I know that exercise is very important for PWP’s, and I do have a routine that I do daily, but what exercises are best? What are other PWP’s doing? Is it better to take PD meds prior? Thanks
Exercise? : I know that exercise is very... - Cure Parkinson's
Exercise?
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Kt088
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The best exercise is the one that you like to do, otherwise it may not happen.
The state of medication that is best is very individual. Personally, the amount of levodopa that is good for around the house is too much for me when exercising.
Hi. Apart from the good answer: the exercise you prefer, you could do exercises against PS. Stretching/yoga, walking/running, big movements. And relaxation to get less tension both physically and mentally. I have a small book to recommend: Parkinson’s disease: motion and emotion. Good luck!
As many of the participants of this facility will already know, I have been fortunate enough to have overcome most of the movement symptoms of my Pd and have been Pd-medication-free since 2002.
Some other contributors to the site have gone to great lengths to persuade other Pd patients that I do not have Pd. I do not want to discuss this any further, other than to say I have been examined by four different neurologists and they all told me I have Pd. I leave you to make your own decisions.
To be as brief as possible, I began doing Fast Walking, with an organization called 'RUN/WALK for LIFE' in 1994 and, together with the following, I continue to live a 'Normal' life and at the age of 86 still do all these activities:
1. I Avoid anything that stresses me. I discuss anything that makes me stressed and resolve issues or stop interacting with people, who I cannot get on with.
2. I regularly examine my attitude towards life in general and my health, in particular, and I make sure that I continue to have a positive attitude towards my Pd health.
3. I do regular activities that keep my brain active, such as Sudoku, and 'Codeword' puzzles. I started to learn to speak French and learned to play Bridge. I have also written three books on Pd and my life, which has been unusually different to most others.
4. I found out how to take conscious control of my walking, bringing food to my mouth, writing, cleaning my teeth, and everything I have always been able to do and not have to think about how I was doing them.
5. Most important of all, I walk for one hour every second day, as fast as I can, while concentrating on all my movements, all the time.
That is all simple, and logical. I continue to do all of them otherwise, my Pd starts to take over my life again. I took Pd medication for 10 years before stopping in 2002.
I have been all over the English-speaking world and shown other patients how to walk normally and do other things as they had previously been able to normally do. That only took a few minutes and nobody, including patients in wheelchairs, was unable to do it. Nobody could believe that a patient, who could not walk because his/her legs would not move (Freezing), could suddenly WALK NORMALLY! When this happened, many people cried with joy and amazement, including me.
The medical profession has shown no interest in what I do and two of their members had me removed as Chairman of our National Parkinson's Association, making false accusations about me and my book. They obviously see me as a threat, but surely, they should be embracing what I do, if they have our interests at heart!
John- People will take away what they want from your knowledge and advise.. You share very important and life changing information to people with pd- including myself! Don't ever think it's not going anywhere- the exercise is incredibly important.. You are encouraging and inspirational !
Thanks gginto. I am getting old now and do not have a lot of time to get what I know out to millions of Pd sufferers. There are many people vested interests in treating the symptoms, rather than reversing them. I do my best, at no expense to anybody, to convince everybody that Fast Walking is the only way I know that has helped me to reverse my symptoms. Yes! it requires a lot of effort, but isn't it worth it?
I’m a huge fan of your, Mr. Pepper. We have corresponded, briefly, before. I follow all five steps you mention above. Thank you for your inspiration.
Thanks GrandmaBug. Why don't you contact me and I can send you lots of helpful info, too much tom put into this HU site?
Hi John, thanks so much for your advice. I have a treadmill, fast walking will work on that, right? What speed do you recommend? Thanks
The treadmill is not in the same league as Fast Walking on uneven surfaces, or even on a footpath. I have seen people in the gym watching TV while walking as hard as they could on a treadmill. That means they did not need to use their brain at all.Pd. affects the brain, which in turn affects the body. It is the brain we need to work on!
We need to produce GDNF in the substantia nigra area of the brain and that is what I think fast walking does.
I went to my gym for 90 minutes every day for 6 days of the week and I walked as fast as I could on the treadmill and on rowing and step climbing, each for twenty minutes and the rest of the time I worked on various machines. After two years of that my condition had got a lot worse than it had been when diagnosed two years previously.
I then stopped going to the gym because it was doing nothing for my Pd. at all.
