Marylou A., Allison Park, Pennsylvania
I just wanted to share that since September, I have been enrolled in a water exercise program designed for folks who have arthritis, “Aqua-ritis.” It is offered through the local community college, while the pool is in a convent.
With the assistance of my polio doctor, I chose this particular program and he limited me to two sessions per week. Had he not done that, I may have been tempted to participate three times a week, as that is how the program is offered. We decided together that I had to decide the TOTAL amount of time I wanted to exercise per WEEK in this program. I think this decision was the hardest part of the entire program.
From September through November, I did fairly well limiting my participation early on as the post-polio protocols for exercise recommend. I started out with only five minutes in the water. It took longer to get dressed and undressed and it was rather discouraging at first.) I couldn’t keep up with my classmates, most of whom were septa- and octagenarians! But I persisted.
I did discover the hard way that I could only do this amount of exercise twice per week, on Mondays and Fridays. Any more exercise on days closer together caused me to have trouble getting on and off of my scooter, for example.
In two weeks, I’ll begin my third evolution through this class. I am up to 12-15 minutes of exercise each session, OR 25-30 minutes per week. I am NOT stumbling around my house; I now wear my back brace a lot less frequently than I did; I walk much better; I am sleeping better; and it appears that I am still losing weight.