Exercise for MS – I’m starting a 14 week plan

I’m about to start a new adventure:  Exercise.

Well, it’s not really new. I swim some laps most days in the summer, weather permitting.  In the cooler months I do some upper body strength exercises a couple of days a week, my spirit permitting.  But, in all the years that I’ve had Multiple Sclerosis I’ve never really had a structured exercise program.  Today I’m investigating a way to start down that road.

Browsing the National MS Society’s web site last week I found a link to an organization that I’d never heard of; the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability and the NHPAD’s “14 Week Program to a Healthier You.”  The program promises to set me up with a free, personalized, web-based physical activity and nutrition program with a goal of encouraging me to exercise and to make health nutrition choices.

Getting started with a plan

I registered on the web site Saturday and signing on this morning I saw a bunch of exercise video exercises waiting for me.  They’re separated under tabs for “cardio,” “strength,” “flexibility” and “mind/body,” plus a 5 minute daily warmup.  I’m particularly interested in improving my lower body flexibility so I’ll be checking that out first.

The NHPAD is all about getting you moving

The NHPAD has been around since 1999.  Its mission, according to its web site, is to “help people with disability and other chronic health conditions achieve health benefits through increased participation in all types of physical and social activities, including fitness and aquatic activities, recreational and sports programs, adaptive equipment usage, and more.”

It took a bit of research to find out who’s behind this group but it turns out to be a collaboration between the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and the Lakeshore Foundation; a Birmingham, Alabama based non-profit that provides fitness and recreation programs to people with all sorts of physical disabilities programs.

So, off I go.  Hope I can stick with this.  I’ll keep you posted.  Stay tuned.