Exercise

[falalalala]

What do you do?

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador]

Don't 🫣🤣 I follow the cat around the house, thinking he wants to show me something 🤣 does that count? 🤔

[falalalala in reply to Jesmcd2]

Yes! Especially when he climbs the Christmas tree.

ᴬˡʷᵃʸˢ ʷᵉᵃʳ ᵃ ʰᵉˡᵐᵉᵗ😂

[NorasMom]

I get out of bed each day, then I move back and forth from the bathroom to the coffee pot to the computer. Since I drink a lot of coffee and also have to get rid of a lot of coffee, I figure I walk a couple miles a day! 😜

[falalalala in reply to NorasMom]

😅😅

[CatsandCars in reply to NorasMom]

😅 I followed that plan when I could still have coffee, too.

[lbenmaor]

I take a walk and sometimes use my Exercise Bike.

Leslie

[Turtlepie]

I joined my local Y

[Peruzzot]

I like to go hiking. I tend to push my fatigue limit though and may not be able to wake up the next day.

[StacyHayward]

I do a class called refit (when I’m not sick with something else). It’s basically aerobics through dance. I love it and my strength and balance are so much better since starting.

[Xvettech]

I signed up to an app called just fit. You can tailor what you do according to your abilities. I am currently doing the seated exercises. They are 5-6 minutes each exercise, which is great for me cause that’s all of energy I can exert. Hope you find what works best for you, as moving is incredibly important for our messed up condition

[Elizt3]

I go to Planet Fitness. I use the recumbent bike, and sometimes an elliptical; would like to lift weights more often than I do.

[ahrogers]

PT gave me several exercises to do that I easily get off track from doing. I have also done the MS workouts foot drop and hip flexor 5 day free deals. I took notes so I could do them on my own. Currently off track with that but been better about doing the PT exercises.

[hairbrain4]

In the fall & winter I quilt...there's a lot of getting up & down from the sewing machine to the ironing board to press , to the cutting table to trim, & the design board & back to the sewing machine. In the spring & summer I mow & trim lawns & bushes. 😁

[CV97]

PT from my MS Specialist gave me some stretches to try. 2 years ago, I found a local pool (gym membership) and started doing those stretches in the water. Then I added more stretches & also walking in the water. I go two times a week.

Thank goodness the pool was empty some days, because I could try swimming without an audience 😂😂 I started swimming the short distance across the pool when it wasn't too busy. I worked up to about 20 'laps' across the width of the pool. Because I'm tall, it only took a few strokes to swim across & I could hold my breath the whole way.

In August (again, empty pool), I decided to try swimming the whole length (25 meters = about 75 feet long). Thank goodness no one was around because coordinating movement and breathing is a chore!!

We had a pool when I was a kid & I swam all the time. However, as an out of shape adult, it was a STRUGGLE! After 1 lap, I was dying. My poor lungs & body didn't know what I was trying to do!

I stuck with it, and am glad I did.

2 years into my pool journey (with 6 month of "real" swimming):

~My legs moves better.

~My lungs know how to breathe.

~My body knows how to move in coordinated fashion (except my legs that stop participating by lap 15).

~I have started losing a little weight.

~I am currently swimming 51 laps (thank goodness the watch counts them for me)!

FIFTY-ONE!!!😲 I can't believe it myself!

51 laps x 25 meters is just over 3/4 of a mile. I'm hoping to make it a mile by summer time.

I'm super proud of myself (& also feel a little guilty sharing this here where so many others have mobility issues).

I wanted others reading this to know:

START SMALL

One small change & some persistence can have big impacts.

You might not notice them right away, and that's okay.

There might be days when you're too tired to do it, and that's okay. (There were plenty of days when I opted for more sleep instead.)

This doesn't have to apply to just exercise. 1 decision, one small change for anything can have an impact if you keep going and give it time.

WHATEVER YOUR CHALLENGE IS, I BELIEVE IN YOU!

I hope everyone has a success to share in a couple years!

[falalalala in reply to CV97]

You are an inspiration!👍👍😀

[Greentime in reply to CV97]

I feel proud for you too!

[CV97 in reply to Greentime]

Thank you!

[carolek572 CommunityAmbassador in reply to CV97]

Thank you for your wonderfully wise words, CV97 ! You’re an incredibly inspiring individual! Thank you 😊

[sashaming1]

Squats, marches, bridges, walking.

[Hidden]

I work out pretty hard at least four days a week. I do a mix of (heavy) weightlifting, vigorous cardio (e.g., sprints, burpees,) steady-state cardio (rowing, dance, hiking,) and core/flexibility (yoga, pilates, stretching.) I am not a jock or athlete at all, but my body always feels better the more I move it. I know I’m lucky.

