[sabrosaindia]

I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis and Osteoarthritis (Yes, I am 33 years old) in any case, my achilles heel hurts after I complete my workout and I end up limping for a few hours and sometimes even the next day. Any ideas on how to prevent this?
Also, I am looking for a variety of exercises, what exercises do "YOU" enjoy? I get bored and hate exercising (as I am sure many others do as well). Currently I am swimming, aquacising and treadmilling it.

[NotTheCheat]

Welcome to 3FC. We are kinda neighbors and I am 33 too.

With the achilles heal, I would suggest trying to warm up just a bit first, do some good stretches before you start to really work out and then make sure to stretch again afterwards. Otherwise, have you seen your doctor about it? Maybe there is something s/he could recommend to help.

Weirdly enough, I am actually finding I like exercise. After so many years of hating it, I am still surprised by this. I enjoy several different things. So far, I don't like the idea of anything that involves other people because I want to go at my own pace. I belong to a gym and really like the elliptical. It was tough at first, but I actually find it easier on me than the treadmill (which I also like). I also really like lifting weights - it makes me feel strong. I like taking walks outside when the weather is nice and when I get fitter I really want to take some form of martial art or fencing (or both) but I don't feel quite ready for that yet.

I have several videos I like to do as well. Angie just mentioned one of them on the main thread (where you are welcome to join into) - Just My Size yoga. I also really like a the Woman Power Workout from Fat Chance Belly Dance, but it is pretty long so I don't end up doing it that often. I like the bellydance videos by Veena and Neena - they are a lot of fun and pretty low key. A lot of people like Walk Away the Pounds (WATP) - it is a good place to start. Leslie Sansone ends up annoying me if I get too much of her. Actually one of my favorite things to do is just watch tv and do WATP type walking.

[ladynredd]

I have actively disliked exercise my entire life but find, much to my surprise, that I am enjoying the TurboJam workouts. In fact, I just surpassed my August goal of 500 minutes worth during the month! They have a couple people doing the low impact version of *every* exercise and even keeping it low impact (at 285 lbs. you do NOT want to jump!) I am sweating up a storm and really enjoying the music. Good luck in your fitness journey!

Personal Exercise Goal for August: 515/500

[Kinney]

I have found the elliptical machine to be a good alternative to the treadmill (I think I get the achilles heal pain as well—never knew it was called that—I can barely go 3m/h on the treadmill, but I can go 6.5m/h on the elliptical easily).

I bought an ipod and put a ton of super up-beat music on it, and I just go at it. I have found it keeps my momentum up. Do I love to exercise now? Well, no. But I hate it when I don't, much more than I dislike doing it some days. It gets so so SO much easier once you get in a routine, like any habit. And listen to your body, it will tell you when to slow down so you are not limping.

Good luck!

[Abbeycat36]

sabrosaindia

Hi and welcome!!! I'm Angie, the person who recommended Just my size yoga. Keep that one in mind, if you have desire to try yoga. It's not really a long program, but it's a great starter yoga for people like me, new to it.

Swimming and aqua aerobics are awesome for people with joint pain and muscle aches. No stress on your body with those ones so they are said to be the perfect exercise for that!!

I have problems with joint pain during my period time, and have to adjust my workouts to fit with it. I find walking, as long as it's slow, is fine. BUT, to get a more extensive workout, I use my eliptical machine. OH I cannot say enough about that thing. A good quality eliptical is best, I find the cheap ones do not flow well, are rather choppy and unnatural feeling. It's like riding a bike standing up, so no butt soreness. It takes a bit to get into the groove of it at first but once you are used to it, you'd love it.

There are SOOO many workout tapes/dvd's out there that it's almost confusing. Maybe your local library loans out tapes/dvd's? Most do these days. Go there and see if they have any exercise ones, you can try them out without commitment. We belong to a movie subscription service that mails them to us (similar to netflix) and I get mine that way.

Stretch a lot and it will help. Before, during, and after exercise. It helps my snaps and cracks quite a bit.

~ Angie