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What can I do to stay motivated?
Hello,
I have recently quit the gym for financial reasons and have bought a load of exercise DVDs (Nell McAndrew and Ministry of Sound) to do at home. I would like to do one at least 4 times a week, and feel keen and fit enough to do so. But the high impact cardio is really messing up my knee (patella - I have intermittent physio from my mother but she lives too far away to make this regular). It is making me feel so frustrated.
I would like to run, do skipping and aerobics videos on a regular basis to tone up and help lose weight. I don't want to be stuck with walking as my only option and find the low impact versions of aerobics much less fulfilling. Any ideas to keep me motivated?
Our expert says...
Hi,
there are several options here:
- firstly given that you have a knee issue, it is vital that you vary the level of impact intensity. This is something that every exerciser should do to prevent wear and tear/overuse injuries and in your case to try and prevent flare ups of an exsisting issue. Could different intensity levels of exercise DVD be an option?
- look to include a greater range of exercise type into your exercise plan as the variety aids weight loss through constant change for the body to deal with and helps maintain motivation! You do however have to do things you enjoy doing in the first place so if you are struggling for ideas I suggest you consider activites you may never have tried. Consider what else you could do intermittently between skipping, aerobics and running, i.e. bodyweight strenght training at home? Swimming? Cycling?
- The other option here is to seriously address the knee issue which is essentially determining at the moment how much (or not) of your favourite activites you can do. One or two sessions with a corrective exercise specialist could set you up with a home rehab-program that will support and protect your knee through your higher intensity workouts. You could put some of the money you save on not paying out for a gym membership towards one or two private sessions to support you around the irregular physio you get from your mum. Only a small percentage of injuries are without a solution and so you shouldn't put up with pain and restriction when you don't have to!
Hope this helps
Kelly
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