If you think it is just about the exercise…

Although exercise is an integral part of living well with Parkinson’s, if you think PD Warrior is just an exercise program then you have missed the point – it’s about so much more. It is about helping you to tick activities off your bucket list. It is about helping you to stay at work longer if you want, look after the grandkids or take that overseas walking holiday (sometime in post covid 3025). It’s about building confidence, perspective and amazing connections with other like-minded people.

PD Warrior is built on four key pillars and based on what has worked for others who have done the program already. The first pillar is the most obvious – neuro-active exercise. PD Warrior has 10 core exercises that we use as our common ‘language’ to teach you how to move well and how to bring neuroplastic training principles in to your everyday activities. The other three pillars, which are just as important, include education – the more you know, the more empowered you can become and the more self-belief you can build, community – you are not alone and have a whole community of people to support you on the days when you are struggling and celebrate your wins on the other days, and behaviour change – Parkinson’s doesnt go on holidays so neither can your new and helpful lifestyle changes. It is the combination of these pillars that make PD Warrior as successful for people as it is.

A comprehensive and holistic management program should guide you in what you can do, how to do more of it and most importantly… how to stick with it too. Getting some quick wins in early once you start a program are essential to help you understand how much you are capable of. Learning tools to help you troubleshoot and stay on track when things are not going as planned and how to look out for wins when you feel like there are none are also essential features that we have built in to the program.

So, yes, exercise is important – but it is only one part of the whole package!

Related Articles

September – Stephen Knox

Stephen attends our ARC clinic weekly for PD Warrior group sessions and you will also recognise him from our Thursday online gym sessions.
He is tenacious in his commitment to exercise and fighting Parkinson’s and does an outstanding job putting into words his Relationship with Parkinson’s…
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Past, Present and Future, by Stephen Knox:
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“Writing a story about something that occupies your past, present and future…

June – John Lake

Looking back, some indicators of PD had been there for maybe up to two years before my diagnosis in April 2019. Principally my hand writing (I am R hand dominant) was becoming more and more laboured. Some eight months earlier I had decided to learn the violin, so the clincher became that I could not bow smoothly with my right arm, which became increasingly frustrating for me and my teacher. My father was afflicted with Parkinson’s late in his life, so all added up, the diagnosis was just a confirmation of what I already suspected.

January – Julio d’Escrivan

Julio is the perfect example of dreaming big and not letting Parkinson’s Disease put a ceiling on what you think you can achieve. Remember your goals and achievements are specific to YOU. Your marathon might be successfully walking around the block. Your Ironman might be climbing a set of stairs with more confidence. I hope you find Julio’s story as motivating as I did:
I am a composer of music for audio=visual media and a Senior Lecturer in Music and Sound for The Screen at the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire…

Responses

Tracker

Tracker

The tracker is designed to help you track the amount of time you spend in scheduled exercise each day. Scheduled exercise is activity you have prioritised in your day for health and to help slow your Parkinson’s down. This might include PD Warrior exercise, fast walking, golfing, going to the gym etc. It does not include incidental activity such as housework & gardening (although we hope this increases too). The aim of the tracker is to help you build an exercise habit and to keep you accountable, so try and enter something each day.
At the end of the 10 Week Challenge you can download and review your overall performance.

Tribe 365 Community Guidelines

Overview

The goal of the Tribe 365 community is to share relevant Parkinson’s Disease information and resources, and support fellow members through the highs and lows of their journey with Parkinson’s Disease.

In order to meet the goals of this community, it’s important for members to feel like they are in a safe place that is populated by people with shared interests. As such, we request that you read and adhere to the guidelines that follow.

Guidelines:

  • Respect the privacy and personal information of other members
  • Communicate with courtesy and respect
  • Treat others online as you would treat them in real life
  • Be tolerant towards other’s viewpoints; respectfully disagree when opinions do not align

Please do not:

  • Sell or promote any products or services without the administrator’s prior permission
  • Make personal attacks on other community members
  • Use defamatory remarks or make false statements against others
  • Post prejudiced comments or profanity
  • Bully or make inflammatory remarks to other community members

Consequences:
We will take action when we see someone violating these guidelines. We request that all community members report behaviour that violates our guidelines to a member of the PD Warrior Team.

Agreement:
By logging onto the community and activating your profile, you are considered to be in agreement with the terms and conditions listed above.