Today we have some easy steps you can take to be more active even if you have physical limitations or anything like that.
One of the most asked questions on instagram or instagram stories is how do you exercise with limited mobility?
This is a difficult thing to do for people who struggle with any type of health issue like arthritis or even just getting older.
My husband is only in his 30s, but he has really bad knees from years physically working and all the things he did in the military. He continues to stay physically active, but many people have trouble working through the pain.
For that matter, sometimes it ISN’T good to do traditional exercises when you are dealing with pain. In my case, things like weight lifting do more harm than good for my arthritic joints. I would like to share with you some simple tips to stay active, even if you can’t do traditional things you see others doing.
Easy Ways to Be More Active Even with Physical Limitations
I think the most common resolution people have each year is “workout more” or ” lose weight” or just to “be more healthy” and things along that line.
When I was in college I had the same New Year’s Resolution every year. I WILL go to the gym four days a week or I will workout six days a week. Sometimes I would keep that up for a few months, but it usually dissipated by the middle of year because I was too busy and my goals were unrealistic for my lifestyle.
As I grow older and more wiser, I have chosen lifestyle changes over resolutions. Lifestyle changes should be not only obtainable, but affordable and realistic for your lifestyle.
I am a firm believer that ACTIVITY is the key to a long healthy life!
A perfect example for me is my 89 year old grandmother. She was born in an era before exercise was really classified or before gyms. She hasn’t formally exercised a day in her life, but continues t stay active.
Up until a few years ago, she would be outside mowing, cleaning, building fence, feeding cows, and just moving! The point is, she was always moving. And, she was thing and muscular even into her elderly years.
There are many people I know who have never “exercised” but stay in shape. It is all due to staying active.
Most of you know that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, which I have had since I was ten years old. There are many things I can’t do like other people, and when I am having arthritic pain, many workouts are out of the question. Even on those rough days, I try to do some of these things to have a little activity everyday, no matter what!
I am so thankful to have found two exercises I can enjoy at my studio. Pilates and Barre have been amazing for my joints! The Fit Lounge has been a huge blessing for my town. I know many of you have reached out asking what you can do without a studio like that.
There are also some readers who have told me they are in bad shape and can’t even move at all!
Here are some of my top, easy ways to be more active even with physical limitations!
One. Try stretching each morning.
It doesn’t have to be yoga to be good for you. I stretch a little bit each morning, just to get everything moving. It is amazing how my flexibility has increased over the years, just by doing this. I typically do some legs and arm stretches, along with some lumbar stretching.
My mom teaches chair yoga. Many people who take her class are in the 80s and haven’t exercised much during their lives. She teaches everyone to do a little bit of movement like stretching each day. It doesn’t have to be for a long time, just a little bit consistently.
Two. Stretch at night!
Just like in the morning, stretching at night is a great way to loosen up tension and help you sleep better at night. By the end of the day, my joints are usually worn out so I love to do some deep, stretching to relax all the muscles.
Three. Take short breaks throughout the day!
I work from home, so I have a tendency to get carried away with stuff in my office and will sit for six hours straight, just working. When I started working from home, I did this a few days in a row, and my body would be so stiff, I could barely get up! Even if you work in an office, getting up every hour just to move around is so important. Not only does it help blood flow, but it also burns way more calories versus just sitting.
I make it a point to get up every hour just to stretch or walk around. I will even go do some laundry or step outside! Anything to keep my body moving as much as possible! If you do have RA or some other type of disease, this is one of the most important things!
Four. Take a walk everyday.
I recently posted on Instagram about how much we enjoy walking when the weather is good. Some days, my knees are hurting, but I love taking a 15-30 minute walk when I can. It isn’t anything strenuous, just some motion and change of scenery. It helps relieve stress too! I also have a mini stair stepper that I jump on periodically throughout the day!
Five. Track your steps.
Many people use a fitbit to track their steps, which is good if you have trouble moving around. It is fun to set a goal of how many steps you want to take each day, and make sure you do them. This is a great way to be accountable for moving during the day. I started doing this a couple of years ago, and I was shocked how little I moved during the day!
You would be surprised how active you can be just cleaning and doing things around the house too!
Six. Pinterest
I love finding neat stretches on pinterest. I do a new one everyday just to spice things up. This will help you not get bored with anything, and it isn’t working out. Just moving! Feel free to follow my health tip board on pinterest for some of my inspiration each day.
Seven. Find a home workout program.
Home workouts can be great for anyone. There are so many easy, simple options you can try each day. Again, it doesn’t have to be much.
I have some great options I do on youtube and also DVDS I will pop in when I can’t make it to Pilates.
Eight. Try Chair Yoga
I mentioned this above, but if you are limited physically, using a chair to workout is a great exercise. You can do this at home, or even find a local class. My mom teaches this at the gym and to seniors. Even those in a wheel chair can do these types of exercises. It is a great place to start!
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
These are all great ideas! I think it’s really important to just get up and move during the work day, especially if you sit all day. That bike is a perfect break time activity too! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes
Absolutely! It is so hard when you sit at a desk all day to get activity in! I love having my bike in my office, it makes such a nice break in my day 🙂
Such great points! As I work with many clients who have chronic illness, I always encourage them to stretch – not major yoga – but movement. I’ve had many who come back and are amazed at how simply stretches and moving help them.
It does make such a difference! There are so many yoga moves I can’t do with really bad elbows and knees, so instead I just focus on stretching as much as possible! My mom teaches yoga at the nursing home and at a community center for older people. Most of them have almost know mobility. I have learned a lot from her too! 🙂
What a great article! As a former competitive runner/track coach, these are wonderful tips for anyone! If you are ever looking for more fitness tips for the blog, I would be happy to share some of mine!
