyfellow]

Most floor exercises are easier for slimmer people, even if they are't in good condition. Heavier people, no matter how buff, just have a lot more weight to move around, especially when using the abdominal muscles to lift their legs. You'll notice smaller people can do this pretty easily compared to even highly toned people with big leg muscles to lift!

[summiter]

A slender person will be able to do more. If you have the same size engine (heart & lungs) and can exercise to XYZ capacity, if you are a few pounds slimmer you will be able to do more. However, I do think there is a lower limit where you need some muscle tone and body mass for energy for your cells.

[confugirl]

Of course it is. A skinny person with as much stamina as a heavier person will be able to move faster. However, if an overweight person has much more stamina than a skinny person, he or she will be able to move faster also. But it's always easier for a skinny person to start exercising than it is for overweight people to do the same. Skinny people don't have to start out as slowly.

[aMuse]

The less mass you have to move, the less energy it takes to move it. It's simple mechanics... That said, the more muscle you build, the more machinery you have moving those limbs to accomplish those tasks, and the higher you glycogen reserves in your muscles. It still takes more work, but at least you have the fuel and machinery to manage it, if you eat right.

[Yukinoinu]

It is how fit you are. That's all it comes to. I am 5'10" 200lbs and exercise is easy. I don't have a 6 pack I was in football though and quite use to it. When I was at peak I had a 4 pack @ 190lbs. Now being out for 2 years I have lost my pack but still anything is not hard. Just I guess eat healthy (or do a lot to make up for eating crap) and push yourself the extra mile.

[whattothink]

Stamina. I am quite overweight and can work out muxh longer and at a higher intensity than my skinny friends because I go to the fym regularly and they do not.

[PastelColours]

I think so, if you're comparing the skinny/average people to obese people. And it would be even more easier for fit people. But then it varies among people too.

[Theguyoverthere]

When it comes to things like bodyweight exercises, thinner people can excel on average because they don't have to move as much weight around.

[Anonymous]

Should be. Overweight people have to carry around extra weight everywhere they go, it tires them out easier. I am overweight and I exercise daily, I only have about an hour a day in me, split into three 20 minute sessions.

[wolf359]

no. well it depends.

Some exercises are harder on the hands, wrists and joints in general.

so running is not comfortable for fat people (well not just fat but obese).

[Anonymous]

It's definitely harder to work out if you're heavy. It's more weight to carry around, more weight to weigh you down which can cause foot pain or joint pain.

[Anonymous]

I would think so because of the stamina but I've seen overweight people in the gym and they work harder than anybody else.

[Anonymous]

Probably because of stamina but of course overweight people can have an easy time working out