How can I do cardio to lose my massive gut when both of my knees are messed up?

I need replacement surgery, but right now that isn't an option. Standing is painful, so even those elliptical machines are out. Thanks for any suggestions.

• Swimming

• Amputation and liposuction.

• Store your massive gut in Tiffani Thiessen's fat face.

• Diet, cut the carbs, your knees will feel better, when you get that get gone

• What R1 said.

• Try a recumbent bike. I was able to exercise on one when my knees were a mess. And strengthening the muscles in the legs, helps strenghten joints, which decreases pain. However, if it hurts your knees -stop- get help. As for getting rid of the gut - get rid of the bad carbs in your diet. Don't eat anything that your body puts into stored fat - just eat what your body uses. Eat real food. Not overly processed garbage.

• You wouldn't have the massive gut if you didn't cram so many carbs down your gullet.

• When I was pre-op for my knees I jogged in the pool. The nice lifeguards also taught me how to use the equipment they have to increase my abilities. Lost 70# and had the ops and am in so much better shape now. Every # you lose takes 4# pressure off your hips, knees and ankles. Just losing as little as ten # made a huge difference in my life. I can now walk with just a cane and I will be able to get rid of that soon. One of the instructors told me that water is 20xs more dense than air and just walking in it is better than jogging on a treadmill. She is now encouraging me to do two days on a recumbent bicycle or recumbent stair stepper and then four days in the water. That way you use different muscles. That said she did recommend mostly water aerobics and using foam weights for the most part. For the same amount of time you get more bang for your buck. Good Luck OP It is a long and painful process.

• Swimming, stationary bicycle. But really, diet is the most important component of weight loss. If you don't control caloric intake, then you can exercise until you cannot move-- and it won't do any good. Plus, once you reduce your weight, exercising is a bit easier. Get on a weight loss/diet program before you begin exercising. One thing at a time. You can do both things at once eventually, but first things first.

• R3, your constant repetive "Tiffani Thiessen's fat face" comments, which you shove willy-nilly into every 3rd thread, have become stultifyingly stupid, like you. Your stupid comment will not take flight and soar because it is what it is, a stupid comment. So give it up.

• Masturbate--alot. Watch out for the tendonitis in the elbow though.

  Anonymous

• I notice that when I do 30 second of sprints, followed by 30 seconds of light jogging, for 10 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week really does it for me. Then again I'm not overweight though I tend to gain a few pounds over the winter. But when I begin training hard in the spring in preparation for summer, interval training coupled with healthy eating (i.e. no soda, no alcohol, no starch, no carbs) really works wonders. But every body's different, so you'll just have to find what works best for you. That's what I did. It's really trial and error. P.S. You can also substitute sprint/jogging with the stationary bike or elliptical. Either way, it's the same thing -- 30 seconds of intense pedaling with difficult level of resistance, then 30 seconds of light resistance, and so on. .

• bulimia

• Definitely try a recumbent stationary bike. My knees are shot and I can still use a recumbent stationary bike. I need knee replacement surgery in one knee and the recumbent bike still is viable for me.

• See Fork Over Knives. It's on Netflix. Coworker lost weight - no exercise and drinks on weekends. It may help the knees and then you can increase your activity

• When I gained a lot of weight I had knee pain. I started Weight Watchers and eventually started a daily exercise routine - low to no impact. It's hard to move with weight on but when I lost a bit I forced myself and did the exercises carefully in front of a mirror to make sure I was following the proper form so as not to injure myself. It included various free weight exercises for upper body strength plus lower body which included hamstrings (killers to start) and quads - I think it was the hamstrings and quads that helped to strengthen my knees and without realizing it my knee pain disappeared after a few months. Why can't you do abs and gluts with bad knees? You can if you don't compromise your joints - which you shouldn't do even with healthy knees.

• What are quads? Exercises for the abs are pretty useless without doing some type of fat-burning cardio excercise.

• Quads are your quadriceps muscles.

  http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WO10HkQ01z4/TgGauq7hYgI/AAAAAAAAACs/eXAiB5aHYEY/s1600/Quadriceps_Osteoarthritis.png

• R16, I cannot imagine doing squats for quads with my shot knees. I can't do squats at all with my shot knees. Are there some other exercises you did for quads other than squats?

• Quads are the front thigh muscles. The hamstrings are the back of the upper leg. Strong quads and hamstrings protect and help strengthen knees. [quote]Exercises for the abs are pretty useless without doing some type of fat-burning cardio excercise. I did no real cardio except for the muscle strengthening exercises I did. The routine had a short maybe 2 min warm up which was like a walk around or movement in place. But I did no Jane Fonda type of jumping around or anything primarily because of my knees at the time. The free lift exercises for the first part of my exercises (upper body) were sweat producing and maybe they were fat burning. I was on a diet so I was losing steadily that way but the abs (really all the exercises) lasted no more than 2 to 2.5 minutes each. All I can say is that my stomach started out hanging down because I had lost about 30 lbs by then and within about 3 to 4 months of doing that ab exercise every day without fail it was flat. Just be careful and don't lock your knees. Ever.

  Not a doctor but I have a flat stomach

• I can google this, but I thought hamstrings were in the back of the lower legs, not the back of the upper legs.

• R21, those are your calves.

• spin class - find an instructor who knows about form - you probably have bad knees in part (besides the weight) from bad form in the way you walk, etc. - shoulders back and down, good posture... if you run or do lunges or anything that overrotate your knees little by little that'll do it you have to be motivated and push yourself - take harder and harder spin classes to exhaust yourself until you think you will not survive - turn up the resistance until it makes your muscles burn and others are correct - stop eating crap - cut out added sugar and prepared foods especially - replace what you burn off with good food

• The backs of your lower legs are your calves. What I learned from my exercise routine was that almost none of the exercises were done in the extreme. That is, very small movement could accomplish a lot with a muscle if the proper form was used. Maybe you won't be able to do any of the exercises but for the quads (and other muscles) it was about everything - your butt tucked in, your stomach pulled in, your back in proper alignment, tightening the muscle and then barely going down. There is a way to work your muscles with small movements - sometimes barely visible - that is highly effective. My sit ups or crunches involved me barely lifting my back off the floor and yet were powerful and effective. There were variations to the abs that gave it a difernet dymanic eg involving lifting legs and reaching toward oyur knee. With very little movement I could feel my stomach muscles tightening. As I progressed I could feel my exercises getting more effective as I realized better control and technique. I used a Body Electric exercise routine and it just worked for me - I need talking to throughout to remind me about my body form and not to lose it. I'm not explaining these very well but I'm someone who went from a start of 108 lbs. up to 188.6 lbs and back to 110 lbs with a much improved body than I had before I ever gained weight.

• PS. I never did lunges. I avoided all extremes and jerking or fast movement of my knees. Even the hamstring exercises which meant I was on my hands and knees and had to lift each leg back and up was done carefully and not too fast. Form is key to prevent injury. Hamstring exercises are killers and at first I was almost in tears but I worked into them and they became bearable. I had to kneel in a way that I avoided the painful part of my knee until one day I realized the pain wasn't there anymore.

  R16, 20 & 24

• Learn to do push-aways! Push yourself away from each meal when it's half consumed. Give the other half to the dog.