Exercising At The Gym?

[samip28]

Hi,

My doctor wants me to start exercising again. I can run but when I stop I black out so upright is out of the question. I was just wondering what you guys do to exercise. She mentioned the bikes where you sit down. Anything else?

Thanks!

[MomtoGiuliana]

I found using exercise videos at home--that involve mostly lying or sitting down--like Pilates and yoga--helped me best initially. Many people find swimming very helpful.

[kellygirl]

The row machine at the gym gives a great whole body workout if you can handle it. I also use the recumbent bike, and do yoga and use resistance ball and bands.

[Guest ANCY]

Hi, I have learned that being as active as I can be is extremely important in keeping me on the road to recovery. At one point I attempted to do the Levine exercise program for POTS but could not continue because of how low it made my blood pressure go. I hope to try it again now that i have built up some exrcise tolerance and am more in tune with my body and it's limitations. I cannot go to the gym because I pass out so much but I am able to use a recumbant bike at home with a makeshift harness to keep me from falling out when I go unconscious. It is agony at first and have to start slow but I find that after a couple weeks my body seems to adjust and I can increase the amount of time OR the resistance. The important thing for me is to start slow and build up a tolerance, I literally started with 2 minutes and no resistance. I alternate between Physical Therapy exercises, some mild pilates, that I can do safely, and the recumbant bike, I also have a rower but have not tried it yet because there's no way to keep from falling when I pass out. Hope you are able to see some improvment with the added activity. God bless.

[looneymom]

My son does exercises on floor or in a chair. He uses a recumbent bike. Ankle weights for leg exercises. You can use the free hand weights for arm raises. A physical therapist could evaluate and give you a home program to help get you started. The key is finding the right amount of exercise to start with and not over do it.

[Ckitz]

I get great benefits with gentle swimming, long walks and warm water therapy ( exercise) . I've had to accept that aerobic types of exercise are just going to make me ill.

[fitnesskelly]

I can second (or third) swimming and rowing. Although with swimming, doing a kick-turn off the wall makes me feel bad, I think because it's my body rapidly changing positions. I would suggest tapping the wall to turn around over kick-turning. My doc was very enthusiastic about the rowing machine we own, so rowing is doctor approved!

I also do ok cycling. I hate recumbent biking, but if they have bikes like Spinning bikes (that position you like a real bike does), you would probably be fine. I would just avoid the Spinning classes that make get out of the saddle and the up and down motion could cause problems.

My doc told me not to lift weights, but my family doctor suggested resistance bands as a safer and more gentle alternative.

[navyblue]

I run. Same as you, I'm okay while moving (bc blood is not pooling), but as soon as I stop it's terrible...what I do is gradually cool Down on the treadmill and then, holding the sidebar, I sit down on the end of it, drinking water. Then I take one step over to a sitting cycle (I'm lucky it's right next to treadmill at my gym!) and sit in it, drinking more. Then I cycle. Then calf press, and then work out abs laying on the mat. This works for me, but I don't usually black out, just get very dizzy. I would recommend cycling and leg and calf presses. Stronger heart and calves are the main goals.

[yogini]

Even though I am "better" and med-free now, I've always found it hard to do cardio and to exercise in an upright position. The easiest forms of exercise for me are horizontal and less vigorous. Yoga and stretching have helped me the most. I second the idea above about doing DVDs. Practicing walking is also a great form of exercise.

Also, for cardio building up to doing exercise helped me - for example riding a bike for 5 min and then increasing in 5 min increments until I was up to 45 min. Cooling down slowly also helps.