I have a new attack on boredom. I got the series of Alfred Hitchcock movies from Costco. Many movies. Lower the resistance and no trouble keeping up the speed with Hitchcock. I wear a heart rate monitor and get my rate up into zone 4 before timing my workout. I leave myself hanging in the movie so I'll want to do it again the next day. According to Jay's article, you need to do at least 40 minutes without stopping except for pauses of a few seconds. Sorry about that.

Nan,

You have lots of great tips on how to power through. I am glad you re-posted the time requirement and 40 minutes should be no problem for me once I build my stamina back up. I had a baby a year ago and could not exercise during pregnancy, I am having a hard time building my stamina back up. I get on the elliptical and when on meds easily have 85-110 rpms, the problem is after 10 minutes, I feel like need a defibrillator. lol. I am soooo out of shape, for now I focus on making sure I don't keel over from too intense a cardio workout and on getting past the 10 minute mark...each time I try to go a few extra minutes. No time for boredom.

I love the Hitchcock films idea, though I am such a movie fanatic I have seen them all more than once. Just wanted to add that my boredom buster is to practice my French through listening to Podcasts--you can subscribe to podcasts on many different topics. Your favorite or popular series from TV or Cable are great too in keeping yourself going.

Thanks! I think you are inspiring many people to get active...look at that view count.

Laura

Laura, Where are you from in Michigan? I'm going to be there in April and will give talks on the 27th at Bay Ridge senior community, 11 a.m. at East Bay Ridge and 1 p.m. at West Bay Ridge. Also, for those in the Seattle area, Jay Alberts, the Cleveland Clinic neuroscientist who proved the correlation between cycling rpm and reduction of PD symptoms, will be the keynote speaker at the HOPE conference Nov. 6.

I think it's amazing that you can do an elliptical at that rate, even for a short time. If you have access to a bike, the 80-90 rpm for 40-60 minutes should be a piece of cake.

I have a new theory, purely based on my own experience, not tested scientifically. My extreme reduction in symptoms happened when I went over the top while training for RAGBRAI last spring. Rather than 3 times/week at 80-90 rpm for 40 minutes, I rode 4-6 times/week at 80-90 as best I could for anywhere from 1.5-4 hours, slowing for hills and taking a few rests. I was so worried I wouldn't make it across Iowa in RAGBRAI. Knowing there were hills on the ride (22,500' elevation gain in a week), I also rode up and down hills some days instead of doing the long rides. The hill near my house has 200' elevation gain in .8 miles. I told myself I could do it 10 times in a row. The most I achieved was 4, but it was still a great workout. By the end of a month, my PD symptoms were nearly gone. Since RAGBRAI, I have done more of a maintenance routine of the 1.5 hour rides outside or 1 hour on the bike trainer inside and have seen continuous improvement in my mental functions as well as my physical capacities. Lately I'm noting a little cramping in my foot and third finger on my right hand, nothing to whine about.

So I'm wondering if there is a neuron-building threshold that can be reached by extreme cycling and then maintained and enhanced through further cycling exercise. It might be worth trying.

Please, what view count are you referring to?

Hi Nan,

Sorry the view count tells you how many times a post has been looked at-far right column- you have the current number of replies and next to it is the number of views- this topic is at 1,075!

I am not far from where you will be; I am in Ann Arbor, maybe 45 minutes from Highland, MI. Is April 27th the only day you will be in town?

I think you may be on to something in noting that exertion or workout intensity may have made a difference for you. I loved running and would easily go 3K a run prior to my diagnosis...then that 'mysterious' foot cramping appeared and the adaptations to PD started then. I went for nine years with no medication from my first appearance of tremor, so I am beginning to think that those years of more intense exercise helped me. I only became more sedentary because PD kept forcing me to shorten my workouts to the point where I felt it was not beneficial from a cardio standpoint at all

I am beginning to wonder if achieving an optimal heart rate or "zone" during workout is what helps? Obviously, it has to go beyond only one form of exercise and measures like rpm. There is a man who has lived with PD for over 20 years and he continues to run marathons- his story is in this USA Today article He too notes how he is doing better than other he knows with PD for same number of years and thinks it is due to intensity of exercise. Does Dr. Albert address this or will he be researching it further?

All of this is very encouraging, and means that I better get up to that 40 minute mark while I still can easily maintain the right speed. Just to note that before I was medicated, I was in the 50-70 rpm range on a stationary bike- this, I think, is consistent with most PD participants in research.

Laura

Hi Laura,

I figured out the View column as soon as I posted the question. Thanks though. We used to live in Ann Arbor when my husband was in grad school. I graduated from Albion. My mom is in a retirement village in Traverse City. I'll be there from April 20-28, flying in and out of TC. I'll be giving the talks (same one twice) at the Community at Bay Ridge in TC at 11 and 1 on the 27th.

Jay made a poster that shows his research data in graphic form and includes parameters that make his research quite clear. It is too large to post on this website but if you send me your email, I'll try to send it to you (and others). I just hope 1,000 people don't respond!

Nan,

Thanks. We have a way to private message each other through the forum right here. When you login, look at top right and notice you can link to your user name. Click on your name to access your inbox.

Thanks for your willingness to share.

Laura

I note that quite a few people are keeping track of this thread and I wonder what experiences individuals are having. Are you trying cycling? If so, do you see or feel any difference in the way you either move or think, or both? I found that over time my cognitive functions returned, which thrilled me even more than having my body nearly back to normal. If you're cycling, are you going at the 80-90 rpm for at least 40 minutes three times per week or are you going more or less? What is the hardest and easiest part of the cycling for you? What do you think would help you out? Feel free to add anything else you would like.

My experiences with forced pace cycling are great, but it would be fantastic if these experiences or something close to them were replicated by lots of others. If you're shy about responding to the group, please contact me through the private message forum. I'll compile answers anonymously and report back to the forum.

Thanks.