Suggestion for exercise

hazeleni

Hello everyone last year I lost 27lbs with diet and a little exercise . I was doing home videos, mainly full body HIIT exercises. I drooped exercise as I have always felt miserable doing it and I was sometimes in pain.
Since then of course I deflated in the important parts. Also and most importantly, I am a nail tech so I sit most of the day, I tend to walk during the weekends and some afternoons. But I have a knee injury now with fluid in the knee that affects both legs, so sometimes I need to push my leg in order to straighten my leg if I sit too much.
What exercise do you suggest for building some muscle while protecting the legs? Is cardio like a treadmill okay? Is strength training with weights a good idea? Or pilates?hank you community

AnnPT77

Any exercise - actually any extra movement - that you can tolerate will be helpful.

If you have access to a pool, water exercise, even just walking in the water, may be helpful if your knees will allow it. In some places, there are special water exercise classes for people with arthritis that might be suitable for you.

If you are able to walk, you might be able to consider something like Tai Chi or Yoga. Sometimes there are rehabilitative versions of these classes, too.

There are chair exercises on YouTube, some of which are quite vigorous, if your goal is calorie expenditure.

For strength, weight training (or bodyweight exercises at the start) are the most efficient method. There is a thread on here with discussion of good programs:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

It's always fine to start more slowly (lighter weight, fewer reps/sets) than a program recommends, and work your way up gradually, if that keeps things more manageable. Slow progress is more effective than injuries, frustration, and restarts.

If you want to do something for your legs, specifically, I'd suggest asking your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist who can help you figure out how to remedy any imbalances, work around injuries, etc., in order to make progress.

I'm very sorry you found out why HIIT can be a bad plan to do often, especially for exercise beginners. It's tremendously oversold, the actual benefits being less than advertised, and the risks being higher. Exercise does not need to be exhausting, miserable, or painful in order to be effective.

Best wishes!

concordancia

Since you have a medical issue, the best advice will come from your medical team. Seek physical therapy.

If available in your area, you may also want to look into Iyengar yoga for the long term, as the whole focus is making modifications to the poses that suit YOUR body, even if injured.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Choosing activities for other people is nearly impossible. I recommend trying a bunch of new things. If you don't like "exercise" (e.g., in the gym), then do something else, like gardening or dancing.

It isn't as popular as other things, but swimming is great for people with joint problems.