Swimming to success

JC1978

My Rheumatologist advised me that my medicines may be more effective if I lose weight.

I've managed to lose nearly a stone and a half through small changes to my diet and gentle exercise.

I'd really recommend swimming because of the variety of different strokes. Find a stroke or set of strokes that suit you, and alternate strokes if need be throughout your swim.

aquafit (or aqua-aerobics) is great fun and low impact. The resistance of the water means you can vary your speed to vary the intensity of the exercise. Plus it's great fun meeting others for a chat each week. You can mention to the instructor that you have arthritis and they can accommodate you with easier variations of the same exercise if need be eg. Doing the exercise with a closed fist or jogging on the spot rather than lunging.

I've also tried Pilates recently, again the instructor was really helpful when I explained I had arthritis and gave me alternatives if I struggled. Getting up and down onto the floor can be an issue but since I started Pilates it seems much easier.

Gentle movement and exercise seems to really help with my joint flexibility and I believe that strengthening the muscles round the joints can really help.

frogmorton

Totally agree with you about swimming @JC1978 it's great exercise.

As long as you can find a pool warm enough and quiet enough to swim in. In my case my neck hates being held up and my COPD can't be under water anymore so I do backstroke. The pool must be quiet else I annoy people.

Lot's of people post-op 'walk' in pools don't they?

Finally i have to say congratulations on the weight loss so far that's fabulous. I think they say it's 80% diet and only 20% exercise to lose weight so whatever you've done with your diet is certainly doing the trick😊

Take care

Toni x