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Simple, practical ways to improve our immune systems

PaulaSVolunteer•

Here are some great tips from Professor Janet Lord (University of Birmingham, UK). youtube.com/watch?v=k6_zJtb...

I like this woman. I like her down-to-earth way of talking. She gives some very simple, practical suggestions for improving our immune systems. I never realised before, that our immune systems are affected by our muscles, and that muscles also help control inflammation in the body.

No fancy equipment, no drugs, just simple exercises/activities that we can do in our own homes. I'm grateful to my daughter-in-law who shared the link. Because the exercises are so easy, I'm much more likely to do them. If I'm faced with the prospect of a complicated exercise program, experience has shown me that I'll never keep it up.

Not sure why Janet Lord includes the chickens in the video, but it does add a homely touch.

Paula

P.S. Photo at the top was taken after some not-quite-so- simple exercise a few years ago. It was a wonderful week in May, 2017. Lovers of the English Lake District will know where I am...

52 Replies

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Thank you Paula, as you say this is very practical and doable, its simple and she has a very pleasant way about her.

Also as an American can I just say that listening to her accent is very pleasant too. 🙂

And I love your photo....Wow that view!

Debbie x

Glad you like listening to Janet Lord's accent, Debbie. To me, she doesn't have an accent at all. It's how everyone spoke in the area where I grew up (in the south of England). I'm surrounded by wonderful Yorkshire accents now, but I was strangely warmed to hear her voice. She reminded me of some of my teachers at school!

Glad you like the photo too. English Lake District - my favourite place in the world.

Paula xx

Thanks Paula,

Good video and great photo.

I thought the video was on the whole excellent, with one exception. I did not like the sitting/smoking comment, I felt it was unnecessary at best. I’ll use the exercises, although, living in a bungalow the stairs part is no good for me and max number of steps we have is ... one. Never mind, perhaps I’ll use a short stepladder.

best to all, and thanks again for sharing, rob

Whether people like it or not that is what recent research is finding.

Whether people smoke or not is their choice but the exercises will be good for them whether or not they choose to smoke.

This ‘people’ does exercise a lot. I stick by my comment “sitting is the new smoking” did not fit well. other than that I still think the video is very good.

I'm glad you like the video, Rob, but I'd be interested to hear why the comment "sitting is the new smoking" doesn't fit well.

I thought of it just as saying that sitting less and smoking less are both important things we can do to improve our health - things that were not considered to be important some years ago.

Best wishes,

Paula

Thanks PaulaS,

I can do those exercises.

Too easy.

I’ll get into practice now.

Keep safe and well.

Kind regards from Josephine from Australia 🙏❤️🐓

Kind regards to you too, Josephine from Australia

Take care,

Paula from Yorkshire

Now that’s a view! Beautiful.

I’m keeping busy and active. Managing between 12,000 and 15,000 steps a day. I put my playlist on the i phone and walk around my large garden. If I’m on the mobile I keep moving whilst chatting with friends. I want to be ready to enjoy a view such as your picture when these horrid times are over.

Peggy 😀

Sounds great Peggy, that you're doing all those steps a day. Nice to think of you walking round your big garden with your iphone playing to you. I wonder what music is on your playlist?

Sadly our garden is small, but we do have open country nearby. And our house is tall and thin so we have lots of stairs to go up and down! I'll have to get a Fitbit then I should know how many I steps I do. Like you, I also pace around while chatting on the phone.

I remember your photo of the Brecon Beacons, and thought I'd love to go there one day. Well, we can remember our favourite mountains and keep them in mind to cheer our spirits during these days of confinement.

Take care,

Paula

My playlist is varied and changes all the time. I choose my songs according to my mood. Yes I am fortunate that I have a big garden, as my kong awaited knee operation was obviously cancelled, I’m glad I don’t live in my old house with many sets of stairs. I got the fitbit when all this started as I know myself very well and would happily lie to myself about how much I moved. Usually I’m busy with work, grandchildren etc.... but am very happy to be a couch potato given half the chance!

Strange times!

Peggy 😀

Nice and needed for we who are a bit older---Thank you, Paula.

And the following is a related post--static stretching which can be helpful AFTER the workout. I always have a chair nearby to be able to hang on if I need to and these pics. don't show that, but it does help. The only other need is a mat for the floor stretches shown.

So the workout exercises give us better strength and the static stretches help us be flexible and they help to keep the muscles from getting too tight (cramping and tightening of the muscles is a problem I have if I don't stretch after workout or even a walk of any length, when I then get legs cramping if I don't do the simple stretches.

silversneakers.com/blog/str...

Thanks for your reply, Cllady. Sorry the link wouldn't work for me, but I Googled silversneakers and saw lots of other interesting posts...

Thank you PaulaS

Love this. I'm a member of the Bham Uni gym, my tri club use their pool and we run around the campus. Nice to be reminded by one of their professors to get my backside of my sofa!

