Make Exercise A Priority So You Can Live Your Best Life With Parkinson’s
Over the years I have seen an enormous difference in the people’s lives who exercise regularly vs. the people who don’t. I’ll tell you a story about one of my clients named Dan who set himself up for success to move his best with Parkinson’s. I did a talk to a group of younger people with Parkinson’s. I asked the people in the group if anyone exercised. No one did. I was surprised, because I knew how important exercise was. I thought the people in this group would know how important exercising is.
How Dan’s Life Got Better With Exercising Regularly
Then Dan hired me to work with him. At the time Dan was walking once in a while. One of his main struggles was that he would freeze; his body would not be able to move.
We worked together a couple days a week going through a full body exercise program. I taught him exercises to do on his own which he did. He walked more. Then he started doing some spinning classes and then he got involved in a boxing class.
Because he committed to exercising regularly, he moved better and his symptoms lessened. He continuously improved in his ability to move. He froze less and fell less too. He felt more in control of his body. I’ve seen this in many other people with Parkinson’s over the years.
I guarantee you if you commit to exercising regularly and do it, your body will function better and you will move your best with Parkinson’s.
The first thing that is important to focus on and commit to so you can set yourself up to move your best with Parkinson’s is to exercise regularly and plan it out.
You can have the best exercise program in the world, however if you don’t exercise you won’t reap all of the amazing benefits of exercising. It takes actually doing the exercises and doing them regularly.
1. Develop a deep conviction of how important exercise is. Exercise is extremely important for a person with Parkinson’s. When a person with Parkinson’s exercises it increase the efficiency of dopamine in the body, which is what people with Parkinson’s loses. When you make exercise a priority you will set yourself up for success to move your best with Parkinson’s
2. Focus on how exercise has benefited your life. Think about how much better you move when you exercise and stretch your muscles out. If you find yourself getting up easier and being more limber, think about that.
3. Find out about how other people with Parkinson’s have benefited from exercise. Find out what they did and how much better their life was from exercising. Find about how much better they are moving.
4. Find out about other people’s journey from a life of not exercising to a life of exercising. Find out about how they were moving before they decided to exercise and how much better they are moving because they exercise.
5. Write the benefits of exercise for you as well as for other people. Spend some time internalizing how your life and other people’s lives benefit from exercise.
6. Decide to exercise regularly. Make a commitment to yourself and others that you will exercise regularly.
7. Write down why you are exercising. Write down what benefits you are looking to get from exercising.
8. Plan out exercising. Put the times in a calendar.
9. Commit to it and do it.
10. Resist canceling the times you make unless you really can’t make it.
11. Reschedule the time you couldn’t make to exercise if possible.
MAKE EXERCISE A PRIORITY. PLAN EXERCISING OUT
MOVE YOUR BEST BECAUSE YOU EXERCISE