I have seen many reviews of the study at Northwestern showing that exercising at 80-85% of your MHR three times per week prevented the progression after 6 months. But I'm wondering how long the participants exercised - 30 mins or 60 mins. Does anyone know?
Exercise to stop progression: I have seen... - Cure Parkinson's
Exercise to stop progression
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bdphillips
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"Treadmill exercise was prescribed for 4 days per week for 26 weeks with an a priori hypothesized adherence of 3 days per week. Included were 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up, 30 minutes of treadmill exercise at the target heart rate, and 5 to 10 minutes of cool down."
I find walking at 80% of peak heart rate tough to achieve but working on it! Hills help. My fox terrier hinders ... Exercise bike or rowing machine might be easier. Definitely need to work up to it and also take a day off every other day. I use a fitbit as a heart monitor.
Thanks for the clarification Kevin51! I have also found it hard to reach 80% and keep it there, but definitely something to work towards.
My guess is that the less fit you are to start with then the bigger the final benefit!
Def use a good bike , we have a Wattbike not cheap but really good - you can rent them in UK 🚴♂️
Is this at Northwestern in Chicago , IL ?
The Northwestern study involved walking on a treadmill. I believe the cycling study was done at the Cleveland Clinic. The cycling goal is 80-90 RPMs and the treadmill goal is 80-85% of your maximum heart rate. I think we have mentioned both in this thread.
Depends on the bike BD. I laboured similarly by using my bike at home but when I went on some more expensive bikes in the gym it was much easier to reach the required 80rpm.
How do you work out what 80%of peak heart rate is? I have heart issues as well as PD (am waiting for an aortic valve replacement) so I'm in a bit of a quandary about what I should be doing.
See Ratzkywatzky's response below. Please be careful!
Celtis, my husband had his ascending aorta and his aortic valve replaced a couple of years ago. Per his surgeon, if he had done anything strenuous and his aortic aneurism had burst, he would have been dead before he hit the floor. The doctor didn’t know how bad it was until he was doing the surgery. My thought? Have your surgery done first or at at least ask your doctor before you exercise. Yikes! Be well!
Thank you for that advice. Maybe I should see the cardiologist before I go ahead, which is frustrating because I definitely feel better and have less tremor when I do exercise. Even the minimal stuff I am able to do makes a big difference.
How is your husband now?
Up to his old self! He was loading furniture trucks and packing 300# safes until December, 2017 when his department was closed down. He is 59 years old... Thanks for asking! I am so thankful for every single day we have together! When is your surgery? I will pray...
The surgery has been put off for while. I have found out that I can get the knee replacement that I need with a spinal block which is safer than an anaesthetic so that is my next thing.
I have taken your advice, will put off heavier exercise until after I see the cardiologist. Thank you for that.
It is so tough to have other issues in addition to PD. My thoughts and prayers are most definitely with you.
MHR meaning please?
'Maximum heart rate' I think. There is a formula to work it out which i just looked up and says subtract your age from 220. So you are aiming to get to 80/85% of that number. Usually that recommendation comes with the safety proviso ,"please consult a medical professional before embarking on any strenuous exercise regime"!!
Yes. That's how I understand it as well.
I have PD for 8 years. Work out high intensity running every day at least 90 min. Still take meds but lower dose. Past 18 months, no motor symptoms AT ALL on exam. My PD doc is astonished. High intensity exercise WORKS!
That's fabulous! It gives me encouragement to keep exercising and working out at high intensity.
Impressed at your resolve! Inspiration to us all.
What kind of high intensity exercise did you do, for how long, and for how many times a week?
Did you use the treadmill or the exercise bike, or did you walk fast? Thank you if you want to answer me.
If you're asking Raphaekg, sounds like they run daily. But I've read of others that have reversed symptoms that have used fast walking, Qi Gong or cycling. I have also read that the key is getting your heart rate up with whatever exercise you prefer. I was diagnosed last May and I'm still trying to figure this out! I vary my exercise at this point between Rock Steady Boxing, a personal trainer, spin bike and yoga but probably not getting my heart rate up enough.
I dare to say that many of us cannot afford Rock Steady Boxing AND a personal trainer AND a spin bike AND yoga classes. Even a YMCA membership is beyond some of us.
