HOW MUCH EXERCISE DO YOU DO?

[Jodee]

Barefoot shoes are brilliant. I’ve been running in the left ones for a couple of years now. Recently got the second pair for walking. Take a little bit of getting used to. Both very comfortable

Very good Neil. I did find walking about town that they really worked the calf muscle for me. My podiatrist say for me I have a high arch so the flat shoes may not be suitable to wear every day as there may be a risk of straining the achilles tendon, have to admit I dont usually wear flat shoes, but will be ok to wear now and then for me probably short distances.

 

[Jodee]

Just wanted to add a wee note about the power of exercise on our bodies ability to control glucose.
I've been back to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu these past couple of weeks. Still wearing a CGM but wrapping it when training. It's a very taxing sport. Easily burning between 900-1600 cals per session.
The sessions are hard. Usually 2 hours long.
On Saturday I did a morning wrestling class at the club. MMA wrestling rather than WWE! Lol.
Anyway in the afternoon as it was a lovely day here in Scotland I headed to a beer garden with the intention of having just the one Guinness. That turned into 6 unfortunately and add a chilli burger and chips into the mix too. Guard went down with the drink.
On checking my libre 2 daily graph yesterday morning in fear of going out of range with that carb dump I was pleasantly surprised to see my glucose levels barely touched 7.5 mmol. Well happy.
Obviously I'm back to normal low carb eating again and I the drinking isn't a habit but I'm glad I wasn't punished too much for that indiscretion.

Yes it is so important, and even more so as we age, Qigong is my go to but also walking and gardening
Keep up the good work Jim.

 

[Ian Robinson]

I have dystonia in my right hand and foot, the foot is the real issue as it means I can't walk any distance and it caused me to retire early due to unbearable pain, pack loads of weight and get diabetes.

I was medically retired at 39 but got doing some part time jobs to keep me sane and until the pain got the better of me, I retired from all work at 57, I'm now 60, and since put on another two stone so I joined a gym to try to get more active. I love the feeling when I've been

Had a replacement hip last year so just getting going again

 

[snowball12]

None apart from a bit of housework. Osteoarthritis in both knees and lower back pain prevents it. Before anyone says swimming I have a real phobia of water.

 

[Jodee]

None apart from a bit of housework. Osteoarthritis in both knees and lower back pain prevents it. Before anyone says swimming I have a real phobia of water.

I would recommend Qigong exercise, so easy and gentle, can do standing or sitting, you only do 70% of your range, Jeffrey Chand and Lee Holden on you tube, they do beginners. Here is one with Jeffrey Chand;

 

[louisew]

I’ve always been pretty active, but tore my meniscus in april 2024 and it’s taken a year to recover. I was on crutches for 6 weeks, then gradually built up my walking, though every step was painful. I had to give up my yoga and dancing and could only walk with a substantial knee support and even then a 10 minute walk would take 40 minutes. I have to say the NHS physio service have been awesome, and I’ve had 2 rehab sessions of 6 weeks, now on a NHS gym referral. Starting (private) acupuncture 4 months really started me on the road to recovery. I do my knee exercises followed by swimming (breaststroke which I wasn’t allowed to do for months) now up to 20 lengths 2 or 3 times a week. I restarted my yoga 3 months ago, when I could stand on that knee, ballroom dancing I started by walking through the dances but now back to flying round the dance floor. I also do the GP referral circuit train which is a mix of low impact cardio, lots of strength and resistance exercise. I’ve been doing this for 2 months and I’m getting my muscles back in my legs hooray. But still got a way to get them back to previous strength. Steps up and down, are doable but I cant run up and down them like I used to do. Although I'm often in discomfort, first thing in the morning and after exercise Its diminishing and its so amazing to take a step without it feeling like my knee's being stabbed. God, I thought it never going to get better. Sorry to go on but I've been so down over the last year, being so restricted in my activity, although I know other people suffer far more than me. BUT surprisingly my blood sugar control has never been affected (type 2 on insulin). So even going out every day for a very slow walk, I think helps

 

[helli]

Wow @louisew I feel exhausted just reading all of the exercise you are now doing.
I can imagine how frustrated you were with your injury but really glad it is getting better.

