Exercise advice?

Because you have a medical condition, you need to speak to your doctor about this. Ask them to refer you to a physical therapist.

Your situation is very unique. What are you currently able to do? I’m not sure anything more than bodyweight movements are needed. But, even then, there may be some limitations on what you can/should try.

Are you able to move your body effectively? Are there any limitations you have in your day to day life?

Again, your situation is so different, programming for you won’t easy.

Nectere wrote: »

In order to talk to my doctor about this, I would have to have a doctor, which hasn't happened yet. My last doctor said that I didn't need to exercise and that checking my blood sugar as a diabetic was a total waste of time. Even if I had one, I don't have money for physical therapy.

I'm shocked you aren't medical supervision due to your condition… I hope you are able to see one soon.

To be honest, since you aren't able to drive, I'm not sure how you would be able to lift weights. Have you ever tried lifting weights?

You could try Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. Start with her beginner videos. Use the foundations videos to help learn specific poses in a little more depth. And anything from her recent 30 Days series, once you've done beginner, should be fine. You may want to specifically go to foundations videos for balancing postures, that way, you get lots and lots of instruction and can take your time. Maybe start a playlist, and save videos that you try and think you can work on, and not any video you try that is just really not going to work for you right now.

Yoga is great for gently building a good strength base, for increasing flexibility and range of motion, and *definitely* for improving balance. If you have balance issues, bring props, like a chair, or set up near a sofa or wall or sturdy coffee table. Something you can put a hand on. I also like a towel or something, for any time I'm on my knees. Other balance tips: Find a spot to stare at. And also, lower spots to look at are often less challenging than spots higher up!

Your wrists may hurt a bit the first little while. If you've been following good form, don't worry about it -- they're just building strength. Do some counter poses (so, tipping your hands in the opposite direction from how you have them when using them to weight-bear), use fists instead of palms, take the odd day off, when adjusting. You can also take time to work on videos where you're mostly standing or lying, for a day or two.

You may also want to make note of poses that you find easier and safe. Go to them if Adriene starts to do something you're not up for trying that day, not even the beginner modifications. Always go at your own pace, feel free to skip things, change things, take a break, etc. That is, in my opinion, how you do videos -- they're aimed to work for everybody, so beginners have to skip/change/go slower, very advanced people may go faster/add/modify to be harder. Don't feel bad or get frustrated, get creative, and keep a note of how well you do -- someday, you'll do something faster or better or more completely, and you'll feel proud at how far you've come!

Adriene is lovely. She's gentle and kind and careful -- she does not advocate *anyone* treat their bodies without caution (cranking as far as you can into a spinal twist, for example!) so she's pretty good to give lots of modifications and options, reassure you about your progression in a pose, and explain extra details about form. She takes her time, too, which is nice. She's always repeating that yoga is about practice, that it's your body/your journey, etc.

And glad to hear you got a doctor! Hopefully this one will take your diabetes seriously, test you for PCOS, and give you exercise ideas or a referral for PT. (And of course, ignore me, if your doc does not clear you for exercise.)

meritage4 wrote: »

Ok hypotonic means you have low muscle tone. Therefore it is important to stabilize your joints before putting stress on them.
I would not suggest weight training. or running.

Umm... Muscles is exactly what are holding the joints in place. If you want to strengthen a joint, you exercise the muscles that work that joint.

Sure, heavy lifting might not be the best place to start, but you will need to incorporate some form of strength training. Bodyweight exercises would probably be the best place to start. Do the in a swimming pool to begin with, if you need to. Although, if you can handle 50 lbs feed bags, you should sure as heck be able to atlas do assisted bodyweight squats, wall pushups and tabletop pull-ups.