Gentle home exercise programme for heart and respiratory conditions

if you have heart failure or a heart condition or you suffer with a respiratory disease such as COPD where you feel breathless very quickly then this video is a gentle home exercise program for you hi everyone and welcome to exercise for health and today I have a workout that will help people manage their heart or lung conditions if you ask someone that gets breathless very quickly with an effort that matches activities of daily living then this session may be suitable for you it will include a mixture of standing aerobic and seated strength exercises and other than a chair to sit on you will only need a couple of light hand weights such as bottles of water we will start the warm-up seated before moving to the main part which will mix standing and seated exercises to allow your breathing to recover and then finish seated for the cool down as always work at your own pace and everyone following this program will have different levels of Fitness so if you find it difficult to keep up then just pause the video to take longer rest breaks when required or just do what you can within each exercise there is no expectation to complete each one fully but this program will be at much lower intensity compared to many of my other workout videos so hopefully it will be more manageable and give you the confidence to be able to complete it if not on the first attempt if you're unsure if it would be suitable for you though please check with your health professional before conducting this program so have a drink of water handy as well as some small hand weights and we'll start with the warmup right then as I mentioned in the intro we're going to start with the warmup seated so if you're sat in your chair I want you to sit on the front half of your chair so if you need to shuffle your bottom forwards so you're sat near the front bring the feet so they're about a shoulder width wide underneath your knees set yourself up nice and talls or in good posture and we're going to start off with a March seated March so I basically just want you to get the legs and the arms working so we're lifting the feet just a few inches off the floor and just a nice slow steady tempo to get you going good so make sure you're sat up really tall you don't want to be slouching as we're doing this cuz we want to try and activate some of the core muscles as well as we're warming up good so nice steady pace keep the arms moving a little bit as well with the feet and we'll just gradually build your heart rate up slowly brilliant okay right the next one we're going to do is we're going to go into shoulder rolls so if you bring your feet down to a standstill just relax your arms to the side of the body and then from there I want you to lift both shoulders up towards your ears squeeze the shoulder blades back together and then let the shoulders drop back down so we're lifting up squeezing back and then droping back down nice slow steady movement again get as much range of movement as you can within those shoulders so we're really trying to activate all those muscles on the top of the back good keep breathing with it as well don't want to forget that bit good let's do one more brilliant okay right next one if you bring your feet and your knees closer together what we're going to do is we're going to abduct the hip so basically that means we're going to take the knee and the foot out to the side then we'll bring it back to the center and then we'll do the opposite one so we're going to take one foot out as wide as you can bring it back to the middle and then do the opposite one so you're just going to alternate left and right in your own time again make sure you're maintaining good posture so sit up tall and as we're doing this we're trying to keep the upper body remaining facing forwards so we're not twisting the top half of the body it's just the leg that's going to go out to the side as far as you can and then back to the middle good so you start to feel these muscles activating around the hips good let's do a couple more brilliant right bring the feet back so they're are shoulder width wide again the next next one we're going to do is a torso twist so for this one I suggest you cross your arms over your chest so your hands are on the opposite shoulders sit yourself up tall and then this time we're actually going to twist the spine so we're going to rotate so I turn the shoulders to face one way come back to the middle and then twist and rotate the opposite direction so again sit up tall as you're doing this as well so maintain that posture as you're rotating left and right and as we're going through this warmup by now you should start to feel that your breathing's come up a little bit so you're having to breathe a little bit faster but it should be manageable good do one more and then bring it back to face the front right the next one place your hands just to the side of you on the side of the chair if you want to and we're going to do some straight leg heel digs so from there all I want you to do is straighten one leg out so the heel then Taps the floor bring that foot back in and then do the opposite one so as you do the heel dig try and pull the toes and the for foot back towards you as you extend the knee and again we're just alternating left and