How much physical activity do you manage?

Oh, dear, mea culpa! I had no idea that my innocent pleasure in my mountain walks would cause Charlotta so much angst. I won't mention it again.

I had an interesting experience this week at Pilates. I've been having trouble with my knee for a while - aching mainly - and my instructor knows this. On this occasion I had to do a particular stretch - well a bit of a contortion in my eyes - and my knee hurt. When I told my instructor he asked me to show him and then he put his fingers right on the place and pressed! It made me yelp, but it's been so much better ever since. He's a physio so I'm really lucky and I've been able to walk without twinges too. I hope it lasts. Apparently it wasn't my knee but where the calf muscle is attached to just alongside the knee - or something like that. Three cheers for Pilates!

I have spent a life time doing no exercises at all until I joined the GN diet thread. Like many other posters, I have chronic and painful conditions which limit mobility. It must be 20 years since I was able to kneel and I haven't been able to use a bath for a similar length of time. So just a bit more about the exercises I now do....
I discovered that our local authority offers a range of exercise programmes and facilities specifically for older people. So they should...there's a lot of us!
I do Over 50's Nordic Walking ....lasts about an hour, steady but not too strenuous. There's a 20/30 minute even more gentle class for those who need it. Over 50's Tai Chi...I'm addicted! The Sensai who leads the class incorporates exercises to improve balance and help arthritis/carpel tunnel etc. In 6 months I've noticed a big improvement in pain management.
So it doesn't have to be all sprayed on leotards and feeling the burn! Local GP surgeries, Age Concern & local council websites will have information about similar schemes in other parts of the country.
Yesterday I did my first mainly chair-based aerobics class. Not so much gym bunnies....more like hot, cross bunnies! But it was good fun and the music was great!

Charlotta I have done 10–15 minutes work on the abs, about 1 hour cardiac workout in the gym and then swum 1 kilometre. I am currently feeling a bit out of tune with my body and a need to get it back to where I like it to be. What is your problem? What I do, what calories I lose, what stretches and crunches I put myself through is not your issue. What are you doing on this thread if you have no desire to talk about the level of physical activity you do? (That is the topic!)

Unless of course your comment was humorous. In that case maybe a smiley icon would have given us a clue.

charlotta Should we perhaps not talk about anything because - dreadful thought - there may be people who do not do it and resent us for discussing it?

I think if anyone else had objected to you mentioning something they did not find interesting you would have had a suitable anwer to them - something like "So don't read it"

PRINTMISS I am glad it helped, hope it gets much better

Charlotta if you want to know how excercise we do , why don"t you log onto "How much physical excercise do you get "? perhaps you have not seen it ?

Not really sure what you are getting at Charlotta.
I would hope that there was room on GN for people who want to talk about exercise and those that don't. And for those that want to talk about not exercising. An uneasy combination on one thread, I'll grant you.
If those that feel guilty about not exercising choose to read the ones about exercising then that is their choice - "no one can make you feel inferior without your permission" as E Roosveldt said. Likewise no one can "make someone feel guilty" and this is obviously not the intention of those who enjoy exercise or want a bit of support with it. Likewise why should anyone who wants to post about exercise feel guilty because not everyone on GN can do it?

This thread is an open invitation to those of us who do exercise and want to tell us about it and make the rest of us feel guilty!

I have now read about mountain walks in more threads than I can remember and although it is commendable it makes me feel like a lazy old so and so who can't be bothered to do as much exercise as I could healthwise.
Churchill said ' No Sports' and if you are happy and contented and don't like long walks or Yoga or Pilates then leave it!

I live in a narrow house with three floors, which I now clean myself since my cleaning lady gave up. There is enough exercise in house and garden work for any older person if it is done regularly and well.

PRINTMISS; I know everyone kept telling me to see my doctor and I kept putting it off [thinking I'd wake up one day and I'd be ok] but please see a doctor. Until you find the source of the problem you can't prevent it. I was so convinced it was coming from my spine or my hip and was scared to do any lifting and such like [although, again, someone on here, apologies for not remembering who because everyone on here chips in with help and advice so much, said it could be a knee problem]. Thankfully I knew that one of my doctors was trained in acupuncture so would have a better than average knowledge of nerve passages.

Annika, tried the cushion treament last night, and it certainly helped, crimson thanks for that too, I think I am just going to bite the bullet, and realise I can no longer dig the garden over, or move the heavy pots on my own. Keep bowling though, I am sure that does me no harm - that's what i keep telling myself anyway, because I enjoy it so much. The lovely weather is helping. Hope you all have a sunny day.

PRINTMISS; I've had similar problems in one leg, pain which has been all over the leg but also going down into my heel [the heel bit tends to be worse first thing in the morning] and we seem to have pinned it down to nerve pain coming from my knee. Since I've been treaing it as a knee problem and not a disc problem I've felt much better [but it could be the better weather].

I haven't been able to kneel down since 1957. Swimming and pottering about in the garden are the only forms of exercise I can manage.

I found yesterday's Pilates class very worth while. I've been moaning about my right knee for quite a while and have to do some stretches which involve kneeling with a sponge mat under this knee. Yesterday I found the tension on the reformer difficult and I don't usually but I missed a week of exercise. I told the instructor it was my knee again and he pressed a particular spot [he's a physio] which made me yelp but hey presto! I could do the exercise! Apparently it was where the end of the calf muscle is alongside the knee [or some such] and not the knee joint at all. Whether it will last or not I don't know but I can go up and down stairs much more easily since. Three cheers for Pilates!

Thanks Annika, I will give it a go. In fact last night I slept well; to be honest the pain is not unbearable, just uncomfortable and I am one of those people who unless they sleeps well is really not much good during the day. Nice morning this morning again, so everyone will be feeling a little better, hopefully.

PRINTMISS I don't know if this is of any help, my dear dad suffered for a long time with pain in his heel, he had seen many doctors about it, he had many xrays but nothing could be found that was causing it.
He said to his district nurse about it and she seemed to know all about his sort of problem, to cut a along story short he saw another GP (thanks to the nurse) and he was told when on bed pop a cushion under the calf of his leg so as the heel is not touching anything and it worked he was able to sleep with out waking up in pain. Hope this helps

I too have a painful left leg, worse at night in bed, feels like pins and needles and the heel is a bit 'dead' at times, and it sometimes aches whilst I am sitting down, gets - a bit fidgety, but it seems as soon as I start to do something, the pain disappears. This morning for instance I have been out in the fresh air for 2 hours playing a rather long game of bowls as part of the club competition. It was very hot, which makes a change this year, and I arrived home totally shattered - no leg problem while playing, it's aching again now though, which makes it all a bit confusing.

for jeni - and on second thoughts -

Ouch jeni! - hope the warm weather might bring some relief.

I've just done a very small amount of gardening and am ready for a snooze!

jeni I should have known

What do you think I'm doing?

Having family visiting takes it out of you however considerate they are!
And tidying up after them takes it out of you even more!
I agree with glass - large V&T and relax, jeni.

Have a vodka and relax jeni.

I'm sitting now in my recliner! I tried to sit in the sun but as I can't elevate my legs out there, gave up!
It was lovely seeing family, but it's taken me over an hour to clear up the 'tidy' house they left behind!
I also made my icecream, did all the washing!
So why am I knackered?