Jon Grabeal: How to tone after weight loss surgery

Q: My name is Elizabeth and earlier this year I had weight loss surgery. I am interested in finding out how often I need to do weight lifting exercises to tone the excess fat that is slowly becoming flabby. I had the vertical sleeve surgery so I am not losing as quickly as someone who has had gastric bypass but I have dropped about 40 pounds and am eager to tone up the under-arm flab and my stomach as well but have no idea how often I need to do toning exercises to be successful. When I say toning, I mean in addition to the cardio I am already doing. Thanks for your help.

A: It really depends on the person, what weight you are starting from, how hard you work during toning exercises and how quickly you are wanting results.

Usually I have people do two one-hour workouts a week of toning (strength training) exercise, which combined with cardio will promote muscle toning at a steady rate without causing too much fatigue.

Some people looking to see faster results and who aren't worried about being sore will do four to five sessions a week. This will give much quicker results but can lead to burnout with exercise, due to feeling sore and fatigued each day after exercise.

If done correctly (high enough intensity) two days a week of strength training will produce great results when combined with a good cardiovascular regiment. Cardiovascular training should be performed on a regular basis four to five times a week.

Another consideration with having recent surgery is to consult your surgeon on any limitations that might be associated with your particular surgery.

For a sample workout of body weight exercises (no gym needed) that can be performed, email me at with the title "Sample Workout" and I will gladly send you a workout video that has exercise tutorials, a circuit to follow along with and a post-workout stretching routine.

Jon Grabeal is a certified fitness trainer in Redding. He welcomes readers' questions about fitness and will answer select questions in his column. Reach him at 351-8687 or