right again maintaining good posture while you're sat on the chair so we'll feel these muscles start to work on the front of the legs good couple more brilliant right bring the foot back in so the next one we're going to be reaching out from left to right so for this one you might want to take your feet out a little bit wider just to give you a bit more base of a support so from there you can either put your hands on the side and then as you reach with one the other hand stays on the chair reach out as far as you can come back in place that hand down and then do the opposite one so we just going to lean to one side as far as you comfortably can without compromising your balance even though we're sat down reach you'll feel a lot of tension coming in around the muscles around the side of the waist as you reach out to the side good reach out as far as you can back to the middle good let's do one more okay right bring it back in bring the feet in so they're about shoulder width wide again so the next one we're going to do is we're going to do a knee extension and then we're going to put in some ankle pumps so this is where we straighten the leg keeping the leg off the floor we're then going to point the toes forwards pull the toes back that's an ankle pump two three times then bring the foot back in and then we're go to the other leg so straighten one leg out ankle pump two three foot goes back down opposite leg straighten one two three then back in straight in one two three back down good again sit up tall as you're doing this as well so we don't start to slouch good and you'll start to feel these muscles working on the front of the thighs by now and again one 2 three and down let's just do one more on each leg last time well done good right let's go back into that match that we did at the beginning so just get the arms and legs moving again just a little bit and this pretty much completes the warmup so what we're going to do now is we're going to go into the main part of the workout and that will mix some standing exercises with some seated exercises okay right so we need to get to standing now so from where you are hands on the chair lean the body forwards and then keep going forward so you get your nose over your toes and then push the feet through the floor bring your hips up and forward so you get yourself to standing and what we're going to do I'm just going to create a little bit more space that's easier for you to see what we're going to do now is we're going to do some knee raises but we're going to add in a little bit of a twist with the upper part of the body so if you have your hands out in front of you so your hands are about the same height as your hips and what I want you to do is as you lift one knee so if I'm going to lift my right knee it means I'm going to twist my upper body to the right so then the right knee will meet the left hand so we come up and then down and then we go the opposite way up and down so again nice steady movement so while we're doing these standing exercises they are going to be aerobic so by the end of it they should get you a little bit breathless we're going to do it for 20 so we're going to do 10 each leg effectively so set yourself up ready and off we go so one two just raise the knee up as high as you comfortably can six seven again just work to a Tempo that feels right for you so if you feel that you can go a bit quicker than me that's fine 12 13 14 15 good keep it going 16 last four 17 18 19 last one 20 good right that should have got your heart rate up a little bit and got you breathing a bit faster so we're going to go back to sit back down again so we can do an active recovery exercise so sit yourself back in your chair and this is where you're going to need your hand weights so I've got my water bottles and again sit near the front half of the chair for this one we're going to do bicep curls and for these active recovery exercises where we're set down we're going to do 10 reps so I want to start off with your arms completely straight so you've got the weights just to the side of the legs and then the movement then is you're going to keep your elbows tucked in but we're going to bend the elbows bringing the fists up to the shoulders and then slowly lower back down until your arms are straight all the while we're going to make sure we maintain good posture so sat up tall so get yourself ready sit up nice and Tall deep breath in and then breathe out as as you lift one slowly back down breathing in and then lift again two breathe in in as you lower breathe out as you lift three good again nice slow and steady four because we want to use this to get a little bit of recovery from the aerobic part five slowly down six make sure you make maintaining good posture with the Torso seven back down good eight good last two nine one more and 10 brilliant okay right so pop your weights just to one side for a moment you'll need them again in a minute let's get you back up to standing again so same set to stand as we did earlier so this time we're going to be doing next aerobic one is side step half squats so what we're going to do is we're going to step out to one side we're going to half squat which means we're only going to go down a short way as we do that I'm going to raise my arms up to the front I'm going to bring my feet back in step