I then joined the RUN/WALK for LIFE (RWFL) program and after only 4 months, starting at the same 20 minutes I had been walking in the gym, and slowly building up to one hour, three times a week, my performance had improved from more than 10.5 minutes per kilometre, right down to less than 9 minutes per K. I spent 2 more years at (RWFL) and at the age of 64 I did a 10 K walk in less than 70 minutes. In other words I was doing less than 7 minutes per K.
Does that answer your question?
Yes thank you but I have nowhere to walk fast I also because of the Parkinson’s I am unsure about walking on the streets, I’m afraid I might fall but my treadmill has a walker attached to it to hang onto while walking. What can I do while walking on the treadmill to also exercise my brain?
This is a chicken and egg situation! Fast walking on uneven surfaces helps us to get fit, Being fitter helps us avoid falling. I am attaching some info and my videos.
John
Starting Fast Walking + Videos
You will find that if you concentrate on moving your legs and arms you will be able to walk properly. In the past you have been able to tell yourself to walk and it happens, without you having to think what your legs and arms are doing.
Carry out a little test to illustrate this point. Stand upright with your feet, shoulder width apart. Then, with somebody holding one of your arms, put all your weight onto your left foot so that you are able to lift your right foot up in front of you, without falling over, with the knee held straight. See how far you are able to stick that right leg out in front of you. You will find that you are able to stick it out quite far.
Then, put all your weight on the right foot and lift your left leg up in front of you, with the knee held straight, and see how far you are able to stick that left leg out. No doubt it will be the same as the right leg.
If you were able to stick both legs out to at least 30 degrees, which is normal, you will ask yourself, why don't you do that when you are walking. The answer is that when you do it subconsciously, it is not working properly and when you do it consciously, it works perfectly.
So all you have to do now is to consciously think about putting all your weight on one leg and think of moving that leg forward and landing on the heel of that foot, then doing the same with the other leg.
After getting used to doing that, with somebody holding your arm, for at least a week, you can then concentrate on holding the weight of your body on the ball of the grounded foot, so that when the other heel hits the ground, your body weight is being supported on that back foot.
Soon you will be walking, consciously, all the time, without having to concentrate too hard.
Look at my profile and make contact with me to find out more about ways of dealing with your Pd.
Here are some videos showing you all about it.
My Story
youtube.com/watch?v=_QVIdPo...
San Francisco Talk:
youtube.com/watch?v=cD6amOG...
Interview with Dr Norman Doidge
youtube.com/watch?feature=p...
Clovelly Surf Club Talk
Barry Geffen Video
Hi, I'm still doing weights, paddle boarding, surfing, bike riding, and I'm looking at adding either yoga/qigung/ or a martial art namely for slow concious movement control.I generally do most exercise under my own steam and without meds, except paddle boarding and surfing ... I need a boost there still.
You Are doing very well, keep it up. To the best of my knowledge, none of those exercises will have any positive effect on the progression of your Pd. Look up everything about Fast Walking, as it is the only exercise I know that can reverse your symptoms!
Rock Steady Boxing is great because it combines both physical with cognitive exercise. During COVID I do daily 90-min classes online. I do look forward to getting back to the gym and actually hitting the bag.
Boxing is controlled by your conscious brain, where Pd has not done any damage. Walking and many other activities are controlled by your subconscious mind! You don't ever think what your legs and arms are doing, when you walk. Pd has damaged that part of your brain.The only way I know to repair those damaged brain cells id to do Fast Walking.
If you are interested then come back to me and I will tell you all about it. It will cost you nothing!
I very much like DailyDosePD.com . Dollar a day. Many online videos with some live, all strictly for PD. They have a 30 day free trial. They have two series that give me the aerobic intensity I need as well as meet the minimum of 2.5 hours a week we all need. Has been great during COVID isolation. Hope that helps.
Do a lot of walking even if it's just in the house and move your arms in multi directions... It helps to rewire your brain... Some light weights also helps... But you should do it every day
If you walk as fast as you can, you repair the damaged brain cells and can reverse your Pd symptoms. But it has to be done in a special way. Come back to me if you are interested and I will tell you all about it, at no cost to your self!
Yes please can you provide details of fast walk? It will be greatly appreciated
Hi Dhplplayer.If you look at my videos in my response to Dahlsford below, it will save repeating it.
John
Hi John, I would like to learn more about fast walking. Thank you!
Hi Pacton. look back at my response to K1i2t3, and watch the videos and read the article. Then contact me. I will send you a lot more,'
John
Howdy, John. I too am very interested. I walk though not like you walk. Your perspective and experience is fascinating. I am grateful for the chance to learn.
Hi TRBMan.Look at my reply to Dahlsford below!