Thank you for posting this very helpful information!

Not sure where in the Lake District your photo' was taken......

I remember very well being caught in an incredible rain storm while atop Haystacks......

I also had a wonderful, hot air balIoon ride, at dawn earlier in that week.... We stayed at Newby Bridge...

I hope heaven is as beautiful as the Lake District.... If that's where I'm going(?)....

You say you're not sure where the photo was taken, SpiritOfTheForest, but it was the place you got caught in the storm - Haystacks! I don't suppose you got much of a view that day so didn't recognise it, but that's the Lake District for you. Without the rain we wouldn't get the lakes.

I love the idea of a hot air balloon ride over the Lakes at dawn! I'll have to put that on my bucket list!

Interesting that you hope heaven is as beautiful as the Lake District...

The very first time I went to the Lake District (youth hostelling with a school friend), we got a little bus from Keswick into Borrowdale. As it made its way down into the "Jaws of Borrowdale", I felt we were going into fairyland. There had been rain the night before, the trees were in autumn gold, with raindrops glistening like diamonds on their leaves. I have never forgotten that journey. I remember thinking that if there was a heaven, it would be like that.

Paula

Good morning Paula,

It was lovely and sunny, in a split second, the heavens opened. I've never experienced rain like it.... I had forgotten to pack my waterproof trousers..... It was a long trudge back to the car park........ Quite funny now, rather miserable then..... I was up and out at 6am, the next morning.....

I never complain about the rain (much) ...... It makes Great Britain so green, and so stunningly beautiful..

If you get the chance to go in a hot air balloon above the lakes at dawn..... Absolutely go for it..... I found it a deeply moving experience.....

Ah, never forget to pack the waterproof trousers, even on a sunny day. British weather is so unpredictable, but of course you know that all too well.

I too have memories of long trudges back to car parks in sodden clothing. Even the best of waterproofs can't keep out all the rain all the time. But as you say, we'll try not to complain about the rain - it brings the greenness, the waterfalls, the rainbows...

I have waterproof trousers💦👖on, as we speak...... I will never take them off!

Regular exercise has long-term benefits for immunity – it’s important to stay active.

For a detailed view, including some basic science see this web page:-

theconversation.com/regular...

Dick

Thanks for this link, Dick. Good to read more of the science - it should convince us to get moving if we weren't convinced already...

Paula

One phrase stood out for me - "Sitting is the new Smoking" OUCH!!!

Jackie,

off to do the exercises!

Thanks Paula. Away we go.

Stay safe.

Sue

Thanks Paula. A few good ideas there.

Amazing view!I always know I’m getting older when I appreciate views like that, because when I was little my parents used to admire countryside views and I used to think... they’re just trees and fields! 😂

Stay safe.

Fran 😉

Glad you like the view, Fran. That little mountain (Haystacks in the Lake District), is one of my favourite places in the world. Later that year, I started on Ibrutinib and hubby broke his leg. Since then, mountain walks have been out of the question for both of us.

Now I think about it, although we’ve been on lots of country walks since then, that day was our last proper mountain. I’m so glad we did it, though it was a long hard slog up from Buttermere.

You’re right that we appreciate views much more as we get older. We also treasure our memories – and our photos!

Best wishes,

Paula – feeling somewhat nostalgic…

Hi Paula

many thanks, they are simple and effective, and researched based.

I do the Macmillan "Move More" dvd,,, given to me by the gym, when i thought i was going to go to the gym,,ha ha,

i just could not get into it, and feel comfortable..

prefer to be out doors..

Pat

Thank you Paula.

These exercises my husband and I are going to start to do tomorrow.

At least that is what we decided today 😊

Hopefully, the determination will be there to start. We do walk every day and love swimming, which we have to wait for until summer. This would be great exercise to do until then.

Love the photo. Where is it ?

🤗

Dana

Dana,

I was going to start this morning....oops. But I did wash the floors !

We will both start tomorrow.

Colette x

Hopefully Colette 🤸‍♂️

As I live in a ground floor apartment I will have to do something else instead of the stairs.

Stepping on and off a shallow stool would do the trick I think. If you have a shallow stool...

I don’t think I have ? I was always useless in the days of the step exercises ! Always falling off 😕

Hi Dana,

Glad you like the photo. It was taken partway up a small mountain called Haystacks, in the English Lake District. Below are the lakes of Buttermere and Crummockwater.

I felt so exhilarated to be up there. After a long period of illness when I couldn't do much hill walking, it felt specially good.

Sadly my CLL got worse soon after that, and I haven’t been up a proper mountain ever since. But I live in hope…

Compared to walking up mountains, the exercises above may seem very tame, but I can easily fit them into my usual daily activities without any trouble.