Christina :: Simple and Delish
Thanks Christina! That actually sounds awesome! I am thinking about doing a post about that so I will be in touch 🙂
These are great tips. Between walking Starla and my yoga classes at work, I love to stay active!
Yoga classes at work sounds amazing!
I love this! Fits right in with my small changes motto. So often I avoid exercise because I don’t have 30 minutes, plus the time to change before and after. But many small movements throughout the day are also helpful to our health. Great article!
It really is those little steps that keep us going! Thinking about doing a specified work out is so intimidating sometimes, but if you just think about little movements each day, it is totally doable! 🙂
I’ve known for quite a while that I ought to be doing more active things than I do now. I tried in the summer last year, and got carried away and re-screwed-up a previous knee injury…that was a bit of a blow, and I called it quits. Though, really, I had just skipped the stretching I had started with, and went to the treadmill and was only doing that. Not my brightest move, I admit. I have been debating trying to do *something* but haven’t made that move yet. In the colder weather at the beginning of this year, I had even more issues with my knees (which my mom decided to tell me could be arthritis, so that’s fun, ha) and it was the kind of thing that meant staying in bed and keeping as warm as possible. Stretching, though, that needs to be added into my daily list of things-to-do. I joke that I’m a broken old lady (even though I’m not technically broken (yet) and am nowhere near old), but in reality I need to be doing more to prevent such a thing from happening!
I know exactly what you mean! I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and have for 20 years! It makes winter super hard to get up and move around. If I don’t start the day with stretching and movement, it just doesn’t happen. I like to stay in shape and as active as possible, but I am not able to do the normal stuff!
I have a post next week about my favorite home workouts I like! You may enjoy it!
If you have any questions about being active, how to keep moving with joint pain, etc, You can always shoot me an email 🙂 I love helping people!
i wish i had more time to stretch! i love doing it, just don’t alot enough time.
elle
Southern Elle Style
Time is always the issue for me too! Some days I just don’t get enough of it in, but it is always so nice when I do 🙂
This is great! I love that you’re talking about ways to get active even with limitations…that’s something that not a lot of people think about unless it’s something they deal with!
Thanks Christine! I think that is exactly right, if you don’t have limitations, it is easy to forget those that do. I have issues everyday, so I always try to include things for everyone 🙂
Let’s get movin’! Hi Alexis… these are great tips… love them! Keeping moving is super important for me – not just the RA/joint issues, but I also have scoliosis (diagnosed when I was 11 – 40 years ago), Exercise/movement keeps my back/core muscles strong to support my spine. My job allows me to move around a lot – I deliberately keep the printer across the room so I have to get up. I have a 2 story house, and following my Golden Retriever is good exercise, too! It feels good to get the blood flowing. I need to work on the evening stretching, though. Thanks for reminding us about moving – looking forward to part 2!
I love doing little things like that too, deliberately putting something far away so I have to get up and do it! Ruger keeps me moving all day too. Every time I sit down to relax, I have to pop back up to let him out, get his toy, or whatever he needs help with lol
These are all great tips! Walking everywhere has been a game changer for me (as opposed to Texas where we had to drive anytime we wanted to go somewhere). I love the FitBit because I’m super competitive (even with myself), so it makes me want to do better!
I know exactly what you mean! Living in Texas, everything is far away, so you have to drive! When we lived in San Diego, all we did was walk! I am competitive with myself as well. Sometimes it’s a little irritating lol, but it keeps me moving for sure 🙂 Thanks girl!
Awesome tips! Any activity is such a great idea! I really need to start incorporating stretching into my morning routine. Yoga is a great way to start the day <3
Green Fashionista
I really love stretching first thing. It helps my day start off right!!! 🙂
Hi Alexis,
Getting enough exercise each day is still a challenge for me, so I found these tips inspiring and motivational! Time to get up and get moving! Pinning and sharing this!
Thanks so much Deborah! I know so many people who also have a hard time getting motivation! I think small little changes like this are the easiest way to start. Plus, it just makes you more mindful to move around. Next week I am sharing some of my favorite home workout programs that are really short and easy to do. I hope you will find some inspiration from that 🙂
I need to find my pedomiter again. I wore it religiously and managed between 8,000 and 10,000 steps at work. Once I find it, I’ll be back to wearing it.
That is awesome! I always aim for that amount when I am wearing mine. The bummer is I always forget to wear it until the middle of the day! 🙂
Great tips Alexis. Especially now with the pain in my hands. Some days lifting weights is hard and I have to limit it. Can be so frustrating after being able to do it for years without any problems.
I remember feeling so frustrated when I was a kid and I just wanted to play basketball, my favorite sport. I was the point, so I always dribbled the ball down. When I woke up with that horrible RA pain, I couldn’t play anymore and it was devastating!
Alexis my daughter has Hyper Joint Mobility so has to take it easy while keeping fit – this will be perfect for her – thank you for sharing to Pin Worthy Wednesday
Oh, bless her heart. I know that is rough! I understand have to keep it easy. I hope she will enjoy my list 🙂
such an important topic and a great post! thanks so much for sharing at #funtasticfriday!
Thanks so much Lindsay!! 🙂
I totally understand the stretching in the morning, but never incorporated it in the evening. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and info on Pinterest, will check it out.
Thanks for visiting to share on the #OMHGWW this week.
Pinned to share your post.
Thanks Karren! I appreciate that! Have a great day!
You definitely don’t have to join a gym for exercises… however if you start chair yoga or just some chair exercises I encourage you to invite someone to do this with you….. part of our overall health is to be engaged with others. If you have physical limitations, its best to not engage in an exercise that causes pain when you do them. Love MOM
Great tips mom! I know you help many people who have physical limits when it comes to mobility