Thank you John. I see you use " Heavy Hands / weights " . How do you feel about walking poles? It appears they offer the same benefit of weights - increase the workout intensity...though I defer to your expertise. By the way, Happy New Year....
Happy New Year to you and your family. WE hope it is going to be better than 2020, but we are not holding our breath!Walking poles slow me down. I did a test with and without the poles. I was nearly twice as fast without them.
So, is " speed of the walk " the key?
It is my experience that walking fast is not natural, because when we walk normally we don't have to think about what our arms and legs are doing. It is automatic! But when we walk fast I believe we have to control it consciously, thereby bypassing the subconscious brain, which has been damaged by Pd.
I believe, although I have no proof of this, that walking fast causes the brain the think we are in danger and it goes into the 'Fight or Flight' mode and that produces a natural chemical called GDNF, which repairs or replaces the damaged nerve cells,
I had been going to the gym six days a week for one hour for 23 years before I was diagnosed. I then increased the time spent there to 90 minutes a day. Not only did I not start getting better, I got noticeably worse. I then stopped going to the gym and started doing the RUN/WALK for LIFE program, which was designed to improve our health as well as our fitness. Within four months, I had started to get better, and the rest id history.
Thank you John. I've been walking for years, though not " fast walking " more like meandering as PD became more of a consideration / pain in the ass..... I'm working to increase speed, carrying Heavy Hands and go for an hour....I am very encouraged with your results and will share how things go for me....
Forgive me if you don't agree with what I am going to ask you to do everything exactly as I tell you! It is important to do it this way if you want to succeed!After doing some warm-up exercises, the first thing you have to do is to find out how long you are able to walk at your fastest speed. You may think that because you have been walking for quite a while you will carry on as you have been doing, but that will probably not achieve your goal.
While timing your walk, go as fast as you can until you can no longer maintain that speed. It may only be 5 minutes but that is what it is! You may feel that you could walk a lot further at a slower speed but that achieves nothing! Don't go any longer than 20 minutes, because I don't want you to injure yourself.
Whatever time you have been able to walk flat out, with a maximum of 20 minutes, I want you to to walk, every second day for 2 weeks. Then you can add another 5 minutes on every second week until you reach one hour.
Than you keep walking for one hour, every second day, continually trying to go faster.
It is the speed at which you are able to walk that will cause your brain to produce GDNF and it is the GDNF that repairs the damaged brain cells. Walking slower than your maximum does not make your brain think you are in trouble (Fight or Flight) and you will not produce any GDNF and you will only get fitter but, you will not start to slow down or reverse the progression of your Pd.
You must keep a record of every walk and then you can see at a glance how you are improving.
I started off at 20 minutes, because I had been walking on a treadmill for 20 minutes every day for the previous 24 years. After only 4 months my speed had improved from more than 10,5 Minutes per K down to less than 9 minutes per K.
My symptoms immediately started to improve, but I was only able to come off my medication 8 years later.
Thanks for all the valuable details. I have a question, though regardin the last point:
"but I was only able to come off my medication 8 years later."
How did you come off those meds: progressively or abruptly ?
I came off cold Turkey. After 3 months I went back on again because of feeling that I was getting worse, but after another two months I came off and never went back on them. One tablet of Selegiline is taken twice a day. I was told by my neuro that taking only one was useless. So I stayed off altogether. Are you on any other Pd medication?
Thanks a lot. I have been on Modopar for 9 months now and I now wish I could reach thé same as you thanks to your Fast Walking great method and a bit of thiamine...
You're welcome!
Ok...Got it. I'll be more disciplined. Typically, I'm not one who " does something " then " writes about it / documents it ". I will...promise...Thank you for your generosity...I'm going to be starting a second Clinical Trial for a new med. I have to think your approach will help.
Good luck with whatever you do
John, congratulations on your attitude towards PD. We have your book & would appreciate any additional info you can provide as my WWP is in her 9th year with PD. Kind regards.
Hi Dahlsford
Here are my Videos. eMail me, johnpepper@telkomsa.net for more information!
Starting Fast Walking + Videos
You will find that if you concentrate on moving your legs and arms you will be able to walk properly. In the past you have been able to tell yourself to walk and it happens, without you having to think what your legs and arms are doing.
Carry out a little test to illustrate this point. Stand upright with your feet, shoulder width apart. Then, with somebody holding one of your arms, put all your weight onto your left foot so that you are able to lift your right foot up in front of you, without falling over, with the knee held straight. See how far you are able to stick that right leg out in front of you. You will find that you are able to stick it out quite far.
