Yin Teing’s Health Blog

 Exercising in a non gym environment

There are also many who opt to exercise in the outdoors such as parks or in the neighbourhood. Or exercising in the privacy of one’s own home. Gym is not for everyone and should not be the only solution to get active.
With determination, motivation and creativity, one can maintain a great fitness program by oneself. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you initially find that you are really out of shape or unfit. When you sow a seed, it does not take overnight for it to bear fruits. Therefore, it will not take overnight to achieve the results that you want. Take your time, and with gradual training, you will definitely see progress.

With creativity, you can think of enjoyable exercises that will help you work out a sweat. Invest in good books that provide guidance on how to start an exercise program for seniors or that carries exercise guidelines and samples covering certain health conditions. ACSM (American Council of Sports Medicine) had produced a few books that provide guidance on exercise programs for health conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, eczema and osteoporosis. In Kuala Lumpur, I’ve seen these books and other good selections in Kinokuniya bookstore in KLCC. ACSM is a recognized worldwide and whatever they write are based on years of research and real life cases.

 Tools like resistance bands , your own body weight and a couple of dumbells will be sufficient for you to form your own training program. With a little investment, you can set up your own home gym. To keep a little socialising going, you can join yoga classes or you can team up with a few friends and get an instructor to teach in your home. There are a number of freelance yoga instructors who can come to your house to teach.

For more ideas, you can refer to my previous post: Exercise Program for Non Gym Goers.

For those intending to join a gym, you may read my previous article: Kudos to Seniors Joining the Gym

Caution: If you have not been exercising regularly before, have family history of heart disease, is above certain age (above 45 for men and 55 for women), please consult and physician and perform medical check ups to rule out any heart related ailments and health conditions that require special attention.

Recently, I’ve noticed an increased number of seniors and retirees joining gyms. I can see them working out at the cardio and weight area - this really gladdens me. It’s great to know that they are willing to invest and make the commitment to exercise as there are more awareness now to the benefits of exercising.

Folks who are used to working hard their whole lives would suddenly find that they have too much time on their hands and have no idea what to do with it. Some may spend hours at home watching cable television, playing mah jong or out there gossiping with others. A number of my mom’s friends have became TV addicts once they have ample time at their disposal.

I believe that being addicted to watching too much TV will weaken our mind, make us more lazy and indirectly leads to occurance of chronic or degenerative diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, obesity, chronic fatigue, intolerence of others and going more introvert. Any part of the body that is not put to use will weaken - when we watch TV, we need not think at all- we let the images, sounds, colours, special effects passively stimulate our minds. It is ok if you were to watch a sitcom or a movie or two, or perhaps watch the news- probably an hour or less a day without getting addicted. And you have no problem turning off the TV.
There was periods in my life when I was addicted to watching TV- and I understand how it affects us. I have also observed family and friends getting addicted to the idiot box. There is a lady I know who is highly intelligent- even in middle age, she has excellent memory and is able to engage in very lively conversations. I used to enjoy talking to her a lot. Then, last year, she had installed cable television and was getting addicted to the TV drama series- and I noticed gradually, her mind is getting slower and slower. And she looked a sort of dazed- something that I recognize once a person is addicted to either the TV, internet or video games.

Reason I mentioned this is because I sincerely hope older adults or retirees will not waste their golden years watching TV. Many working people dream of things to do such as travelling, catching up on reading, persuing a hobby, writing a book or even persue further education when they retire- and to spend the years sitting in front of the TV like a zombie really do not make sense.

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Recently, my friend forwarded me a transcribed speech by the ex Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. He talked about how he dealt with aging and that when he was younger, how he just quit smoking, survived a heart bypass and his simple, yet powerful philosophies of life.

But most important of all, he advised many people, especially retirees to take on an interest or challenge- to keep their minds occupied, to have something to work for. Retiring does not mean that you just sit back and led a sedentary lives. And this come from a man, who basically did what he felt was right- there isn’t tonnes of fitness, lifestyle and health magazine available during those days as they do now.

I strongly recommend that you read the article. Click HERE to read it.

You need something to keep going. At the same time, you need to take care of your health, get off your butt and exercise. Else, stay physically active but always have an aim to work for. As human beings, we continuously need something, an aim to drive us.

Here are some instances of retirees or older adults that I know of who keep their lives well occupied:

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As we age, our muscles, bones and joints grow weaker. If a person stops exercising and becomes sedentary, there are various risks:

• more susceptible towards injuries because of weak muscles that could no longer support the muscoskeletal structure of the body
• degenerative diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis starts and progress at a faster rate
• postural imbalances occurs due to muscle imbalance and changes in bone structure
• and of course, higher risk of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle such as high blood pressure, heart problems, cholesterol, diabetes, etc.

