Cardiovascular exercises

You should aim for 30 minutes of exercise on 5 days of the week but you can break it up into 10-minute segments. Don’t push yourself; you should be mildly breathless but able to hold a conversation throughout.

Treadmill 

We advise walking rather than running because the impact of running can make your pain worse.n Keep good upright posture. 

Keep speed gentle without overstriding. 

Adjust treadmill speed and gradient so that you are mildly breathless. 

As you become fitter, you may want to do more by increasing the duration or gradient. The gym staff will be able to advise you.

Cross trainer 

Adjust the settings so that you are mildly breathless throughout the session. 

Keep good posture in an upright position. 

Don’t hunch forwards. 

You can use arms and legs as shown, or you can keep your arms still holding the handles and just use your legs.

Static bike 

Adjust the settings so that you are mildly breathless throughout the session.Before starting make sure you adjust saddle height. This can be checked by looking at the following: 

When standing next to the bike the top of the saddle should be hip height. 

Sit on the bike and place the ball of the foot on the pedal and push down. When the pedalis at the bottom of the rotation your leg should remain slightly bent. 

At no time during the rotation should your knee be completely straight.

Rowing machine

We have included this exercise because it gives you a good workout but it must be done with good technique as poor technique can damage your back. We suggest you ask the gym staff to advise you on the correct technique. We recommend you do this exercise for no more than 10 minutes and do a further 20 minutes of CV exercise on different machines.

Hints and Tips:

  • Keep pelvis and back moving together 
  • Keep elbows close to body 
  • Don’t let your back round forwards when sliding backwards 
  • Move from your hip joints 
  • Use your legs

1 Starting position:Set the resistance to a low setting. Lean very slightly forward with your arms straight and shins almost vertical.

2 Movement / Action:

Push back through the feet, sliding yourself backwards

3 Gradually lean Back and finish pulling with your arms:

Finish with your legs straight and arms bent,elbows back as you pull through with your arms. Arms should be by your side with the handles pulled to your stomach.