out the opposite way half squat arms come up to the front so as you do your half squat just make sure that you're sticking your bottom backwards so you're allowing the hips and the knees to bend as you bring your arms up to the front Okay so get yourself ready in your space ready off we go so step out to the side half squat arm raise come back up step across opposite side half Squat and arm raise that's two so we're going to do 20 of these because it's the aerobic part four five keep breathing with it get the oxygen in six also make sure you're breathing out get the carbon dioxide out seven eight good so remember we're not going too low on the squat nine just enough to F these leg muscles working 10 halfway through 11 remember at any point if you need to stop and rest that's fine 12 just stop and rest for a bit 13 14 again start to feel the breathing coming back up again 15 16 last four 17 18 two more 19 last one 20 well done I should have got the legs working a bit right then let's do our active recovery we're going to sit yourself back down so back in your chair and again you're going to need your hand weights again so this time we're going to do a side lateral raise so as before for sit on the front half of your chair start with the arms to the side again sit yourself up tall if you can lean forwards fractionally then great but don't worry if you can't if that's uncomfortable stay sat up nice and Tall but the movement is I'm going to keep a very very slight Bend in the elbows and I'm going to raise the weights out to the side until I get to shoulder height so everything's in alignment and then come back down until they're back to the side of the body again so it's a side lateral raise so when you're ready weights to the side sit yourself up tall remember we're going to do 10 of these so deep breath in and then breathe out as you lift one breathing in as you come back down two good breathing in three four try and keep the rest of the body dead still as you're moving the arms up and down [Music] five six good seven slowly down eight again we're working these small muscle groups around the shoulders so you might start to feel it around the shoulders a bit nine one more and 10 brilliant Well Done Right just pop the weights to one side again we'll use them again in a second need to get back up to standing for the next aerobic one so this time this is where we're going to need your wall space cuz we're basically going to be doing a wall push or a wall press followed by a couple of hamstring curls so that's where we're going to get the knee to bend we're trying to get the heel of the foot up close to your bottom and then we'll do the opposite one so I want your hands about a shoulder width or slightly wider than the shoulders width on the wall and a little bit lower down on the wall feet about a shoulder width wide too and you should be angled into the wall so the movement is going to be do the wall press and then as soon as your arms are straight we're going to do heel flick heel flick or hamstring curl and then we start again for the next one as you're doing the hamstring curl make sure the knee doesn't come forwards so keep the knee in alignment with the hip so we're just trying to get this Bend of the knee rather than bringing the hip forwards okay so set yourself up ready on your wall feet a shoulder width wide and we're going again we're doing 20 of these off we go so do the wall press first soon as your arms are straight heel to bottom heel to bottom then we start again two hamstring curl hamstring curl three curl curl four as you're doing the hamstring curls make sure the foot's going back down to the same spot on the floor otherwise you start end up walking yourself further away from the wall that'll make it harder but if you need to just shuffle your feet back in again that's six slowly in push seven seven push eight eight nine nine good keep it going if you can that's 10 so we're halfway through you might start to feel the muscles across the chest and the shoulders working on this one and a bit on the back of the arms but also getting the feet and the legs working as well with the hamstring curl it's 12 13 14 again if at any point you need to rest remember that's absolutely fine 15 five more if you can 16 17 18 19 good last one and 20 well done curl curl brilliant okay give the arms a bit of a shake if they're a bit tired right let's get back to your chair again so sit yourself back in your chair so want the hand weights again so this last one with the weights is going to be a bent over row so again sit yourself on the front half of your chair feet about shoulder width wide now you do need to try and lean the Torso forwards as much as you can for this one so I'm going to try and take my chest over where my knees are but trying to make sure I'm still set up tall if that makes sense so I'm trying to not bend over from the lower part of the back so I'm going to push my chest forwards so I'm still sat up tall but I've got that slight lean forwards I'm going to hold the weights to the side of the body and then the movement from there then is we're going to do like a row movement so I'm going to lift the weights up and in towards the waist and then lower back down and as we do that we're going to try and drive the elbows up and back really get a squeeze of the shoulder blades