Essential Stretches and Warmups for Walking with Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding, NYU Weight Management Program Bariatric Surgeon

Walking is the best exercise you can choose after gastric sleeve surgery. Your doctor will likely have you up and walking soon afterwards and you will feel better for it. Walking is an accessible and effective exercise that can help you lose weight. Yet many people do not realize how important it is to warm up before and stretch after walking. Here, Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding discusses the importance of stretching before walking.

Why Stretch?

Walking is what almost everyone does on a daily basis, so common we don’t think about it. But then we may overlook the importance of stretching when walking for exercise. After gastric sleeve surgery, you’ll want to follow your doctor’s orders precisely. This includes guidelines for safety and effectiveness. Keep the following few reasons for stretching in mind:

• Injury prevention. If you work out with “cold” muscles, you could end up pulling something out of alignment. Tight muscles create tension and can negatively impact other areas. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding says that warming up helps your body work smoothly and stay in alignment.
• Increases calorie burning. If you warm up before walking, your body will operate more effectively, thus burning more calories. This will help you lose weight after gastric sleeve surgery.    
• Helps joints move. Stretching lets your joints to move in full range of motion. If you skip the stretching, your muscles may become tight and shorten over time. Then when you call on them to spring into action, they may not be up for the job.  

Standard Walking Routine after Gastric Sleeve Surgery

1. Warm up. This includes a couple minutes of easy-paced walking and mild flexibility exercises.
2. Work out. Walk for your desired length of time and pace.
3. Cool down. Take a few minutes to walk at a much slower pace. This helps your body cool down. Increase cool down time as your exercise routine intensifies.
4. Stretch. Stretching is always best after your workout, when your muscles are warm.

Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding’s Walking Warm-Ups

To prepare your body for a walking workout, first make sure your blood is flowing and your muscles are awake. Try these flexibility exercises before you hit the pavement (or the treadmill):

• Ankle Warm-Up. Point your toe and move in circles, 10 in each direction. Do this while sitting or standing and holding on to something for support. This rotates the ankles.  
• Arm Circles. Hold arms straight out, parallel to ground. Begin by making small circles and gradually make them larger. Rest arms and then make circles the other direction.
• Vertical Stretch. Place feet hip distance apart and reach up with right arm. Stretch up and over to opposite side. Relax and repeat with left arm, keeping shoulders straight.

Ready, Set… Walk!

Now that you’ve properly stretched, go out and have a great walk!  Follow the blog posts here for more tips on fitness, including our post-walk stretching ideas.  

For a consultation with Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding, please visit the NYU Langone Weight Management Program.