I'm still trying John Pepper's protocol, i.e. fast walking. I do it on a treadmill, walking 3mph for one hour. But it seems to be getting much too easy. When the hour is up I start the regular workout of running and walking trying to burn 1000 calories. I keep the incline at 15%, the steepest the treadmill allows.
But today's run left me with an ugly blister. I can't tell whether the walking is helping or hurting. My only symptom is double vision that is better once I take Rytary.
I was doing one day fast walking next day fast spin bike. Totaling 4/5 week. Not always consistent because I walk as a job.
With a recent cold spell and Covid slowing the hospitality work down I just spin 4/5 X
I find fast spinning only, more rewarding.
If I get close to feeling a blister on my toe I stop because if I don’t I’ll have no other choice but to stop. I’d rather shake.
Spin gives you blister’s elsewhere. But that works for us because we’re not doing ourselves any good sitting.
Did you start doing fast walking from a a maximum of 20 minutes at a pace that is mainatined at your fastest possible speed? You then slowly buil up to one hour over a period of 4 or 5 months. SPERED is the object not dotance!If yo want to know how to overcome yoiur symptome then contact me and I will help you, free of charge!
I’ll admit to not walking fast enough. I’ll try it again but faster.
I’m sure Zumba would work.
Aerobic must be big part of the cure.
Thanks for caring. Joey
Zumba is good, but difficult to maitain for one hour without stopping!
Hi Kay. Walking at 3mph on a treadmill is not doing anythng for your Pd. There is a tried and tested method of walking in order to overcome your Pd.You should be able to walk as fast as possible for as long as you can, but no more than an hour every second day.
What do I mean by fast? Well. if you are walking as fast as you are able, you should not be able to say more than 2 words between breaths. If you can hen you are capable of walking faster. Distance walking is of no interest for beating Pd it is SPEED that produces GDNF in the brain and that repairs your damaged brain vells.
Walking on grass or uneven ground is the best place to walk, but weather can be a factor to sometimes prevent you from walking outdoors.
Treadmills are a last resort way of walking. When walking on a treadmill you can watch TV, as many do, but that means your brain is not being used and it is the brain that needs to be fixed.
Thanks John, I remember our talks months ago. The stress of nearly being tossed off the back of the treadmill produces GDNF, I assume? I'm still dealing with snow and black ice on narrow country roads. I'm not brave enough. Hopefully there will be Spring eventually. For now I think I need to increase walking speed and add some incline to try to get back to that feeling of being on the edge of being tossed off the treadmill. Eventually I'll be back to walking with cars whizzing by inches from me.
Hi Kay. PLease remember that you must walk as fast as you can for a maximum of 1 hour, but when you cannot go any further at that speed then STOP! You can do other exercise to fill, up the hour but DON"T DO ANYMORE WALKING!.
Hi John, when you say "but no more than an hour every second day", I am not clear of what will be the suggestion for the other days. I love walking on the sand (I will check the speed), but I also swim , bike, take tango lessons. Yoga and Taichi I suppose that don´t count on this. Which will be your suggestion for a weekly plan? I also think that walking on the soft sand doesn´t allow you you to achieve speed....
Kay I credit John's fast walking with my overall improvement in the shakes. I can't get to his speed but regularly do my hours walk 3x weekly at round 6.5 kph
I agree with John being off treadnill is better. Running or walking , the terrain keeps u focused there are cars uneven road etc etc. I did alot of indoor training for an event and on the day they had left long grass- i failed as unable to adjust stride etc. I only use indoor equip when weather real bad.
I find structured walking (practicing left arm swinging with right foot step) helps me.
A recent study:
Key Points
Aerobic exercise caused a ~32% increase in serum BDNF in adult human males while serum BDNF decreased 13% in sedentary control subjects.
Vigorous intensity (80% heart rate reserve), long duration (40 min) exercise offered the greatest probability of a significant BDNF elevation.
Long duration exercise offered the greatest numerical benefits in terms of BDNF integral.
Neither intensity nor duration affected the mean elevation in BDNF amplitude caused by exercise.
So for my age-65-and calculated max heart rate--170--I need a heart rate of 136 for 40 minutes to get the most BDNF response. It's a starting point at least.
I am battling loss of balance now, it makes walking challenging but I still persvere each morning. Anxiety is my other challenge also. Oh what fun !
Have you tried walking poles? Or a treadmill with hand rests?
There are tons of studies showing that high intensity walking slows the trajectory of PD symptoms. I cannot get my heart rate high enough except by running now, which puts me at risk of falling so, I do use a treadmill but vary the incline, keep one hand lightly touching the bar, and work to vary foot cadence to keep consciousness of movement. I also use a safety lock. It is not Just BDNF that increases with high intensity exercise. High intensity exercise produces innumerable positive brain changes. For a single example, see nature.com/articles/s41598-...
and
nytimes.com/2020/06/10/well...
But, you have to keep exercising regularly. Baseline fitness doesn't predict symptom course, but regularity of activity slows symptoms in people with PD. n.neurology.org/content/ear...
If you can't walk fast how about swimming? When I was in college the instructor was a sadistic S.O. B. who kept a potted plant near the pool for people to barf into. It was used often.
Careful -- swimming ability can become impaired in PD, putting people at risk of drowning. movementdisorders.onlinelib...
Are you certain you have PD??
HWP is utilizing "fast walking" or "Conscious Walking" ...
New study on benefits of fast walking (confirms John Pepper's protocol)
Power walking improves PD!
