Exercise question

I have a temperamental knee and walking any great distance is sometimes difficult. I'm not a gym person even though I keep saying I'll go, I always find some reason not to do so.

• What types of exercise do you do?
• How effective has it been?
• Any particular yoga tapes you can recommend?
• What about the Body Blade that I keep seeing advertised on QVC?

I'm down 42 pounds since June 6 and even though I feel fabulous, the old skin is getting loose and I really need to take care of that - preferably without surgery if possible....or at least for now.

Thanks ahead of time!

I've seen a lot of people with joint issues mention working out in a pool - some local YMCA's even offer classes for that. Being in the water takes the pressure off your joints.

I don't have any yoga tapes but have been doing yoga at my local with an instructor who is very good at showing me modifications for positions I can't physically do yet - even some seated using a chair. You  might want to try searching youtube for chair yoga in case there are any videos for that. (I too have a knee that gives me trouble, hence doing some of the positions with a chair)

I don't have the body blade from QVC but I did get the body gym - a resistance band device that Marie Osmond sells on there. It's a resistance band connected to a bar. The main exercises are posted on the bar and it comes with two videos. A lot of it can be done sitting and resistance band work is great for toning. You can increase the resistance just by rolling the band over the bar a couple times - no need to by tighter bands.

Thanks Heidi......I never thought about chair yoga.....will look into it along with the Marie Osmond thing.

I tried yoga -- even got some basic yoga DVD's that are geared toward people with flexibility issues. It wasn't great for me. But then I tried Pilates and wow, so much better! You can find many beginner Pilates DVD's, probably even at your local public library.

I think this is my favorite of the Pilates for beginners type DVD's that I tried:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GEIRBO/

Thanks!! Another feasible option for me to look at.

I knew I could count on my OH family for not only rapid response, but good ideas too.

I've known about Pilates, but never tried it, and now that I know it's helpful, I will look closer.

I ride my bike. I find that's easier on my joints since my full body weight isn't on them. It feels great & I luv riding my bike. I have to take a break today since I did more walking & dancing this past weekend at the OH conference that my body isn't used to. Next time I hear the song that has the how low can you go in it, I'll keep my ass up! lol 

Thanks T.....seems that cycling is a favorite of a few people....will have to get my butt to the gym to use the stationary bike as I don't own a "real" one.

Next time you go dancing, maybe they'll play Up, Up and Away so you don't have to worry about getting down too low. I hope you feel better soon and you're back to biking.

I do a lot of cycling, mostly because it's the one type of exercise I actually like, I don't completely suck at, and I'm able to stick with it. I think it's been pretty effective, even though I can only go out once or twice a week for a 10+ mile ride. One year post-op, I made my goal of riding 40mi in the big city race, and I didn't think I could pull it off but I absolutely did!

As far as yoga goes, I got a subscription to Yogaglo.com and I really like it. They've got a huge library of stuff to stream, and there's a good variety of difficulty, focus, etc. You can do a free trial, I think it's 2 weeks, that might be a good way to try out some different stuff.

Thanks Julie. That.com's fabulous about riding in the city race.....VERY impressive and inspiring too.

Thanks also for the Yogaglo.com information....I'm going to check it out shortly.

This board is the best!!!

Sadly no exercise will help with the skin issue :/  But, there are lots of exercises you can do!  

Here's my exercise story -- https://www.myvsg.net/2-uncategorised/398-my-exercise-story -- at the moment I'm focusing on running and home yoga primarily and fitness classes secondarily.  

How effective has it been?  Super.  I love the social aspects of my fitness classes.  I love how strong and invincible running makes me feel.  I'm super flexible now.  I have no joint issues.  I can be a pack mule when I need to be.  My mental health has improved significantly.  I have muscles :D  I've got stamina and fortitude and I can't remember the last time I got sick!  It has done pretty much nothing for my weight loss and nothing for the loose/excess skin issue.  

I recommend the Yoga Studio App.  It's amazing - very well done.  It's not free, but it's well worth the cost. I use it almost daily and it has a wide range of difficulty levels and time commitments.  That said, I really don't recommend that you use an app or videos without going to yoga class first.  In a class, you'll get adjustments to your posture that you won't get with home practice and I find that to be extremely necessary in the beginning.  If you're doing something wrong and don't know, you could damage yourself.  You can also tell a yoga instructor about your knee and get appropriate modifications to accommodate that.

I take all of my fitness classes through my local community college.  It's a very low-pressure environment and there is a wide range of ability levels.  (Well.. a wide range in the beginning-intermediate spectrum.)  Good range of ages and body shapes as well.  You might want to look into something like that which might feel less intimidating than a gym?  

I've used a Body Blade in Physical Therapy.  It's good for building shoulder stability, not sure how it would be useful for you?  The problem with a lot of these exercise gadgets is they're really no different than fad diets.  

I would recommend that you consider a resistance band training system.  It's a really great alternative to owning actual weights and you can do a wide range of weight training exercises with them.  

I also recommend swimming with a bum joint - but that tends to involve going to a gym so it might not work for you.  

I hope that you've gotten your knee checked out by an orthopedist?