My story is less dramatic but I can relate to some extent - my activities are usually walking, Spin class, climbing and general gym workout (a combination of cardio and weights).
Last August, I broke my elbow. While it did not affect my ability to walk, I stopped hiking as I couldn't get over stiles and didn't want to fall on uneven ground. As soon as I could, I was back to the Spin class but only one handed - with the broken elbow in a sling which kept hitting my knee. I didn't return to climbing until this year. And my general gym workout was restricted to legs only - I couldn't use the rowing machines, I couldn't lift the weights.
Now I am pretty much back to normal although I am still finding new/old things which I can now do - restricting the movement in my elbow lead to shoulder issues. Last Sunday, I managed some should presses for the first time. The weights were low but previously, I had been unable to lift anything with my left shoulder.
Throughout it all, I have been counting any little win and when I got frustrated, I reminded myself how far I had come from the woman who couldn't dress herself and couldn't get food on a fork into my mouth.

Good luck with your continued recovery.

 

[louisew]

Wow @louisew I feel exhausted just reading all of the exercise you are now doing.
I can imagine how frustrated you were with your injury but really glad it is getting better.

My story is less dramatic but I can relate to some extent - my activities are usually walking, Spin class, climbing and general gym workout (a combination of cardio and weights).
Last August, I broke my elbow. While it did not affect my ability to walk, I stopped hiking as I couldn't get over stiles and didn't want to fall on uneven ground. As soon as I could, I was back to the Spin class but only one handed - with the broken elbow in a sling which kept hitting my knee. I didn't return to climbing until this year. And my general gym workout was restricted to legs only - I couldn't use the rowing machines, I couldn't lift the weights.
Now I am pretty much back to normal although I am still finding new/old things which I can now do - restricting the movement in my elbow lead to shoulder issues. Last Sunday, I managed some should presses for the first time. The weights were low but previously, I had been unable to lift anything with my left shoulder.
Throughout it all, I have been counting any little win and when I got frustrated, I reminded myself how far I had come from the woman who couldn't dress herself and couldn't get food on a fork into my mouth.

Good luck with your continued recovery.

And isn’t it wonderful to start feeling strong again. I’m 60 so it was quite important to get my fitness back. Im visiting my daughter who works in the Philippines in November so determined to be able to be at full fitness for that. We love going for treks, kayaking, diving etc. Also considering a knee injection before I go, after checking with my physio.

 

[louisew]

Wow @louisew I feel exhausted just reading all of the exercise you are now doing.
I can imagine how frustrated you were with your injury but really glad it is getting better.

My story is less dramatic but I can relate to some extent - my activities are usually walking, Spin class, climbing and general gym workout (a combination of cardio and weights).
Last August, I broke my elbow. While it did not affect my ability to walk, I stopped hiking as I couldn't get over stiles and didn't want to fall on uneven ground. As soon as I could, I was back to the Spin class but only one handed - with the broken elbow in a sling which kept hitting my knee. I didn't return to climbing until this year. And my general gym workout was restricted to legs only - I couldn't use the rowing machines, I couldn't lift the weights.
Now I am pretty much back to normal although I am still finding new/old things which I can now do - restricting the movement in my elbow lead to shoulder issues. Last Sunday, I managed some should presses for the first time. The weights were low but previously, I had been unable to lift anything with my left shoulder.
Throughout it all, I have been counting any little win and when I got frustrated, I reminded myself how far I had come from the woman who couldn't dress herself and couldn't get food on a fork into my mouth.

Good luck with your continued recovery.

Oh dear, yes I’ve. had issues with hands and shoulders in the past. I had to have both hands operated on in the past - TWICE! for carpal tunnel syndrome, with 3 kids under 10, that was fun. Then around 15 years ago I tore my rotator cuff, working with SEN kids. It took around 8 months of physio, (agony, felt like I was being stabbed continuously) by which time I had to resign from my job, before they decided i needed a steroid injection, although they said it would probably be temporary relief. The guy doing the injection, took one look at the ultrasound and said you’ve got loads of scar tissue over the joint.The pain is the scar tissue tearing, did an MRI and said . come back next week and I’ll sort it.Did the injection and used a big needle to swipe away the scar tissue and never a twinge since ! Never felt so grateful

 

[Skater P]

Speed skating twice a week (about 3 hours in total of intermittent medium-high intensity)
Cycling for fun 2 or 3 times (again about 3 hours of steady state aerobic)
I tend to cycle or walk for local travel that keeps me ticking over as well

All this pre-dates my recent diagnosis