A great exercise link from the British Heart Foundation

Even if you haven't had open heart surgery (which I had in February 2017) this programme of exercises is still worth following. Here is the link (click here):

I do a very similar programme of exercises to help me manage my Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and as far as I am concerned, having attended both a NHS post-open heart surgery rehab exercise programme in 2017 and a NHS pulmonary rehab 'boot camp' for my lungs in 2019, I can tell you they have much in common and I found both extremely beneficial. 

I am also convinced these are exercise programmes which would be of benefit to anyone seeking to improve their health and general well being.

The class I attend on a Thursday morning at the Pearson Youth Centre run by Gareth Dixon ticks all the boxes as far as I am concerned (see last post).

Come and join us

Click to enlarge.

Exercise the 2 minute way and feel better

The 2 minute exercises below are from the exercise leaflet I was given when I attended a NHS 8 week lung 'boot camp' in Beechdale, Nottingham, this autumn. The first visit was for a pre-assessment and the last visit was my post-assessment but both involved walking, so I think they count.

It is my intention to replace the images below with photographs. In the meantime check out the simple exercises you will do (or similar) at The Pearson Youth Centre in Beeston town centre every Thursday morning with Gareth Dixon for just £5 a session. It's worth every penny.

As you can see the exercise leaflet was produced for use by the Nottingham CityCare Partnership. I cannot praise them enough for the work that they do.

The exercises are simple and can be done at home at your own pace. If you are unsure, show them to your doctor before you start if you are unable to exercise under Gareth's watchful eye.

Irish exercise inspiration

My Nottingham City Hospital consultant Dr. Chang drew my attention to a recent '2,000 steps a day challenge' initiative by the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association, so I contacted them, made a donation and received the pack they have produced.

All this came about because of a conversation I had with Dr. Chang about exercise and the fact that since my open heart surgery at the end of February 2017 I had set myself the target of 5,000 steps a day, which I try to manage at least 5 days a week.

A few months ago my wife Susan bought herself a new Fitbit and gave me her old one, which I wear daily. I measured my steps with Susan's help, so I have a good idea how far I walk in terms of distance but I focus on my 5,000 steps a day. If I find myself around teatime short by a few hundred or a couple of thousand steps (as I can), I walk between our front door and patio door at the back of the house. An in-house 'circuit' is always 35–36 steps and I do c.100 a minute, which equals 1,000 every 10 minutes. When the day is damp and cold and I don't go out, I do the 5,000 steps in the house in a couple of 20–30 minute sessions. About 1,500 steps usually comes from just pottering about the house; making tea, preparing food etc.

Back in 2017 I made the decision to try and manage 5,000 steps a day after attending a 6 week cardiac rehab group during the early summer. I went home 10 days after my open heart surgery and it was 8 weeks before I went back to the City Hospital to see how I was progressing, by which time they wanted me to be walking 30 minutes a day — which I managed to do by walking 5 minutes during my first few days at home, then adding 5 minutes each week so that by the 6th week I was doing my 30 minutes a day. It was after that that I set myself the target of 30 minutes a day, which I have maintained and now bettered with my 5,000 steps a day target, often exceeding without any thought.

The point of telling you this is to point out that it is better to set and achieve a modest target than to be over ambitious. By being over ambitious you are setting yourself up to fail and to be disappointed — which is is why the ILFA programme is so appealing even though I will continue to walk 5,000 steps day most of the time.

I had thought at first that the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association (ILFA) programme was based on 5,000 steps a day but it's actually 2,000 steps a day and to know this gives me quite a fillip.

By being active and a small amount of exercise you improve your physical (and mental) strength, which in turn helps you to fight of infections and to keep going longer. I feel already that such a simple thing as modest exercise has extended my life and that I'm one lucky bunny.

Below is a copy of the leaflet you can read. There is a link to the ILFA 2,000 Steps a Day Challenge at the beginning of this post:

STOP PRESS – GREAT NEWS – GARETH DIXON IS BACK IN BEESTON!

An email from Gareth Dixon this morning, who used to run a lung related exercise group in Beeston, to tell me that he has returned to the Pearson Centre every Thursday morning at 11am — which is great news!

This will be my Beeston 2 Minute Exercise Club. The group had moved to the outskirts of Stapleford at the beginning of this year, but circumstances bring Gareth back to Beeston I'm please to say.

I will be going next Thursday (5 December). In the meantime a photo of Gareth I took earlier(!) and a location map for the Pearson Centre:

Gareth Dixon — a great instructor and mentor.