Most Ys will not turn anyone away. They raise $ specifically for scholarships. I encourage them to give everyone 8 weeks for free in a Pedaling for Parkinson's class and I've never had one refuse.
We have absolutely NO Parkinson's related classes or programs in northeastern Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre area). Not at any Y's, or healthcare centers, senior centers, etc. We have Allied Services, an expensive rehab facility (it cost me $40 per session three times a week) where they will teach you LSVT BIG exercises and they have one well intentioned but not particularly effective overworked speech therapist to teach one on one LSVT LOUD exercises (no group participation classes), then you are sent off on your way alone. There are NO support groups, I have searched high and low, gone to all the resources I could think of to find one, nothing available. A Rock Steady Boxing facility opened recently, but it is 45 minutes away and there is no public transportation to get there (I can no longer drive), and it costs $80 per month. There are few neurologists in the county, and most of them have only a passing famliarity with PD. There are no MDS's. We have to make the three to four hour trip to Philadelphia to find a PD doctor. Right now I need a neurological opthalmalogist, and I have to travel to Philly for that also. I read with envy about those people who have access to cutting edge doctors, dance programs ,spin classes, and other PD focused activities, but it's not like that everywhere. In NEPA, PD apparently doesn't exist. The only thing people know about PD is tremors and Michael J. Fox.
I would try to get a local college with PT and OT majors to take on PD, but preliminary discussions indicate that they are more interested in addressing autism issues. I think the students would rather work with children than seniors.
I do go to a small local women's gym after work three or four times a week, where the owner gives me a break on the membership fee, but there's no PD focus. There is one woman who also has PD who goes there, but she won't talk about it and prefers to hide it as much as she can. Obviously this is a pretty backward place.
I don't believe I have ever heard of our Y giving any kind of scholarships for anything except possibly daycare.
Just to clarify - my personal trainer works with people with Parkinson's at no cost through his nonprofit (Parkinson's Recovery Project in Smyrna, TN). I have an inexpensive spin bike at home that I use and also do yoga at home from an app that cost $2.99/month. Also, Rock Steady Boxing is very affordable. I think each affiliate sets their own fee, but mine is only $75/mo and worth every penny.
Also, check out Invigorate Physical Therapy & Wellness on the internet and Delay the Disease. Both of these have tons of free information and exercises available.
I treadmill run daily using a watch to check heart rate is high. Also boxing, yoga, weight training, meditation. Mix it up for neuroplasticity! But prolonged endurance training at high cardio to low or moderate HR zone is key. FYI, I am a 63 year old woman.
Can you clarify "prolonged endurance training at high cardio to low to moderate HR is key"? You exercise at high intensity for 90 minutes a day? I'm impressed!
You can specify the duration and frequency of the exercises. In practice how long you take and how many times a week do these workouts. Thank you
Research by neuroscientist Dr Jay Alberts at the Cleveland Clinic showed that cycling at 80-90 rpm for an hour three times per week reduces PD symptoms an average of 35%. I do considerably more and had even better results. It’s not about the bike; it’s about the cadence. I like outside better than indoors, but they both work
Has it helped with your tremors? How much do you do?
BD, If you look on this site under Pedaling for Parkinson's, you'll find a considerable amount written on this. I was diagnosed at age 62, 10 years ago, not known as an athlete. Since then I've climbed Mt.
Kilimanjaro among others, ridden across Iowas 6 times, etc. etc. This summer we're planning to hike around Mt. Blanc. Each case of PD is different so what anyone else says (including me) may not apply to you. I say that I have PD Lite. My symptoms are on the right side only and I seldom have a tremor. I have about 2 hours + of off time each day when I think I'll never feel well again. That passes and I go through the same thing the next day. I find that eating an essentially Mediterranean Diet, simple foods, plenty of fruits and veggies, not drowned in sauces or grease is important to keep the body regular. I wrote a book, "If I Can Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Why Can't I Brush My Teeth" to help people figure out how to respond to this life intruder.
How much riding/exercise do I do? If I'm inside, I try to ride an hour 4- 5 days each week. Outside (my balance is still very good) I ride just under 20 miles, generally 4 days/week. We're training for Mt. Blanc now so on the off days we climb steps. There are 366 steps and we go up and down 3-5 times, adding weight to our packs until I get to 25 lbs and my husband gets to 35 lbs. My mantra is 3 parts: 1. It's not your fault. 2. You have choices. 3. You can do this. It works for me.