Then, put all your weight on the right foot and lift your left leg up in front of you, with the knee held straight, and see how far you are able to stick that left leg out. No doubt it will be the same as the right leg.
If you were able to stick both legs out to at least 30 degrees, which is normal, you will ask yourself, why don't you do that when you are walking. The answer is that when you do it subconsciously, it is not working properly and when you do it consciously, it works perfectly.
So all you have to do now is to consciously think about putting all your weight on one leg and think of moving that leg forward and landing on the heel of that foot, then doing the same with the other leg.
After getting used to doing that, with somebody holding your arm, for at least a week, you can then concentrate on holding the weight of your body on the ball of the grounded foot, so that when the other heel hits the ground, your body weight is being supported on that back foot.
Soon you will be walking, consciously, all the time, without having to concentrate too hard.
Look at my profile and make contact with me to find out more about ways of dealing with your Pd.
Here are some videos showing you all about it.
My Story
youtube.com/watch?v=_QVIdPo...
San Francisco Talk:
youtube.com/watch?v=cD6amOG...
Interview with Dr Norman Doidge
youtube.com/watch?feature=p...
Clovelly Surf Club Talk
Barry Geffen Video
John
Exercise in any form is helpful. But to get the max benefit, mix it up and challenge your brain at the same time. Dance moves make you think or do opposite of wha you are saying, like moving right while saying left. Do math problems at the same time. Try dailydosepd.com. And try to exercise daily at least for 30minutes. Good luck to you. I’m 11+ Years with PD. Still doing well! Attitude is equally important, life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain!
Good Advice. Dancing and boxing are two ways of exercising with no signs of Pd. Yes! When you dance or box, your brain works 100%, but that does not mean that you are helping to reverse your symptoms. The only way I know that you can reverse your symptoms is to do Fast Walking. If you would like to learn more about it then come back to me and I will help you, at no cost to yourself.
I'd say do an exercise you enjoy and push yourself as much as you can- DAILY . Cardio is great for pd.. I bike for 45 mins fast on stationary bike- also lift weights later in the day , walk the pooch and try and stretch. It's good for the mind and body!
Good question about meds /exercise.. I've been taking meds at the required times and exercising when it's convenient. Meditation and QiGong are the next couple of things I really want to explore!
What you say is correct, but none of it helps to reverse your Pd symptoms! Come back to me if you are really interested in helping yourself to get better! I do not charge anything for the info.
High cadence cycling as outlined in the pedaling for Parkinson's website works wonders. John Peppers walking program is the easiest, although difficult, program to follow. It's outlined in the post from him in this thread.
Thanks NanCyclist. In my experience, whatever effort you put into exercise to help with your Pd, is wasted, unless you can get your brain to produce a a protein called GDNF, which repairs the damaged brain cells. Come back to me if you want to know more, it will cost you nothing.
Tell me more! I'm interested!
Hi Jabbie12. Read my response to NanCyclist below and also the videos.
I do want to know more John. I am the author of if I can climb not Kilimanjaro why can't I brush my teeth? I've also served in the Parkinson's disease foundation and my story is in the pair pathetic pursuit of Parkinson's as well. And the coordinator for paddling for Parkinson's for the United States, actually for the world. I had a similar experience to yours when I started cycling. I was kind of a mess and then I learned about paddling for Parkinson's. I took the bike and within a month my symptoms were gone. I've done pretty well since being diagnosed in 2008 but I've had some interesting experiences but I will right about later. It's only 6:30 AM and I just taken my morning pills.
I was first presented with symptoms on my right side and it stayed on my right side for quite a few years before beginning to the left. Than I had a knee injury on my left knee and had to have surgery, actually three surgeries, which put me off the bike for a very long time. Of course I noticed right away that my Parkinson's symptoms returned. However, I could not ride the bike and I was stuck. My latest surgery was as June 1, 2020. It is taking quite a long time for me too recovered from the surgery. But I have noticed that there is a conflict between the Parkinson's and the surgery recovery. My right leg is weaker than my left leg. I can actually feel which Payne is Parkinson's and which pain is related to the leg. It's really weird. But I know there's a connection there between the Parkinson's and the recovery from the surgery. Yesterday I went out and walked a mile as fast as I could using the proper technique. I had no trouble walking the mile but my legs were a little tight when I got back. I kept stretching through the evening and things are pretty good this morning. Anyway it's time to go take care of the dogs talk to you later.
Hi NanCyclist, I am so interested in your story and your commitment.
look at previous articles that contain my videos. I am attaching an article on walking. I hope it helps you.
