Trying to get active after surgery

_Figgzie_

Hey guys!

My name is Frankie. I've been on MFP for a long time and I have lost about 100 pounds over the course of several years.

I have had both hips replaced and 2 back surgeries following getting hit by a drunk driver and I am struggling to find something low impact to help me get active again. Walking is about al I can do and sitting on an exercise bike too long will hurt my back. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Also, I plan to be back on here quite often so feel free to add me if you feel like I can motivate you! I love to chat about diet and fitness and learn and educate at the same time!

Feel free to private message me, I love to interact!

claireychn074

Can you arrange to see a strength and conditioning coach at all? My weightlifting coach is one, and he’s rehabbed various injuries for me through careful exercise (much much less serious than yours I hasten to add). When I recovered from major abdominal surgery I went out too hard and hurt myself, it’s key to gently increase and listen to your body. I benefit from a coach who stops me being stupid

Katmary71

Hi @_Figgzie_ if you're interested in YouTube videos I have a bunch of low impact from HIIT to weights, dance, "walking" videos, yoga, etc. I've had back surgeries and currently have nerve damage flared up from the waist down so I'm doing chair videos, strength, and gentle yoga/stretching. Send me a private message of what you're interested in and I'll send you my playlists. I have a huge one from when I first started doing videos after the gym closed then there's only a handful I can currently do doing arms only plus some dance ones I also do arms only as well. I do arm resistance bands that I can do seated and resistance band stretches, booty bands are cool too for abs and obviously legs but arms as well. I'd also suggest walking in water if you have pool access, I first started doing that, then riding my recumbent bike, then alternated with the gym (weights and stair treadmill) until recently.

Chieflrg

Hi Frankie.

I'm Lanny and I'm sorry you are experiencing these frustrations but are happy you want to progress forward.

I'm a trainer/coach and my "jam" amoung others is to teach people of more advanced age to practice self-efficacy and give them a better quality of life.

Not knowing more details of you makes helping you in detail more difficult.

I will say that I encourage you to do what you can and make adjustments so you can be active.

I highly encourage you to seek resistance training to strengthen your body as a whole. There is well established evidence that this is by far the best thing you can do if programmed correctly for you as a individual. I myself have used a cane off and on for over ten years so I have some personally experience of these frustrations.

If you in fact enjoy bike riding but a certain length of exposure becomes less tolerable, perhaps note how long it takes on average to experience this and shorten the exposure time. Adding frequency instead of length of exposure training is a option that should be useful as well.

I'm not social here so I don't chat with people but if your interested, I can write up a starter program for you free if charge. I would ask you list your equipment available, current training history including frequency and your long term goal.

I wish you the best.

Lanny

Dogmom1978

Have you considered swimming? It’s supposed to be very good for conditions such as arthritis, but I don’t know about post back surgery.

My mother had a double knee replacement and her doctor had her doing some water therapy and swim classes to help her regain strength afterwards.

AliNouveau

Oh geez you've had it rough eh.

Have you tried Pilates? It's a great workout and would help your back. When my back was bad my pilates classes were the only time I'd get relief from the pain

Someone mentioned swimming and people always say there's an excellent workout

Mithridites

Swimming, definitely, or even walking in the water.

RockingWithLJ

Mithridites wrote: »

Swimming, definitely, or even walking in the water.

Agreed.
Do you have a PT youve seen that you can get recommendations from? Jw

moonangel12

Pilates is likely person specific as it aggravated my back for some reason (at least the couple YouTube videos I have tried).

What type of bike were you using? Upright or recumbent?

Swimming is fantastic - a good workout with little interference from gravity! Ahhhh... love the feeling of being weightless, until I have to get out you can walk in the pool, swim laps, even just tread water. Lots of places offer classes for various levels.