Flexibility Video?

happyfeetrebel1
happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All

I have lost almost 70 lbs since October and am totally committed to doing this for ME :)

I have terrible knees due to some autoimmune/inflammatory issues, and would love to know if anyone has any recommendations for a good way to get more 'flexible'. I am doing the Jillian Michaels 30 DS, and am almost to level 2. It's still really hard for me, but I'll get it. When it comes to the cool down phase, I can barely reach my toes.

Any advice at some nice calm, low impact flexibility stuff?

I am tempted to try yoga, but my daughter does it and has showed me some moves. Due to my terrible knees, my balance really is terrible. I simply can't do a lot of the moves.

Any suggestions would be amazing, and thank you :)

Replies

  • seamonkey789
    seamonkey789 Posts: 233
    If you have access to a stable counter top or chair, the New York City Ballet used to have a ballet dvd of their barre warm up. I haven't looked at it in a while, but I'm fairly sure it's just a barre warm up and some floor stretching, so you would be holding on to something for balance.

    Also, many studios offer adult beginner ballet classes that I'm sure they would let you observe and possibly just sit in for barre and stretching. The plies and tendus that are part of the warm up might help your knees too
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    Thanks for all your help! I appreciate it :)
  • pyororon
    pyororon Posts: 22
    I second seamonkey. Ballet is your new best friend, and while it can be pretty intimidating as an adult to go to a ballet class, I promise you we don't bite :)
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
    ~ There are different forms of Yoga ... they do have low intense classes ... but, I would encourage you to look in to " Water Aerobics " ... the water is a great place to strength train or get in some awesome cardio without the pressure on the knees. Water exercising is one of the most effective forms of exercise available. If you don't have access to a pool ... find out where one is nearby ... maybe a local " Y ". Some gyms do have pools and an array of water classes.

    I absolutely love exercising in the water ... I need to get more involved in it again !

    Best of luck to you ! :smile:
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
    Do what you can do for now, flexibility will come with practice. Consistency... don't look at the others, make it your practice.
    If there is a good therapeutic yoga teacher in your area, look them up. Invest in a few private sessions, it will be worth it just to get your form down.

    Best of luck to you! :smile:
  • Lightbulb1088
    Lightbulb1088 Posts: 189 Member
    I can't help with the stretches or flexablity.

    I also have really bad knees i find spinning on a bike helps my knees and makes them feel so much better. I started with no pressure and have slowly added pressure. I now have my bike on a wind trainer and my knees are getting stronger. I am trying to keep the muscles in good shape around the knees. Also water exercises help with low stress on them and I made mine a huge amount of stronger with the water exercises. I can now ride my bike outside up to 10 miles and it feels Great! Good luck!
  • Raddichio
    Raddichio Posts: 163 Member
    Because I've had no regular exercise routine and I, too, wanted to do some stretching to increase flexibility, I checked out a video from the library that I found very helpful. It is called "Keeping Fit in Your 50s---Flexibility." It is geared toward people older than you, but I don't think there's a lot of difference in the stretching like there would be in more vigorous workouts. You might want to see if they have it at a library where you could try it out. I liked it so well that I just ordered this one for myself. It is very useful for someone like me who doesn't know where to begin. They did a pretty good job of explaining how to do the stretches and where you should be feeling them. If you like it, they do have some for sale on eBay.

    There are actually three DVDs in the "Keeping Fit in Your 50s" series, and Amazon sells them indivdiually or as a set. However, I would not recommend the cardio DVD---it was kind of annoying, as the ladies don't always seem to know what to do or say and come across as kind of strange, particulary in the cardio DVD. It didn't seem to affect the flexibility DVD so much. There is also a strength DVD which I ended up ordering as well, since it's available inexpensively on eBay. I am just starting to do strength training and thought it would be good for me because it demonstrates and walks you through various weight lifting movements and explains what you should be doing and feeling for each one. It's not the best produced video I've ever seen, but the information on it is useful for a beginner like me.

    I would, however, highly recommend the Flexibliity dvd, unless you already have a pretty good repertoire of stretching/flexibliity exercises.

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