Have any of you tried Zoom for exercise?

JaneA

I have been exercising religiously for 4 years to help prevent a recurrence. For the last year, I've been going to a gym that offers Silver Sneakers. But with the pandemic, I'm unwilling to go back in person with COVID-19 running rampant in Georgia.

The gym is Zooming the Silver Sneakers class Monday - Friday. I tried it, and it definitely motivates me to get in my 150 minutes of recommended weekly exercise.

Silver Sneakers also zooms exercise from their Facebook page. What about all of you? How are exercising? Would you consider trying Zoom?

MarcieB

Jane, where do you do the exercises? I think that might be a problem for some? (maybe not) But one would have to have a laptop or tablet they could position in a spot they could easily see to follow along, right? My husband has a laptop he is now using in our dining room to zoom all his business meetings. He has a desktop in his office. I only use a desktop because I use it for graphic art and I am just used to having a desktop, close to my printer when I work. But, I do have a friend who is a yoga dance instructor and once a week she streams a session from her house. I can position my monitor so I can see her and dance along in my room, but it is confining, I have to modify a lot of the moves because I do not have the space. I get at least 150 minutes of walking - my husband nd I walk EVERY morning, we call it *the Mose,* but we walk pretty fast. and I do yoga stretches and use some arm weights every morning. I honestly would ZOOM an exercise class if I were in a space where I would be more free to move. Whew, that was a long-winded answer...lol!
But, you have mentioned before about keeping ourselves strong and I think that is good advice.

Molly72

As I have mentioned before, many people do not have access to high speed internet.
I do have a friend who "takes" a zoomy Yoga class & says it is awkward, hard to see, no room to do the moves and has none of the companionship one gets in a real class. She also has tripped over a cat trying to follow along.
I agree with MarcieB.
Some things are not meant for the internet. Also couldn't other people hack in & see this supposedly private class?

Lynne-I-Am

Hi there , JaneA. I got all excited about the online Silver Sneakers program . I belonged to Silver Sneakers several years ago at my local gym but then the gym dropped the program. So I immediately loaded the app. I could not remember my membership number and could not find the card I had been given tso I reregistered. I was told I was not eligible. I know my age , 73, qualifies, and I still have the same AARP insurance so can not understand this. The sign up site did not give me the option to post comments so I guess I will continue my walking outside and around the house with my pedometer . Color me disappointed.

LiveWithCancer

Wow! That's interesting!! I mostly get my exercise by cleaning house. Sometimes, I go in the swimming pool. Just ordered some pool noodles to use to try to do some exercises with.

I haven't been nearly as active in the last few years as I was for years before and after being diagnosed. I've always been convinced that one thing that kept me here past my expected expiration date was the fact that the dogs and I did so much agility (which involves a lot of running and lifting, etc. - good exercise). I am making a concentrated effort now to get back into exercising more and more often.

A friend who is a physical therapist came over yesterday to work with my husband a bit since apparently the VA doesn't understand the word "urgent" when it comes to setting up home therapy... (They also do not understand returning a phone call or three.) She showed him several very easy exercises that are designed to increase balance. She said that as we get older, our balance often gets worse and it has to do with something that happens with our ears (I can't remember exactly what she said). As she was leaving, she told me that I would be wise to do the same balance exercises that she recommended for my husband. They wouldn't burn many calories or get your heart really moving, but they might help prevent a fall.

MarcieB

Hmm, LWC, that is interesting about balance. I am all for decreasing our likelihood of falling. Can you describe an excersise we can try?

JaneA

The Silver Sneakers program only requires a chair, a set of weights, a resistance band, and a ball. I'm exercising in our home office about 8 feet from my computer screen - right under the ceiling fan.

JaneA

MarcieB - the easiest balance exercise is one of the best. The One-Leg Stance. Just stand by a chair, and lift one foot off the floor and hold. Here are the simple instructions to get started.

https://www.verywellfit.com/single-leg-stance-exercise-for-better-balance-2696233

JaneA

Check your eligibility.

https://tools.silversneakers.com/

LiveWithCancer

@MarcieB, the exercise Jane described is one of the exercises my friend gave my husband. She also had him doing knee bends, holding on to a sturdy object to prevent falling if your balance is compromised. She said simply alternatively lifting and holding each foot up off of the ground while sitting and watching TV is good. There are ankle weights that you can buy from Amazon that she said are helpful.

While he was holding on loosely to a chair and had one foot lifted, she gently tried to knock him off balance. Catching and righting himself is very good for developing better balance. She also had a light grasp on him to keep him from falling all the way over! Most of us who do not currently have significant balance problems would probably have no need to have someone hold us upright.

MarcieB

Thank you for this advice! I find I can do it easily if I only lightly touch the chair. When I let go I can sustain it for a while, but my goal will be to increase that time. I can't help believe that good balance strengthens your core and I'm all for that. :-)

Bug

I attended two studios before the pandemic. I did barre, circuit training and boot camp at one. At the beginning they had live classes via Facebook and Instagram. They stopped that and are now having live classes via MINDBODY. The new schedule isn't great for me but, fortunately, they videotaped the live Facebook classes and have saved the videos on their Facebook page so I can go there and pick a video when I want to exercise.

I did pilates at the other studio. That instructor now holds class via Zoom.

We have a recumbent bike which I use on rare occasions. Mostly I throw clothes over it.

Relative to balance, several of my instructors stress how important it is to work on balance. One of them says it can be as simple as standing on one foot while brushing your teeth or when you're standing in line at the grocery checkout.

JaneA

I wanted to add my experience with balance issues. About six months after my last chemo, I fell as I got up off the toilet. I went straight forward and hit the tile floor face first. It knocked me unconscious.

My husband heard the "thud" and found me unresponsive and with a pool of blood from a nasty gash above my eye. He called 911. I didn't regain consciousness until they were getting me on the stretcher.

The cut bled badly because I'm on aspirin therapy. They did a brain scan, but I didn't suffer a brain bleed. And it only took six stitches for close the cut.

Two weeks later, I feel again out in the yard. Falls after chemo are common. My oncologist referred me to a cancer wellness program. I've never fallen again.

legaljen1969

@Lynne-I-Am, do you still go to your gym? Do you think someone at your gym would be gracious enough to give you the number or help you get re-enrolled. Maybe its somewhere in your membership information. Or maybe AARP could help you get the number. My guess it that maybe because you were signed up before, it won't let you sign up again because perhaps the program thinks you are a scammer (not saying you ARE). Surely there is someone that can help you access this. Maybe even someone with your doctors office that monitors insurance and eligibility.

Jayne

I feel very fortunate that our community pool is open, by appointment, and only 4 people at a time. I don't swim well but really enjoy the weightlessness of the pool and it's kindness on my body and joints. If not for the pool, I probably would turn to zoom since walking in 95 degree heat and humidity in NC is just too much!

SandiA

I have been doing some pt for my shoulder, after my neck surgery this past April. So I decided I kind of liked doing the exercises so I decided to try some chair exercises on line. I googled and basically pulled stuff up on my phone. I told my sister not to laugh but I got a pretty good workout.