I have something of a problem at the moment in finding the right exercise routine. I have a problem with a painful knee joint, which is really getting in the way of things!

I was working on my exercise bike - but I've had to give that up as my knee really did not appreciate it. :rolleyes: Got to be so painful that it was stopping me sleeping, nights.

I am doing Pilates, but although they do me a lot of good in many ways, it's not energetic enough.

I get zero 'natural' exercise these days - by which I mean going to and from the bus stop to work or up and down stairs in the office, the exercise you get from day to day life - so I have to work at it to burn off those calories! And Pilates isn't energetic enough to get me there.

So, I need something that is energetic, but not impacting on my joints, like the exercise bike or aerobics, jogging etc.

Any suggestions?

LabRat

If you have access to a pool, then swimming is a great way to burn calaries without stressing joints.

Without access to a pool, I usually revert to walking.
Brenda

I would recommend Nordic Walking (that´s what I do myself because my knees don´t like jogging...) or swimming.

Elliptical machines are much easier on the knees. You should look into those. It is a very smooth movement (much like skiing) and you don't jar the knee very much.

A huge ditto to elliptical machines. I'm such a cripple-in-waiting from the soccer team, and the elliptical is so leg-friendly to me. Even my knee surgery-ridden father can use one at the gym.

JD

I recommend sitting on the couch, like I do.

No, really, I think swimming is a great way to exercise and it's low-impact. I actually am looking for a place to swim this summer -- I lettered in it in high school and would like to get a little more in shape -- to accompany my sporadic running on my treadmill. I have tendonitis in my right hip, which prevents me from running every day ... and uh, so does laziness.

Ha! It was sitting on the sofa that got me here in the first place. I think I went straight from retirement to couch potato in one easy movement. It's just a pity that the things I love to do - reading and watching DVDs - don't burn up the calories much.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. All very helpful.

I agree that swimming is the perfect exercise, but unfortunately, for various reasons, it's not possible right now. Which is a shame because I really loved swimming back in the day and we have a large sports complex with pool just five minutes walk away.

The elliptical trainer sounds ideal. Just perfect for what I need. But whether I can find one within my budget might be a problem. Certainly £200 to £700 is out of the question. Stuart would have a coronary. But I'll speak to him about it anyway, see if we can find a cheaper option somewhere. Reading up on these, they definitely seem to be exactly what I need.

I've been thinking lately of doing a clearout and heading for the local car boot sale, so maybe I can fund or part-fund it with the proceeds.

Thanks again!

ETA: I'm starting to get a headache trying to figure out the best model to go for. Any recommendations? One with moveable arm bars would be best, I think.

LabRat

Um... what's a car boot sale?

Carol [who thirds or whatever ellipticals]

I'm going to guess it is a sale kinda of like a yard sale / swap meet but it is done out of the trunk (boot) of your car along with a lot of other people.

LOL, exactly right, JoJo. In general, the design of our streets, houses hasn't leant itself to the kind of yard sale that you guys have. It's not practical.

Car boot sales became a thing about a decade or two ago. Someone advertises a venue - there was a CBS held just last weekend in the playing grounds of the local school, for example - sellers pay a set fee to the organiser for a parking space and you either bring along a folding table to set out your wares on or are provided with one.

Wiki\'s take on Car Boot Sales

LabRat

Labby, I recommend that you try an elliptical trainer before you invest in one. Maybe a nearby gym will give you a trial membership so you can see of your knees like it.

The reason I give this caution is because I also have horrible knees - my doctor just assumed that I wanted to schedule a dual replacement when I saw him a while back for another knee problem - and I can't do elliptical trainers. I agree that the knee stress is lower and the leg impact is much lower, but I still can't do them. I can, and do, ride a seated exercise bike at the gym. The different angle reduces knee stress, I suppose. Anyway, that's what I'd do.

Oh, on the Nordic walker? I bought one several years ago and then couldn't use it because my stride is so long that the wooden skis ran off the rails in the back. I almost hurt myself a couple of times before I reluctantly gave it up as a bad idea. Now I ride the bike and lift weights, and I seem to do fine. I still have some pain, but it's more manageable when I exercise regularly.

Although I still get ragged about getting aluminum knees.

Lab, the problem with ellipticals is that the cheap ones are, well, cheap. For a really smooth ride, you'll probably need to shell out $2000-$3000 (US) for one of the industrial health club ellipticals. I did a ton of research on this and tried a few of the cheaper ellipticals out at Sears, and there is a huge difference between the ones you can get sub-$1000, and the smooth as butter ones at my gym. The stride length of sub-$1000 tends to be 18 inches or less, which is difficult for the knees. Gym ellipticals generally have a stride-length of 22 inches, which results in a longer step and less knee bending. Unless you're short, the difference in stride lengths is noticeable and a bit painful after a while, imho.

Thanks, Terry and Aria. I've been doing some web browsing and had pretty much come to these conclusions, too.

One site says that getting anything less than a motorised version is useless and those start at £600. Well out of my league. It does seem to be the case that getting a cheap version would probably do more harm than good to my knee.

Going to a gym, even temporarily, has the same issues for me right now as going swimming does and so is a bit of a non-starter, but I had been thinking about investigating the possibility of renting something and see how that goes.

But it's a moot point really if they're too expensive.

LabRat

I bought a fairly cheap one and have been more than happy with it. I don't know if I have the same problems as you guys do though. My knees and ankles start to hurt though if I do to much running or jostling.

Mine has always been fantastic and both I and my boyfriend (who is 6'1) use it. He uses it more than me and has lost about 30lb off of it.

Really go to a store and try them out. There are plenty of places that will let you hop on it and give it a go.

My husband has had 3 knee surgeries, so I can understand your situation. We do have an elliptical, and he uses it painlessly (albeit infrequently) :rolleyes: .

Another suggestion: can you comfortably march in place? If so, try marching in place while watching tv (or certain DVDs ). You will be able to speed up your heart rate for an extended period of time while mindlessly distracting yourself. I do this when the weather is bad, or when I just want to watch something without feeling guilty. You'd be surprised how fast time can pass when you're engrossed in a show. P.S. I get my daily dose of LnC by watching while on the elliptical...is there any better motivation than Superman?

It's worth a try, Jojo. Thanks!

You know, by sheer coincidence I'd read about this on a website I was browsing through just the other day and had been considering giving it a go. Certainly sounds doable!

LabRat

I have bad knees too and I used to march in place until I got too lazy and tired after my hard work week. I also used to throw on my walkman and pace up and down the room. It sounds boring, but you never have to worry about the weather and it's on a flat surface.