Exercise and proper diet (higher in fibre, less in saturated fat and an overall balanced diet) would help the older population live a life of better quality- mobility, better function and less pain. No one wants to be a burden to others and the sense of independence will let the person enjoy the golden years.

If you are an older adult who intends to start on an exercise program or if you would like to plan an exercise program for your parents, I would strongly recommend that you follow these guidelines:

• do not go straight to an exercise program
• see a physician, get a checkup done to rule out any illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, potential heart problem. This is important because for instance, if someone is suffering from an artery blockage for instance, exercise would aggravate the situation. Then get a clearance from the physician.
• I strongly recommend a occupational therapist be consulted. This is especially if the older adult has obvious postural problems, lower back pain, or pain/injuries on certain parts of the body, immobility of certain parts of the body, conditions like stiff neck/shoulders.

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It’s never too old or too late to start eating well and incorporating exercising program in your daily life.

Here, let me share with you stories of real people I know who have made lifestyle changes and benefited from it:

My mom’s friend, Auntie Ong.
Few days ago, I took my mom to visit her friend, who is also a retired nurse. It was a pleasant surprise to see how different she had looked.
Auntie Ong had always been a very hardworking person, both at work and at home. She had never employed any maids, and with a household comprising of her husband and 3 boys, she had kept the double storey house spick and span. As hard as she worked, it’s as hard as she ate. She basically ate whatever she feels like eating. Therefore, she has always been overweight.

When we saw her, she was 11 kg lighter, dropping from 63kg to 52kg in 6 months. Her waistline shrunk from 36inches to 31 inches and a fat layer which used to be noticeable in her neck area, was gone. She shared her lifestyle change: Read the rest of this entry »

Please perform these exercise at the level you can manage- do not over exert
Exercise to help overcome:
Muscle Cramps

• Cramps on the thighs
• Cramps on the foot
  

Lower back pain

• Yoga Postures to cure back pain
• Pilates to Relieve Lower Back Pain
• Lower Back Exercise
• Learn the pretzel, and knee to chest pull
• Back Stretches to Reduce Lower Back Pain
• Rehabilitating Lower Back Pain Part 1 & Part 2
• How I cured Lower Back Pain in 2 months
• Talking about back pain

Neck & Shoulder Pain/ Exercises

• Pilates Tips for Preventing or Relieving Neck Pain
• Exercise at your desk to relief neck pain
• Qi Gong for Upper Back & Neck Pain
• Shoulder Complex Loosening Exercise
• Shoulder Mobility Exercises
• Shoulder Stability Exercises (with exercise band)
• Shoulder Rehab Exercises

Knee Pain

• How to fix knee pain
• How to Strengthen Tibialis Posterior
• Knee Mobilization Exercise (in Cantonese)
• Hip Extensor Strengthening (in Cantonese)

Hip Pain

• Understanding Hip Pain
• Fix your own hip pain

Arthritis

• Arthritis & Exercise (real life people suffering from arthritis who have benefited from exercise)
• 6 Way Shoulder Exercise
• Ease your arthritis pain (video by a real arthritis sufferer)

Osteoperosis

• Preventing Osteoporosis
• Exercise to slow down or reverse effects of osteoporosis
• Skeletal Fitness
• Osteoporosis Exercise Demos

Pain Management

• Repetitive Strain Injury
• Managing pain naturally without drugs (advice from Dr Marc Darrow)
• Specific Types of Chronic Pain
• How to Work Out When you are Stuck in Traffic

I have long suspected that something’s really wrong with my right knee. I have this creaking sound every time I bend and straighten my right knee. Generally it does not give me pain but still, the creaking sound had always worried me.

Before I started going to the gym and practicing proper eating, I used to suffer from either numbness or pain on both of my knee, and more so on the right side. After I started exercising, incorporating yoga, the pain is reduced to a mere discomfort. Then, I read that weight training helps because at least, it can strengthen the muscles surrounding the knees and therefore can help to reduce the strain on the knees. With that and proper stretching each time I finish my workout, the numbness and pain are reduced to a very minimum. Now, the flexibility that I used to have when I was young returned and my head is able to touch my leg during stretches.

Today, I spent time with a very knowledgeable person- my mom’s good friend who’s an ex-nurse. She’s highly intelligent, England trained and now a retired staffnurse. When I told her about my creaking right knee, she asked me a series of questions and told me point blank that I am showing early signs of osteoarthritis:

• my love for caffeine, especially Ceylon tea in high doses for years went straight to my bones. In Chinese medicine, it is long known that tea, especially Ceylonese tea has a very corrosive effect on the bones
• there is no replenishment- I do not take milk (as in cow’s milk), not much taufu and I also do not take much meat. Also I don’t talk calcium supplements.
• a largely sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits that I was having prior to joining gym.
• poor posture also contributed to too much of strain being placed on one leg

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