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What changes have you made to be active at home?
Many of us attend PT or go to a gym to get our exercise in and stay active and flexible. For those who usually go to a facility for physical activity, what have you been doing at home? Dagmar has shared many of her tips to stay active and healthy so I was wondering what tips you could share with our members. Do you start you day off with stretching? Do you spend time outside? What typical home items can you use to help with exercising?
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6 Replies
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We live in the country, 20 miles from each of two towns. Never have gone to an exercise gym. I used to do yard and garden work outside to stay in shape in the summer. In the winter, it was snow shoveling. Now I can do neither easily. Since my diagnosis was in February 2020, with symptoms from February 2019, I have done all activities I can do at home. So, no real changes needed to be active at home.
I have many exercise instructions to do from three PT visits. I do use my rowing machine in the morning, before I put my AFOs on, for a minute or more, depending on how my legs feel. I have fibromyalgia, so I wait until later morning before taking my AFOs off and doing stretching and core strengthening on my bedroom floor. My husband saw me on the floor last week, and asked how I was going to get up. I can get up. Yeah.
My aqua exercise classes run during the school year. Now with the COVID-19 deal, there are no classes. I do have to drive 25 miles to the school where the pool is. An automatic door from the outside, and none on the door to the office where I have to sign in. Then I have to use a rolling walker to get to the pool area, over 200 yards away. One more plain door to open to the locker room. Nice to take a break from that work.
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Suzanne, you are so lucky to still have a pool open to use! 🙂
Since I normally “work” (writing my column & blogs) from home, the shelter-in-place mandate didn’t change much for me. Except I miss the occasional outings to the grocery store and restaurants. Now, I have to create time to add exercises to make up for these “incidental movement situations.” Plus, I’m fighting the overall slow-down that permeates news, internet and in emails.
I’ve set goals for myself to take movement breaks every 2 hours.
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In Non-Covid times, I attend a group yoga class twice weekly. Â The instructor is now offering 1:1 sessions for same price. Â Blessing in disquise for me. Â I have been able to tell her about my ALS and limitations. Â She has tailored sessions for me and offered meditative readings that are helpful. Â She is a true professional and my angel! Â And Dagmar, she is a rebounder! And is going to give a session with the rebounder to get me acclimated to that!!!
I have also looked at home workouts on Youtube and PrimeVideo to do at home since the gym is closed.
I feel progression happening in my legs and try to keep moving throughout the day.
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Bravo to you and your yoga instructor, Marianne!
Yoga, meditation and rebounding…. now, you’re beginning to sound like me 🙂
(hint: on the rebounder I do “soggy walking” – – keeping my feet on the surface. This helps my legs practice the L-R-L-R motion, and my brain is happy thinking I’m really walking)
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I’m trying to keep up with the home exercise routines I’ve been practicing for months which include rolling, stretching and some Pilates moves on my bed, air squats a few times a day and walking with my AFOs and rollator inside the house. I also love using my little pedal exerciser while sitting in a comfortable chair. I do thirty minutes of pedaling in ten minute segments each day. Pedaling raises my heart rate and my spirits!
I also do arm exercises with one pound weights and seated heel lifts to try to preserve muscle function in my calves.  For the past year, until our YMCA closed four weeks ago, I was working out with the abductor and adductor machines and the leg curl and leg press machines 2-3 times a week. I was using the lowest possible weight settings but felt good that I could do them at all.  At home, I try to mimic the abductor/adductor machines by sitting in a chair with a medium size soccer ball between my knees.  I press the ball with my knees, holding for five counts, three sets of ten. For the second exercise, I tie a blue elastic exercise band around my legs mid thigh and press outwards against the band, holding for five counts, three sets of ten.
I haven’t figured out how to simulate the leg press/curl, but, for now, I will be happy if I can just somehow maintain my walking ability so that when the Y reopens, I can maybe use the machines, including the recumbent bike and elliptical again.
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Bravo Diana! For your commitment to daily activity & exercise through this stay-at-home time… 🙂
We all have to be very creative in finding substitutions and even staying motivated. At the start of all this, I gave in to frittering a few days away watching TV, YouTube and…who knows what?! And I’d wake up feeling sluggish and stiff. But the days I stuck to my normal mini routines, I’d have more energy and an optimistic attitude. …It was a no-brainer: stick to the routines! Here’s what I’ve been doing:
– AM: wake-up and do 30-min. rolling & stretching on my bed mattress. On my way to having coffee & breakfast: stop in living room and do 10-min chair yoga for upper body, arms and legs.
– Day: 10 chair squats every time I go to sit at the computer. Bathroom breaks include a loop around the house walking with very tall posture. Afternoon: go to the living room chair, park rollator in front of me and do 15-min standing exercises for arms, torso and low back.
– After dinner: (alternate days) 30-min. of soggy-jogging on my rebounder. Other days, 30-min of floor work: crawling, knee pushups, modified crunches, seated yoga stretches.
Actually, this is the same routines I did pre-pandemic. The only change is that I have to mentally focus on things like: I need to take care of myself so that when the crisis is over – – I’m able to fully participate in social activities again 🙂
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