is at the top before you then lower the weights back to the start position so get your weights ready lean the body forwards as far as you comfortably can ready deep breath in and then breathe out as you lift squeeze those shoulder blades back and then breathe in as you lower back down that's one two deep breath in three good so get those elbows up and back as far as you can four at the same time squeezing those shoulder blades together five good six again we're doing 10 on this one because it's our active recovery to get your breathing to come back to normal seven brilliant three more eight last two keep that body lean forwards nine one more and 10 excellent right pop the weights to one side and we're back up to standing for our last one so get yourself back up so for this last standing one last standing exercise in the main part of the workout is we're going to do a reverse lunge so that's where we start off with our feet to shoulder width wide take a foot backwards so the back foot's on the ball of the foot and allow that back knee to bend just a little bit so we're only going to go down halfway so don't need to go all the way down so go down halfway and then pop back up and bring that foot forwards and then we start with the opposite leg as we're doing that we're going to do a arm raise out to the side if you can now if you find that balance is a little bit tricky for this one I would suggest staying close to support and not worrying about the arm raise so just basically step back and do the half lunge but then you've got something to hold on to for a support if you need it so set yourself up ready feet your back shoulder width wide and off we go so step back drop down a little bit raise the arms if you can come forwards opposite leg step back drop down the back knee a little bit arms rais back up come forwards that's two so we're doing 20 for this last aerobic one that's four so we're not going down too far remember just enough to stimulate the muscle in the legs in the bottom that's six seven keep the breathing going with it cuz this is an aerobic one eight we're doing 20 nine if it gets too much remember to stop and take a breather 10 11 good 12 13 14 keep it going if you can 15 we're in the last five just raise those arms up no higher than shoulder height four more good three more so last two now one more in each leg if you can last one well done right then before we sit back down let's just do a gentle walk on the spot just to try and get rid of some of that buildup of lactic acid in the legs so nice steady walk let's try and get your breathing to start to come back to normal so really try and get in tune with your breathing now feel how hard you you've been working at the end of that last exercise and I want you to be in tune with it see if you can feel it begin to recover so by the time we finish the seated exercises the stretches at the end hopefully you'll have your breathe in somewhere close to normal again okay we're going to do a side step so just want side Step One Way side step back so we're doing one foot to the other foot and then go back to the opposite side good nice and relax now bringing that heart rate back down slowly good okay right let's bring the feet down to stand still so they're about shoulder width wide so we're going to do a few heel raises so for this keep your feet a shoulder width wide and then lift both heels up off the floor so going right up onto the balls of the feet and then lower back down if this becomes an issue for balance then just hold on to something lightly like the wall or a support like a chair next to you as you're raising the heels up and then lower back down so we're just trying to get the muscles working in the lower part of the back of the leg just to help pump the blood back up to the heart to help with the circulation so the blood doesn't end up pulling in the lower part of the leg while we sat down good let's do one more of those okay right then let's get you back to your chair so go back to your seated position and we're going to do those heel raises but we're going to do them sat down which works a slightly different area of the calf muscle so want your feet about shoulder width wide again sat on the front half of your chair and I want you to rest your arms or your elbows so you're leaning forwards and you're resting them on your knees and that'll put a little bit weight forward for Wards through the feet and then the movement then is just to lift the heels up off the floor and then lower back down so you'll feel yourself rocking forwards and backwards a little bit but again we're just still trying to activate those muscles and the lower legs to pump the blood back up towards the heart good you should start to feel your breathing get close to normal more anytime over the next few minutes hopefully as we'll sat down brilliant let's do one more of those okay right then we're going to finish off with a few stretches and we're going to work through different muscles in the body so as we're doing the stretching just make sure that you breathe in and out in a nice slow relaxed manner while you hold the position of the stretch so we're going to start off with an upper back stretch if you place one hand on top of the other and then I want you to roll your shoulders forwards and then start to push your arms out straight