Resistance bands

They are very cheap, at least the ones I was told to get.

I was given physio excersises which involved them.
Worked well.

OK .... sorry to be the voice of doom ... but I went to a class that used these. We were standing with the resistance band round our ankles and told to lift one leg to the side. I did so and had a searing pain in my spine ... I had problems for many years afterwards and eventually had to have a discectomy.
You have been warned!

Sorry to hear that Luckygirl. That's a sound warning.

However, I will be using them at home as I don't like exercise classes and did ask if they come with instructions.

I was told to build them up gradually and start with the easy ones but it now sounds more complicated than this girl made out.

They are like any other piece of equipment in that they need to be used properly, with instructors who know what they are talking about guiding you on correct use. We use them in our Pilates class occasionally - the teacher guides us on how to use them, and they are beneficial. They offer enough resistance to be helpful but not too much to be damaging, if used correctly.

I’m so sorry, Luckygirl3 that your experience using one was so detrimental to your well being. It does sound as if your instructor was poor, and you suffered so much damage as a result.

They are very cheap to buy keepingquiet and are available in a variety of strengths - your healthy living instructor should advise you on which strength to use (and where to get it from), and this should be based on your level of fitness which I hope they have discussed with you.

No- she just said to start with the least resistant and work our way up. It was my decision to try them as I'm not much of a gym goer, don't like lane swimming, and find it hard to find people to walk with.

She suggested exercising at home in small ways and that resisitance bands were a good place to start but now I'm not so sure.

She did advocate using the NHS guides on Youtube as well.

It just seems I'm always up against a brick wall when it comes to doing exercise.

I dont know anything about healthy living classes.

What sort of people run them?
How qualified in any way are they?

I have used resistance bands.
The NH S physio cut of a length of stretchy rubber and tied it into a loop.
Later she gave me a different colour which was harder to use.

I think there are quite a lot of colours.

Here's some I found immediately online.
www.algeos.com/physioworx-latex-free-resistance-bands

I have used Therabands with guidance from a physiotherapist.

There are numerous videos on YouTube.
Here’s one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgKHFLe654U

Dh was advised to use them by his (non NHS) physio, for a problem he was having in an arm or shoulder.

I bought some from Argos. Really strong and used regularly.

fancythat

I dont know anything about healthy living classes.

What sort of people run them?
How qualified in any way are they?

The classes are on the NHS by GP referral. I don't know the qualifications of the person running them.
It is about making healthy choices for yourself to prevent type 2 diabetes.

I'm finding it quite helpful.

She didn't tell me to buy these things, but just that they may be useful for me as someone who finds organised exercise difficult, and that I could give them a try?

I may go to my local sports shop and ask their advice.

NotSpaghetti

I have used resistance bands.
The NH S physio cut of a length of stretchy rubber and tied it into a loop.
Later she gave me a different colour which was harder to use.

I think there are quite a lot of colours.

Here's some I found immediately online.
www.algeos.com/physioworx-latex-free-resistance-bands

I was given them by physiotherapy department after I had a broken ankle. They're in a drawer somewhere (I did use them!).

Why do you use them for normal exercises? Strengthening?
Be very careful, Luckygirl's experience is a warning!

They are used to help groups of muscles- e.g. to aid stability. They can provide a very gentle "extra" to the exercises you may be doing anyway.

Here's so.e exercises from the British Heart Foundation:

www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/activity/resistance-bands#:~:text=Resistance%20band%20shoulder%20exercises&text=Hold%20the%20resistance%20band%20in,Repeat%208%20to%2012%20times.

Thanks- I think this is much more what she meant. The NHS videos are more intimidating with a young slim girl going far too fast for me!

These seem much more in line with what I was I was talking about.