Close Topic Options

Is There Any Hope?

I am a "handicapped" female and I am also overweight for my age and my height by about 50lbs. I have a weakness in my left side (been told by some it is a mild case of cerebral palsy) and I also have epileptic seizures. This makes exercise very difficult for me. Is there any hope for me to find some way I can exercise without killing myself?

Hope There Is

I'm not a fitness expert, but I think that considering your disability, you could check out something like Water Aerobics, with a qualified instructor who understands your disability. Depending on where you live, you might be able to find a pool with suitable access and an instructor who knows how to help you.

You can check out this link for details

Is There Any Hope? Sports & Fashion Music Movies

Silverjade, I was researching about it and it seems like walking should be a great exercise for you but all the sites I visited recommended that you ask your doctor first what are the sports you can participate in because of your epileptic seizures. Trinichic advise is good but just make sure to tell the lifeguard of the pool about your epilepsy in case of a seizure (not everybody knows how to handle it). Also make sure you exercise with someone who can help you in case is needed.

Hope There Is

Of course there is hope! If you are really determined to get a work out, get out the accessories and get going.

One of the best exercises is walking. If you are able to do it, this could be a start for you. Just 15 minutes a day for the first week, then increase your time by about 5 minutes a day each week after that until you find your "limit." Obviously, if you are prone to seizures, you don't want to push yourself too hard, and you should probably have a "buddy" to go with you.

Yoga is a wonderful exercise program that has different levels for nearly everyone. It builds strength and agility and is great for weight loss. The same with Pilates. Both of these can be modified.

Hand weights can increase your strength while toning and firming.

Ballet is wonderful for balance, toning and firming, and weight loss. No, you don't have to do anything on your tiptoes! Personally, I enjoy how many of the positions are rather elegant...

You can do it! Just *decide* that you will, and then try out different types of exercise to see which one suits you. Talk seriously to your doctor. What are your limitations, really?

Great good wishes to you, and let us know how you progress.

Roz

Hope There Is

Here is a VERY strong recommendation.

Go to https://www.mattfurey.com/

Take a good look through the entire site.

Then, get the book Combat Abs. It has a lot of very simple exercises that you can do that start changing your whole life right away. Just doing the first exercise can greatly strengthen your abdomen, and will help you start to burn off fat there.

The other recommendation is Combat Conditioning. I still can't do the Royal Court (three primary exercises that really have a strong effect on your body). I can do two of them quite well, but not the third. However, as Matt Furey says (he is the author), just start with one, if you can do it. When approaching pushups, especially for women, he says to just get in the pushup position and press, as if you were going to press your hands through the floor. Do it for 10 seconds the first day, then work up from there.

The same for any other exercise. Do what you can, then try to do it harder, longer, faster, or whatever. So, if it takes you 30 minutes to walk around the block, work on making it in 29 minutes.

If you can only walk to the end of your driveway and back, then work on walking 2 yards further.

For me, since I am very inconsistent, I try to do 20 Hindu squats and 10 Hindu pushups. I really feel it when I do these exercises.

Anyway, each of the books have a lot of other exercises in them. They are all independent exercises in that you do not need any sort of equipment. Most of them are 'bodyweight' exercises, or calisthentics.

They all build real strength and endurance. And since they don't use dead weights, there is a far lower chance of injury.

Heck, even just reading through the testimonials and articles available on the site will probably give you some great exercises and ideas that you can use yourself.

The biggest thing is to "listen to your body." You know what you can, and can't, do. Don't let anyone tell you to try to do something that you know your body isn't ready to try.

So, if your left side is weak, maybe you can work with it more than your right side, and try to get it stronger. You could just lean against a wall, and use your left arm to try to push through the wall for a little while. That will strengthen your muscles there.

Matt Furey tells a wonderful story about a man who emailed him, asking for a quick visit. Matt is a very busy person, but after reading the email, agreed to meet with the man and his son for a few minutes after a seminar.

When they got together, he met the young man (14 years old) that the father had described in the email. The young man suffers from Cerebral Palsy.

The young man immediately performed 20 Hindu Squats, 12 Hindu pushups, a perfect backwards bridge (where the only parts of his body touching the ground were his toes and his forehead - bent over backwards) for 3 minutes. Matt finally stopped him when he had completed 7 of his planned 20 handstand pushups! The boy had actually cut his demonstration very short, as he would normally do about 100 squats and 50 pushups every day.

The point is, the young man had started out unable to do a single pushup. He could only do one squat. Yet in about a year, he had worked up to this impressive display, "making speed slowly".

I hope this helps you a bit. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment, or special fad diets. Good, solid eating habits, reducing the simple carbs, and doing what you can do will help you more than anything.

One last thought.

Think of some of the most powerful animals in the world. Cougars, large dogs, tigers, elephants. They get that way by moving. They don't need special equipment, they just move naturally, and do it a lot. A baby foal is very weak. It has no stamina. Very little strength. If it kicked you, you might get a small bruise. But then it starts moving around, running, jumping, and kicking. By the time it is six months old, if it kicks you, you could easily have a broken bone or worse. By the time it is 2 years old, it can pull several hundred pounds in a wagon. It can trot for miles and miles.

All through doing what it can, when it can, and doing a little more each day.