[AquaZumbaFan]

Well after I retired in ‘21 and exhausted my insurance for all the PT they would approve along with attempting to do the walk around the nearby lake.. finally got diagnosed with bilateral foot drop.. could hardly walk at all.. decided I would try to get back in the water and joined American Family ( the first water class I took I was welcomed by another lady close to my age who had ms diagnosed since she was 19) I started slowly in the water aerobics class twice a week.. often afterwards I could barely walk to get into the car. I learned if I brought a little high protein snack and water. I could just sit in the car and catch up on my phone with emails etc. while I rested. I just advanced my activity as I could and 25 months later, I faithfully take three water classes a week. The most energetic one is aqua Zumba and it took me about six months to work up to that, I also take aqua yoga to get the best balance and stretching also comes with water weight along with about 30 minutes of cardio in the class, I also take a water aerobics class which has weight training in the water and lots of cardio. Currently I’m doing better than I have. Since I retired I have lost about 25 pounds but most of that was from Changing my diet as well as doing the exercise, because exercise alone was not making me lose weight. Just recently since my daughter got the new puppy. I have been trying to walk more and that has actually been going pretty well. I find that I am so much less stiff and have a lot less spasticity when I am doing these exercises. My family encourages me and understands that it’s my new part-time job. When life gets in the way and for whatever the reason I miss a class I know I always try to make it up on a different day. Because if I don’t, I don’t feel nearly as well.

[falalalala in reply to AquaZumbaFan]

I know what you mean.

I'd take my weights on vacation.😅

[AquaZumbaFan in reply to falalalala]

I get it! I at least have a noodle and a resistance band to keep up with the hip flexors 🤗

[RTR1]

I work out 4 days a week, I use my Total Gym for upper body 2 days and legs 2 days. I ride my spinning bike 4 days for 30 minutes and then stretch afterwards. I still work so it is difficult to fit in any more but if I had time, I would also add at least 30 minutes each day of Yoga. I am hit or miss with it now but always feel great after all. I also eat really healthy, pescatarian Mediterranean diet. I have progressive MS with drop foot as the main symptom. If I weren’t following this schedule strictly, I know that I would be much worse. I am 56.

[falalalala in reply to RTR1]

I believe my workouts kept MS at bay for a long time.

[NorasMom in reply to falalalala]

I've always credited my very-active young life with how good I am now. I couldn't exercise today if my life depended on it, but I hate to think of what I'd be like if I hadn't had all that strength and stamina in my background.

[falalalala in reply to NorasMom]

Yep! I am in the process of regaining what I've lost over the last 2 years.

[Elle61]

45 yrs later I can no longer walk so I asked my kids for a Ellipse Fit for Christmas. I love it , i'm up to 1000 steps a day so far. I feel , it's better than nothing.

When I was young I was quite active , kept it up for years , it's just started slowing me down about 9 yrs.ago, slow but sure.

[MarkUpnorth]

My legs are getting weaker and weaker. I've tried to keep up the 10K steps/day since I mounted my cane on the wall, like a trophy fish. But lately, it's been so cold, icy, with rain, that even going to the mall to walk didn't seem like an option because we watched cars and trucks on the news spinning out, sliding into ditches, and the like. So, ever hear use it or loose it? Well, so quickly? Did get to a mall to walk. Started, and far from the entrance we used, the fire alarm goes off, and everyone is instructed to exist the mall, using the closest exit, do not use the elevators..... So we stopped to think, do we actually comply? Walking slowly as people made their way to exits. But..., there were a few stores still open! Most had locked doors/pulled shutters. Well, if we could just make it back to the other end of the mall, we could cancel the rest of our walk and get to our car, rather than exploring the outside mall all the way back. Made it. Left no problem, but as we were leaving others were first coming in. The alarm had been silenced and strobe lites stopped, but no all clear. The fire department had not yet arrived as far as we could see...... Well that's exercise??? Total steps for the day, 5,900. But the day's still young? Making dinner will be enough exercise today?

[falalalala in reply to MarkUpnorth]

That's the best excuse to stop a workout!

[mrsmike9]

I chase my granddaughter all day, five days a week!

[Tazmanian]

I try to do some of the exercises I learned from physical therapy

[LissaH]

Hello all I ride my stationary bike for about 45 mins and for the last 15 to 20 mins I bowl on my Nintendo switch, such fun. If I'm doing well, I will go another 15 mins.

[Greentime]

After participating in a frailty study in June and July, I have kept up strength training 3 days per week. I learned there that seniors need much more protein than younger people. Adding more protein, together with the workouts has made a big difference. I have more muscle and am much stronger. At first I was really tired from it all, but now I find it has helped with my energy level. Lovely to read all the different things people on here are doing. Boy oh boy, we sure do try to keep healthy!

[Mollyabigail]

Hi, Falalalala! I just joined the MS Gym. Didn't have time while I was working, but now that I am home, there's more time for exercise. Plus, my small dog lays near my feet while I slowly ride my #$& recumbent bicycle. I MAKE myself ride about every other day.

[falalalala in reply to Mollyabigail]

Hi! I have to check that out.

I had my hub make footholders for my recumbent as my foot kept falling off.😅

[carolek572 CommunityAmbassador]

Reading what everyone does to stay active has exhausted me, falalalala ! Time to relax? 😎

[falalalala in reply to carolek572]

I'm there!

[tompumo]

Walk and stretching.

[tompumo]

Walk and stretching.