Gentle Workouts

[magpie]

I've not seen a thread like this so I thought it might be useful to start one. This is for people with heart conditions/dysautonomia/anything else that makes cardio and other hard core excercise difficult to share how they condition/strengthen their bodies.

I've been doing one workout from this calendar a day: http://www.blogilates.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/beginners-2b-1.png. I skip the cardio ones and the ones where your feet end up above your head (I think there's just one like that. It's "How to do a Headstand.") I chose this lady because she does mostly pilates, which is what was recommended for me. Her videos range from 5 - 30 minutes. The only negative is that her personality can get a little hard to bear sometimes.

It was also recommened that I do something called "water jogging." I looked in on a water jogging class and it was full of a bunch of old ladies who could barely keep themselves afloat, so I just signed up to swim at a pool in my free time instead.

 

[EJCC]

I would suspect that yoga would work really well for you, so long as you didn't do any of the fast-paced stuff.

 

[magpie]

I would suspect that yoga would work really well for you, so long as you didn't do any of the fast-paced stuff.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm actually really familiar with yoga because teachers love to use it as an acting warm up. With Sun Salutations, I can't go all the way down with forward bend and I always have to keep my back and head above my knees, so I can't bend over completely. But I can do lunges and downward dogs and stuff, as long as I get up sensibly. This is a good goal for me to work back up to though, and it's a good suggestion for others!

 

[kyuuei]

Fitness blender has some low impact versions of their workouts that are great if you're having minor pains in your joints.

Also, there's a DVD series called "Walk at home" that, to me, is like the most awesome basic beginner thing ever.

But to me the BEST thing to do is find work outs you Like but aren't able to do, and adapt them to something you can. Wall push ups instead of girl push ups and work your way down. Step jacks whenever they do jumping jacks. Walk or jog in place whenever they're doing butt kickers or high knees. Practice standing up and laying on the ground safely for those prone to falls and weak legs. There is a modifier for any exercise.

Stretching can really strengthen muscles and get them ready for more intense work outs without injury. I think that + low impact cardio paired with lifting weights is the way to go for everything: injuries, medical conditions, etc.

I totally agree water is an AWESOME tool to help if you have access to it. Water aerobics can be such a great work out without impact.