Keeping Well at Home - "If you don’t use it, you lose it’
Published on 06 July 2020 09:42 AM
As part of our Keeping well at Home series we spoke to Emily, an Age NI Volunteer
‘Remember to exercise your whole body - if you don’t use it, you lose it’
Following her second knee replacement operation, Emily, an active Age NI volunteer, Blue Badge Tour Guide, former yoga teacher, trainer and all-round multi-tasker, suddenly realised that she hadn’t the strength to lift a kettle. It was a real shock.
Emily explained: “During my post-op rehabilitation, I concentrated really hard on exercising my knees and legs as I had been instructed by the doctors and physios, but in the meantime, I totally forgot about working my upper body. The result was that I practically lost the strength in my arms altogether. I just couldn’t believe it happened so quickly!
“This was a real wake-up call for me, so I quickly began to focus more attention on working all my major muscle groups, to keep my whole body strong and active: nothing too strenuous, but I just focused on making it a regular part of my routine. This has made a real difference and thankfully, the improvement was noticeable very quickly.”
Although shielding at the minute, Emily is back to walking six miles a day and she regularly practises yoga.
Her advice to older people is “remember to exercise your whole body - if you don’t use it, you lose it!”
Age NI has teamed up with Lady Mary Peters to launch an exercise programme aimed specifically at keeping older people moving during the extended Covid-19 lockdown. Move with Mary is a series of five exercise videos available on our YouTube channel here.
If you have any concerns about yourself, a family member or a friend, get in touch with the Age NI Advice Line on 0808 808 7575 to get more information on what’s available out there to support you to keep connected.