Pearson Centre Beeston, location map.

Members of Gareth's exercise group from the end of 2018, when it was still based in the Pearson Centre and I created some postcards to help Gareth save it. It was a good, friendly crowd, but when the group moved to the outskirts of Stapleford I stopped going but now Gareth is back at the Pearson Centre I will be rejoining and would recommend Gareth without hesitation. His email this morning has made my day!

Welcome to the Beeston 2 Minute Exercise Club, where you will have the opportunity to learn and practice 8–10 simple lower and upper body exercises, all 2 minutes long, or less if you choose. 

THE CLUB’S VENUE AND TIME HAS TO BE CONFIRMED. I AIM TO START FEBRUARY 2020.

The club is based on NHS rehab exercise programmes for people with lung support needs I attended in the autumn 2019 and very similar to a NHS heart rehab exercise group I attended in 2017. The programme is suitable for most people and you get to go at a pace which suits you. Some come for support in maintaining their fitness, others to improve their fitness in some way. The great thing is that nearly everyone will benefit in some way.

The provisional programme consists of the following 10x2 minute exercises (at the Club you will learn the purpose of each exercise and its potential benefits and be given postcard size exercise cards):

1. Standing, facing a wall, bend and straighten your arms using your elbows.

2. Bouncing a ball against a wall using both hands.

3. Marching on the spot, raising your knees as high as is comfortable.

4. In a sitting or standing position, holding a .5kg or 1kg handweight in each hand, bend each arm back and forth against your body.

5. In a sitting or standing position, clasp your arms on your chest or place one on top of the other in front of you, twist your body trunk first to the left, then to right and repeat for the full 2 minutes or as long as you can.

6. Step up and down using a platform, which looks like a stair tread, using a chair on each side as grab rails, just in case you lose your balance for some reason.

7. In a sitting or standing position, holding a .5kg or 1kg handweight in each hand, punch out from or chest from the left, then the right and repeat for the full to minutes or as long as you can.

8. In a sitting or standing position, push your shoulder and arm down to the left, back up and then to the right and back up again and repeat, letting your arms and hands hang straight down.

9. Sit on a chair, then stand, getting your legs as straight as you can, before sitting down, then repeat. This exercise comes with a caution. The moment you feel any discomfort on your knees STOP.

10. Walk for 10 minutes at a pace which you find comfortable. Whether or not this is possible depends on the exercise room (at home I use my hall and living room along which I can do 17–18 steps in each direction).

I prefer to sit where that is an option.

Each session will begin and end with a gentle 'warming-up' and 'cooling down' exercises.

At the end of the day everyone who comes along will know why they are doing what they do and will come to do these simple exercises as long as they can. To call them 'life transforming' is not an overstatement once you understand that they are, at best, of modest intent, with no purpose other than to make the our personal fitness and wellbeing such that we will notice.

NOTE: I call the above exercise programme 'provisional' because it is based on my experience of heart and lung rehab in 2017 and 2019 and I will not start until I have run through the programme with, preferably, a NHS professional, who will join Beeston 2 Minute Exercise Club sessions at least once a month to monitor that the Club is managing its exercise programme correctly. I also hope the monthly visit will be accompanied by a topical talk/presentation followed by a question and answer session. 

This is why, initially at least, I am allowing 90 minutes for each exercise club session. 60 minutes for the exercises, including short breaks between each one, and 30 minutes for open discussion among those attending which will draw on the experiences of all  those present and draw attention to topics we might like to discuss.

Above all this is about giving ourselves the confidence to help one another when it comes to exercise and personal wellbeing. No one should be excluded from support because it is difficult to access or is too expensive when, with a little help, we can do some things for ourselves — hence my attempt to found the Beeston 2 Minute Exercise Club.

Now I'm looking forward to the challenge, believing that the 2 Minute Exercise Club will be qualitatively different because it will be open, encouraging, supportive and, above all, something those who attend can take home with them.

10–12 of us and I'll be happy, just enough to cover our costs one way or another. The model is simple and builds on a partnership of professionals, the venue provider, volunteers and participants.

COST: Each exercise session will be free so that no one is excluded but there will be the cost of accommodation and, at the very least, some costs for professional support, even if no more than travelling expenses. 

I want to keep the charge as low as possible, to ensure no one is excluded, and, if necessary, seek some 3rd party funding.

The Beeston 2 Minute Exercise Club is planning to open in February 2020 and to find a venue with good bus (and tram if possible) connections.

There will be more soon. I will add contact details shortly.