I love jogging. I try to do it no matter what time of year it is, because each season comes with its own unique flavour. During the spring, there’s a lot of puddles you have to dodge around; the road becomes an obstacle course. Summer is warm, and I love the feeling of the sun on my face. Fall is beautiful, with all the bright colours of the leaves cascading around me. Winter is exhilarating, the cold air in my face offering a chilly reprieve from the warmth my core builds while jogging in a winter jacket, snow glistening all around me. Today, though, I did not go jogging; it was almost -30 with the wind chill, and I doubt the experience has been a pleasant one.
Exercising in the winter can be incredibly difficult, and that’s doubly the case if your mobility is limited. Aerobic exercise is incredibly good for you; when you make a habit of it, it decreases your bad cholesterol, increases your good cholesterol, reduces your blood pressure and more. Aerobic exercise also tends to be the most accessible; walking or moving in a self-propelled wheelchair around the block is an easy way of improving your health. In the winter, you can instead opt to move around in a space in your house; listening to music can make this more entertaining. Dancing is an especially good option, and it doesn’t have to be complex; I’m dancing while writing this by just swaying my torso back and forth to a beat.
Stretching is excellent exercise, and you can do it any time of the season. There are a variety of stretches for people with differences in mobility; you can also find modified yoga, tai chi and other flexibility exercises. Increasing flexibility increases your range of motions, and people with arthritis may find that regular stretching greatly improves their range of motion and general well-being.
Strength exercises can be done using resistance bands. Resistance bands are incredibly handy because they’re easy on the wallet, they don’t take up space, and they’re useful no matter how strong you are. You can buy ultralight resistance bands that you can move with your arms or legs to increase your strength in a variety of places; as you get stronger, you can change the slack on the band to get more resistance, or buy a band with more resistance. They can be used with no other exercise equipment needed.
Talking to your doctor can be helpful before engaging in any exercise routine, especially if you have medical conditions with symptoms that could be exacerbated by heightened physical stress. When your mobility is severely limited, it can be hard to keep up with the daily tasks you want to do; should this happen, there are trustful private home care services that can help you. Use the time you would have spent trying to get everything done to exercise, and you’ll reap benefits before you know it.