Nan, I was cycling for an hour 3 times a day but went down to 45 minutes after watching that video on NBC a year or so ago. The video said the group was doing 45 minutes. Now I do 45 minutes 4 days a week. Maybe I'll try doing an hour on Saturday instead of 45--the food channel has good shows on Saturdays which would make the time pass faster (I watch TV while cycling).
Have you seen an improvement in your symptoms from cycling?
I think the cycling is the main reason I have delayed the disease. My symptoms were very tiny handwriting and a slight left hand tremor. When I started Sinemet when diagnosed those symptoms went away almost immediately.
That's 45 minutes at a cadence of 80-90rpm plus the extra time for warmup and cooldown. I generally skip the warmup/cool down and just cycle at cadence the whole hour.
My cadence is 85-90 rpm with a few minutes of warmup 80-85. My cool down is just stretching.
Sounds good. How do you feel? I think it's important to emphasize that this exercise will not eliminate PD; it will slow the progression of the disease substantially though, and that's something to cheer about!
I feel good. I feel like I've accomplished something important after doing my cycling. I am sweaty too. I know exercise won't cure PD but I'm glad it's delaying it.
I try to run for a minimum of 90 minutes but usually two hours daily. Maximum heart rate (roughly calculated as 220 minus your age) is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can theoretically handle during physical activity. In theory, that would make the MHR for a 63 year old only 157. Depending on where you look, Cardio zone, which means your heart rate is 70 to 84% of maximum, is the medium-to-high intensity exercise zone. Peak zone, which means your heart rate is greater than 85% of maximum, is the high-intensity exercise zone. Honestly, once you are in good shape, all of this means nothing. I can run "beyond my maximum heart rate" for long periods of time. Probably better than this zone stuff is subjective intensity. For me, my peak zone may mean 175+ for quite a while; it's when I really feel like I'm pushing it hard and sweating a lot. I try to stay in that zone of subjective intensity for sustained periods, broken up by somewhat more moderate periods. I also work sometimes at just speeding up my cadence. There are days in which, for whatever reason, I have trouble getting up heart rate up as fast as I want, so I really focus on quick steps, to whatever degree possible.
To clarify, I do this EVERY DAY. I have NO motor symptoms for the past 18 months, except some slowing at the end of the day (when I am, frankly, exhausted). I certainly had marked resting tremors for the first few years, which were becoming noticeable on BOTH sides of my body, even though they started on one side. Note that I also work at a very intense full-time job, adding to my exhaustion.
There are some amazing people on this thread but my goal is to answer the first question and emphasize the science:
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People in the study that stopped their progression exercised for 30 minutes at a minimum of 80% max heart rate. -
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I have a treadmill with a heart rate monitor. My max heart rate was WAY less than the "calculated" value. Point is "Max heart rate" should not be guessed if you have Parkinson's and want to try this.
Does the treadmill give you the rate? Would I find one like that in a gym? Could it tell me what I can do in spite of an inadequate heart? I'm hoping you will say yes. Otherwise I just have to wait till I see the cardiologist.
And thank you for your posts. You give us solid science every time. Much appreciated!
Yes. Often gyms have treadmills with hand grip heart rate monitors, but if you have any type of heart condition I think you should talk to a doctor first. If you do get the ok to run then one option is a simple wrist band heart monitor:
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Yes, always get medical clearance before ANY intensive exercise routine. Neither the wrist nor treadmill heart rate monitors are terribly accurate, but they can give you a general sense of things. Subjective intensity is probably a better indicator, since it takes into account YOUR level of fitness when starting, not something "arbitrary" like age (ha)........And no need to break your bank account. If you can run outside, it's free (for the price of running shoes and old sweat pants). You can also get lots of free guided fitness routines on video right online.
Although exercises beneficial to some extent, it doesn't stop the progression. It helps in keepingthe gait straight and prevents from other illnesses for example diabetes and blood pressure. I am saying this from my personal experience. I did intense exercise meeting the criteria of the trial but the progession is still there. But we should keep in mind that everyone PD is different and so will be the response to exercise. There are many who are benefitting from it and still there are people who have reported adverse effects
Hi bdphillips i work out 3 days a week for one hour a day and my trainer keeps my heart rate high and I feel good till the next session if I miss a session I really feel it so keep up the good work and I hope that helps
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