in front of you and as you do that you'll begin to feel stretch around the sides and around the top of the back between the shoulder blades so once you found that stretch hold it still but focus on that breathing so slow deep relaxed breathing try and get as much of the air out your lungs as you can on each breath good okay and release the stretch so the next one we're going to do is we're going to stretch the muscles on the chest and the front of the shoulders so for this one we want the back of the hands round into the lower part of your back if you can't get them right the way back just keep them to the side around where your bottom is and then from there we're going to squeeze the shoulder blades back together so it's like we're trying to pull the elbows back imagine they're trying to get them to touch behind you and that will open up all the muscles across the front so again we're going to hold the position of the stretch but make sure you relax your breathing while you hold that stretch so slow deep relaxed breathing brilliant okay relax so next one we're going to do is stretch the muscle on the back of the arm the triceps muscles so from there I want you to bend the elbow first so we're trying to get the hand up close to the shoulder and then begin to lift the elbow up and back like trying to get your hand to creep down your spine now you can use your other hand if you want to to assist it to push it further back but you should feel a stretch here on the back of the arm so again hold it still in that stretch position and then focus on your breathing good and release let's do the same on the opposite side so hand to shoulder first getting the elbow to bend lift the elbow up and back as far as you can assist with the other hand if you feel that you need it until you feel the stretch on the back of your arm good and release right the next one we're going to do is inner thigh stretch for this one I want you to take your feet out as wide as you can on the floor and your knees need to be out as wide as you possibly can as well and then we're going to use your arms just to rest them on the inside of your knees and then you can use them just to push the knees out a little bit wider if you want to and begin to lean the Torso forward so imagine I'm trying to push my belly button forwards towards the floor and that create more of a stretch on the inner thigh so when you feel that stretch hold it still focus on that breathing again good okay come back up bring the knees back in just two more so we're going to do one for the back of the leg these hamstring muscles on the back of the leg if you straighten out one leg in front of you so you got the heel on the floor place your hands on the opposite knee that's still bent sit yourself up tall so again it's like me trying to push my belly button forwards and that might now engage a stretch on the back of that straight leg if you don't feel a stretch yet then keep your posture but start to bend further forwards from that hip so as I push my belly button further forwards that'll generate more of a stretch so rather than bending over the spine keep that posture just trying to Bend forward from the hip to get more of a stretch good okay bring that foot back in let's do the same on the opposite side so straighten out the knee first of all with the heel on the floor hands on the opposite leg sit yourself up tall if you feel stretch great hold it there if not Bend from the hip so trying to maintain that posture as you go forwards until you feel it pull on the back of the [Music] leg how's your breathing now is it starting to come back close to normal as we got one more stretch after this and then we're done good right come back up bring that foot back in So for this last one we're going to stretch the muscles on the front of the thigh and to do that seated we do need to turn the body slightly so you've got one cheek effectively on the side of the chair and One Cheek just slightly off this one that's slightly off I'm going to try and take that foot back behind me as far as I can so the knees going back as far as possible and then from there I'm going to then sit up nice and Tall allowing this hip to come forwards and I can feel the stretch here now on the front of the thigh okay if you need to increase the stretch then you can try and move the knee and the foot further backwards if you need to and if the knee's on the floor that's fine for a bit of support that's okay but you should feel a bit of a stretch here on the front of the thigh good okay bring that one forwards let's turn around let's do the same on the other side so take the foot back as far as you can and then come into an upright position push the hip forwards nice and up up nice and Tall get the stretcher on the front of the thigh and relax bring that foot back in and you're finished great job well done if you managed to finish this workout today then well done make sure you give yourself some time to recover fully and get your breathing back to normal if you enjoyed it though then please give it a like by clicking the Thumbs Up Button below and consider subscribing if you haven't already you can also check out the description below for ways that you can help support this channel but thank you so much for watching and until next time stay active and keep moving to feel better