Posted by jujube on February 3, 2005, at 4:54:17
In reply to Re: for you fitness experts » Fallen4MyT, posted by CareBear04 on February 2, 2005, at 22:44:07
I agree with the advice Fallen has given. Aquatics is a great way to get back into exercise without putting too much strain on the body (in spite of the fact that exercise in the water can be a good way to tone and strengthen). As she suggested, you might want to invest in some free weights (ankle, wrist and hand weights) in weight increments up to five pounds. They are reasonably priced at Walmart. You can do a series of leg and arm exercises with the weights to strengthen and tone (but not "bulk up").
With respect to your knee, I experienced a real problem with my left knee a number of years ago, and the pain and discomfort got so bad and was causing me a lot of inconvenience that I finally caved in went to the doctor. Anyway, I had to see an ortheopedic surgeon who had the knee x-rayed and told me that I had a bone rubbing against a muscle (something like that) likely caused from years of high impact aerobics and skiing. What he had me do was leg lifts starting with 1 pound in weight and working up to 5 or, if necessary, 10 pounds. He told me to lay on the floor with one knee bent and do 10 -20 leg lifts with the straight leg. I would say that within a few weeks to a month my knee was much better. I still do the exercises when the knee acts up, but that is very rare now.
Anyway, good luck to you, and take care.
> thanks fallen! i took my first swim today, and no one would ever guess that i graduated from swim classes and started as a junior lifeguard when i was like 12. that was years ago and i haven't been swimming since. at school gyms, i was really self-conscious in that speedo, swimming with people my age. where i go now, the women are much older, some really old doing water aerobics. my arms are weak and i didn't make it thru many laps, but i used a kickboard and managed 20 or so laps. i hope like running, swimming is something that will come back to me quickly. thanks for your reassurance and advice! funny, but my knee still aches more than before i swam. i don't know what the problem could be-- i'm too young for arthritis but a little old for adolescent onset stuff. anyone know about this stuff? thanks!
poster:jujube
thread:451317
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050105/msgs/452296.html