Starting Fast Walking
You will find that if you concentrate on moving your legs and arms you will be able to walk properly. In the past you have been able to tell yourself to walk and it happens, without you having to think what your legs and arms are doing.
Carry out a little test to illustrate this point. Stand upright with your feet, shoulder width apart. Then, with somebody holding one of your arms, put all your weight onto your left foot so that you are able to lift your right foot up in front of you, without falling over, with the knee held straight. See how far you are able to stick that right leg out in front of you. You will find that you are able to stick it out quite far.
Then, put all your weight on the right foot and lift your left leg up in front of you, with the knee held straight, and see how far you are able to stick that left leg out. No doubt it will be the same as the right leg.
If you were able to stick both legs out to at least 30 degrees, which is normal, you will ask yourself, why don't you do that when you are walking. The answer is that when you do it subconsciously, it is not working properly and when you do it consciously, it works perfectly.
So all you have to do now is to consciously think about putting all your weight on one leg and think of moving that leg forward and landing on the heel of that foot, then doing the same with the other leg.
After getting used to doing that, with somebody holding your arm, for at least a week, you can then concentrate on holding the weight of your body on the ball of the grounded foot, so that when the other heel hits the ground, your body weight is being supported on that back foot.
Soon you will be walking, consciously, all the time, without having to concentrate too hard.
Look at my profile and make contact with me to find out more about ways of dealing with your Pd.
John
Hi John, You are a remarkable man. A couple of weeks ago my husband was reading a book and asked if I had heard of John Pepper. A friend had loaned him a copy of the brain's way of healing. I was reading your book at the time so I finished that and then read Norman's book. As you undoubtedly know, the concept of forced exercise is sitting at the top of the heap nowadays in Parkinson's research. I have been involved with Jay Alberts and the Pedaling for Parkinson's program since 2009. Jay has done the research studies which prove that forced exercise does make a tangible difference for Parkinson's patients. For whatever reason, you landed on walking as your form of a forced exercise. I landed on cycling but have had essentially the same experience. The problem I run into is that when I have injured myself, or had to have some part of my body repaired, it takes me off the bike while I do the rehab. That puts me back and there are only so many times you can be put back and still recover.
I have participated in over 25 clinical trials covering everything from soup to nuts. One of particular interest was about how to walk. I went to the VA hospital two times a week for 10 weeks I believe it was and I will do the team of people who were figuring out how I should change my walking to maximize the benefit my efforts. Interestingly, they were teaching essentially your method. Congratulations! You are ahead of the curve. I think you already knew that.
My latest challenge is the COVID-19 virus. We got our shots and were told to come back for the second shot 3 weeks later on January 30. Then, on January 20, we had a call from the pharmacist to say that they were afraid that the shots they had given us for the first go around had been outside of the refrigerator for too long and might be compromised, so we needed to come back and get another shot. The thing that nobody thought through was maybe the shot we already had was good and we would be pouring more medicine into our bodies without the requisite three weeks lead time. We happily stuck out our arms for the next dose. My husband was just fine and I was initially fine but by the next morning my body was going through the wringer. I felt that way for most of the day but a couple of Tylenol and rest got me through it. No riding or walking that day. Be careful when you get a shot!
I was amazed and disappointing at the response you got from the various doctors you approached with your book. People have been quite responsive to my book and if they're thinking bad things about it and then they are not telling me at least.
Have a great day.
Thanks for your kind words. Whatever exercise you choose to do, just keep on trying to improve your performance!Doctors appear to see me as a competitor, taking the food out of their mouths. If they were to be conforming to their oath, they would put their patient's interests first and see if the fast walking helps them. But this is not a perfect world!
Hi John
I have read your book and found it very beneficial. Apart from those in your book , is there any other things we would need to know about fast walk?
If yes please can you let me know.
thats easy swimming..plus some brisk walking.regards john.
I recommend looking up the physical therapist Sarah King. She specializes in PD and has videos.
Sapeye2020 in reply to
Cc,has Sarah come back, she shut her web page off but she said that it would be up for a while, and Yes she had some good exercises.
I use a treadmill for fast-walking. I throw in some sprints at 10% incline to get my heart rate to 90% of maximum. Then at night I'll do planks.
On YouTube I do Power for Parkinson's or LSVT exercises most days.. Both include exercise for the voice and brain as well as physical exercises. the trainers are young and very encouraging and fun. I also walk, participate in a French class and some soduko or codeword. I take Vitamin B1 100mg. each morning. I was diagnosed one year ago and so far have not felt the need to increase the Levadope from 150mg per day.
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