leg muscles

harrys_nan wrote: »

Hi,
My leg muscles are getting weaker, I walk most days with the dog for approx an hour plus walking about just doing other stuff. I was thinking about trying ankle, would these help?
I can't do much exercise as I have stage 2 COPD and problems with my knees and back ( waiting for a bone scan) but I do need to try something.
I'm early 70's

Yes absolutely - me too!!! I'm in my late 60s and walk quite a bit, though not as much as you. I had thought walking would keep my leg muscles strong so it was only when, to my horror, I needed to use my hands to lift my leg over a stile that I realised this isn't the case and I needed to do something more. The something more that I found helped tremendously was this (hope this works, it's a long link!): https://www.bath.ac.uk/publications/exercise-snacking-instructions/attachments/Exercise-Snacking_Instructions.pdf

I set an alarm to do the sheet 3 times a day and it's made such a difference. (I use the same alarm to remind me to do pelvic floor exercises too!) Takes hardly any time at all and you can do it as fast or slow as you like - or miss out some of the exercises if they're too much for your knees at first. I try and beat my previous times if I can. I first saw the method on 'Trust me' and it worked really well for the people involved in the trial. (There's a youtube vid I think)

Can't recommend this highly enough! Good luck, would be really interested to know how you get on and if you find any other good exercises.

DS

Come over and join us on the 'Older and fitter' thread!! There's something for everyone, and it's never too late to start making exercise part of you life. The important thing is to start!!

Hi,
It's great that you're aware of this and wanting to do something about it.

If you want to strengthen your legs, try sitting on the couch then standing up 10 times. Your thighs will thank you!