'New to exercise'

Which exercise routine should I do?

I am a 65-​year old man, reas­on­ably fit and healthy with no dis­ab­il­it­ies, but I do not do any reg­u­lar exer­cise other than walk­ing an old dog and the usual DIY. I am inter­ested in start­ing a reg­u­lar exer­cise routine. Can you advise what would be suit­able?...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

Why does exercise make me feel ill?

I am in good gen­eral health but I seem to get tired very eas­ily. Every exer­cise class I have tried makes me feel ill. I joined a gym, but each time after about 10 minutes on the tread­mill I felt very strange, sort of off bal­ance, and my heart star­ted racing. So I have can­celled my mem­ber­ship. Any advice?...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

Pain and injury are making exercise impossible

I had a bad fall some years ago. Because of the spinal injur­ies and con­stant pain, des­pite sev­eral oper­a­tions, I can­not move very well and find any exer­cise almost impossible. Some days are bet­ter than oth­ers, but they are few. I have so much muscle and weight loss that I look skeletal. How can I break out of this rut sens­ibly? The local gym wanted hun­dreds of pounds to join, which I do not have...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

How can I stop comfort eating and lose weight?

My hus­band died two and a half years ago, and I have had many emo­tional prob­lems since. I have put on a lot of weight and I still keep eat­ing for com­fort. Because of my weight I have got very unfit. I am des­per­ate to do some­thing about it, but I can’t get motiv­ated...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

I’m nervous about getting back in the pool

Three years ago I was rushed to hos­pital with hypo­ther­mia after swim­ming in a very cold pool. I’d like to give swim­ming another try (I used to go three times a week), but am wor­ried about how to “start the ball rolling”. I am 74 and reas­on­ably fit. Can you advise me?...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

What’s the best exercise for my emphysema?

I am a single mother, aged 45, just dia­gnosed with emphysema from smoking. I get breath­less doing every­day jobs such as vacu­um­ing. I used to be very act­ive. I have no car and little money. Could you give me some advice?...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

Is my stepper doing more harm than good?

I have been given a “step­per”, the giver think­ing it would help me get stronger and be able to climb stairs more eas­ily. I know that at first after exer­cising one feels muscle ache, but I am wor­ried in case it is doing more harm than good to my knees and hips...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

What régime might help an overweight diabetic?

Can you advise on an exer­cise pro­gramme for a dia­betic man aged 59? He is over­weight (20st) and suf­fers from spon­dylitis in his neck and arth­ritis in his lower back. He can walk quite well but gets breath­less eas­ily. He would like to feel fit­ter but is unsure where to start...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

Is there a ‘right’ kind of music for exercise?

I am in my early six­ties with high blood pres­sure and dia­betes. I visit my local gym thrice weekly, where they play piped music, any­thing from easy listen­ing to ear-​splitting mod­ern music or com­mer­cial radio. Does gym music have to be totally invas­ive? Is there a “right” kind of music for exer­cise?...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012

I’m overweight and fall a lot. Can exercise help?

I am a 64-​year-​old woman, weigh 18½st and have diet-​controlled dia­betes. I have twice broken my leg in the past five years. I have been advised to walk for exer­cise, but I seem to fall over when I go walk­ing, which has affected my con­fid­ence. Would a tread­mill at home help? I could spend about £150...
Posted by jane 0 Comments October 26, 2012