If I’m reading (not writing) on the computer, I sit up and down in my chair quite often, instead of staying seated. While walking round chatting on the phone, I raise myself up and down on tiptoes. While waiting for the kettle to boil, I do side leg raises. I walk up and down stairs more often, instead of leaving stuff at the bottom to take up when I next go to the loo. All little things I can do as part of ordinary life.

You said you and your husband would start the exercises “tomorrow”. Just wondering - did tomorrow ever come?

Well, it's good to look forward to the summer when our usual activities can start up again.

Best wishes,

Paula

Hi Paula

You are doing good with your exercise around the house 👍🏻

My husband wanted us to start Monday, which is today. Having our tea at the moment. It will be interesting to see which one of us will mention exercise 😊

Very likely it will be me and hopefully he will join and we will keep it up.

We are opening the pool this week even though, our spring here is not very warm.

Hope it will smarten up and we will be able to use it and not just look at it.

Swimming is what we both enjoy. I suffer from Fibromyalgia and water exercise is one I can do with no pain.

Stay well Paula and when you can post more photos.

🤗

Dana

Dana,

My today is tomorrow now ! Those good intentions where did they go...... so jealous of your pool.

Colette x

We are still having our tea 😂

Are you starting tomorrow for real?

When we bought this house the pool was in already and Since we had a big pool in our previous house, which was a lot of work and expense we were going to excavate this pool. The price quoted was $8,000.00 so the pool stayed. It is much smaller and salt water so, not a lot of work and we and our friends and family are happy it is there.

The problem is our weather here in Ontario. Short summers and long winters.

🤗

Dana

Dana yes I promise tomorrow it is ! 🤞

A salt water pool, how wonderful. Swimming is the only exercise I have ever liked. In my working days I used to belong to a club that had a beautiful pool with ionised water, so no chlorine smell. And even better I was often the only one in it !

Colette x

Only if you lived closer.

Tomorrow then 👍🏻😀

Dana

Morning Dana,

Ok I have kept my side of the bargain ! Though one of my 🐈 shot off his chair in horror when I started. And I have worked out I can go into my neighbours garden and use their outdoor garden stairs ! Useful as I live in a garden apartment.

Colette 🙂

Good morning and good for you Colette 👍🏻

I also started yesterday with all except the chair and did only few on stairs. Then, my husband decided we will go for 1hour walk through the ravine in our neighborhoods. At the end We were both dragging our feet.😅

Well, today is going to be resting day and tomorrow we will try to do the all of them.

How do you feel today and did you do it all?

Have a great day Colette🤗

Dana

Dana,

I didn’t do the stairs but I will tomorrow. Your walk sounds like great and healthy exercise.

Colette x

Liked the video -- and I already have the chickens ...

Interesting info - Muscles help the immune system. Myokines are a cytokine that help with tissue repair.

They are produced with repetitive skeletal muscle contractions.

"Your immune system is helped by your muscles. Muscles make special hormones

called myokines, which help your immune system to find the infection in the first place

but they also make sure that the inflammation that results from this

doesn't get out of hand, and that's really important when you're fighting

viruses like corona virus. "

Glad you picked up on that point, @8lue, I was interested in what it said about myokines too. Hearing that they help the immune system and are generated by muscle action, has added to my motivation to keep moving. Plus they have some control over inflammation - yet another good thing.

Even as I sit at my computer now, I am making circles with my feet and visualising all those extra myokines being made!

Paula

Great 😀

Very good 👍 video. I walk briskly 12 times around my average size garden, with steps, every evening just before dusk when the blackbirds and thrushes are in full song and the sweet floral scents fill the air - heaven. Keep safe and well 🙏 everyone , Dori😘.

I love the sound of your evening walks, Dori. Lovely that you can hear the birds and smell the flowers. Sounds bliss...

Blessings,

Paula

Educational, and from my old University.

I'd never heard of Myokines, something new to learn about.

Many thanks Paula. Keep exercising, and don't stop dreaming of making it back to those hills.

Best wishes,

Ernest

Glad the Myokines gave you something new to learn about, Ernest. Like you, I'd never heard of them before. Imagining them being generated by my muscle movements has helped motivate me to keep moving.

And I won't stop dreaming of the hills...

Take care,

Paula

Good for you Paula 👍🏻 I admire your motivation.

I am up and down in that department 😏. After learning about Myokines and what they can do for our immune system, I will try to move more even when in pain with Fibromyalgia.

You will be my inspiration Paula

🤗

Dana

There are far more inspiring people around than me, Dana, especially in the realm of exercise. These low key exercises appeal to me because they're easy and I can do them while doing other things. (This morning I did the heel raises one in the kitchen while peeling potatoes).

I'm sorry you have fibromyalgia... I would imagine that your pool would be good exercise for that?

If I'm told the reasons for doing something (eg muscle action making myokines which help the immune system), I find much greater motivation to do it.

Enjoy your day

Paula

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