I started with Miranda on YouTube aging backwards for 60s  stretching and strengthen muscles for beginners 

So relaxing for me 

At 68 years old with my aging body I personally couldn't do what I use to do exercises so I googled and found a DVD called stretching and strengthen muscles aging backwards I will order on my payday

I was walking and out of no where my knee buckled so I YouTube and have been doing buckling knee for elderly and now my knee no longer buckles I have been doing these specific exercises for my knee which are all exercises for my butt hips and thighs 

I am amazed at all the tiny muscles which helps my bones ! 

Just sharing my physical healthy way to keep moving with pain for my walking and stairs to get in and out of my apartment at my age 68 

Only by Gods grace I am moving and grateful to be nicotine free TODAY 

Thanks for reading and one step in front of the other is daily exercise for me 

540am stretching and strengthen muscles exercises done 

Triceps exercises done 

Chair sits done 

I am grateful to be physically healthy and moving physically healthy ODAAT TODAY with everyone here 

Thursday up at 430am and prayed 

Stretching and strengthen muscles exercises done 

Triceps exercises done 

Chair sits done 

Attitude gratitude for others exercising odaat today

NotOnePuffEver with everyone here 

533am did my stretching and strengthen muscles exercises 

Triceps exercises done 

Chair sits done 

Very grateful to be physically healthy and moving ODAAT TODAY with everyone here 

Here, I'll keep track of my health. Just as keeping track of the data helped encourage me in my quit, I hope it will encourage me to stick with my exercise and nutrition.

I am new to this forum and just recently quit smoking, my last cigarette was Monday night at around 7.30 after dinner, May 22nd. I haven't had a cigarette in almost 72 hours! Yay!!  It's not easy as all of you know, but my question is....are there any pre diabetics/diabetics  here who have quit smoking?  I am a pre diabetic, I have been for about 8 years now.  I'm not on any medication, but I try to watch my carbs to an extent.  My A1C has been between 5.9-6.1 for most of the time that I was diagnosed.

Anyway, another question that I have is how do you quit smoking AND watch your carbs and diet? I am trying to watch my carb intake, but it's difficult because not smoking makes me so hungry!!

I hope this is the right place to post this in since I'm a newbie to this whole website and forums.

Thank you for helping me! 

Sandi

In field hospitals in Wuhan, patients were encouraged to practise Qigong — an ancient Chinese form of exercise incorporating focused breathing and gentle movement.

But while eyebrows may have been raised among some Westerners, Albert Yeung, an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School with a major in epidemiology, said Qigong was a helpful recovery tool for a range of diseases.

"First, to put this in context, Qigong wasn't the sole treatment for people with COVID-19," Yeung said.

"As a complementary treatment, Qigong is one form of mind-body exercise that helps to decrease your stress reaction, become more relaxed and produce more healthy hormones like endorphins.

"When you practise Qigong you undertake slow, deep breathing which helps to regulate the autonomic nervous system ... so this helps a lot with our recuperation and self-healing."

Qigong is related to the more well-known Tai Chi.(Supplied)

Qigong is related to, but distinct from, the more well-known Tai Chi (Taijiquan), a martial art that has been practised in China for self-defence and health benefits since the 16th century.

Byeongsang Oh, an Associate Professor at the Sydney Medical School and chief executive of the International Medical Tai Chi and Qigong Association, had studied the impact of both Tai Chi and Qigong on quality of life in cancer patients, and said they had similar health and wellbeing impacts.

"My previous research shows that the practice of Qigong and Tai Chi can reduce inflammation in cancer patients and improve their overall quality of life," Dr Oh said.

"After 10 weeks, in addition to standard cancer treatment, the Qigong intervention group showed improvements in fatigue, mood (anxiety and depression) and levels of inflammation biomarkers."

Mental 'game-changer'

Tara Brayshaw went from a high stress advertising job to starting her own Qigong and Tai Chi school.(Supplied)

Tara Brayshaw is the principal of JinLi Wushu-Tai Chi, a Qigong and Tai Chi school in Melbourne. She was drawn to Qigong 28 years ago after her own cancer scare.

At the time, Brayshaw worked in a high-stress advertising job with "crazy hours" and said she knew she needed to do something physical, as well as something that would help her "de-stress".

"Mentally, it was an absolute game-changer for me," Brayshaw said.

"It was the only thing I'd ever done in my life where I could only focus on it and nothing else.

"I got out of my first class and thought, 'I haven't thought about work for an hour'. I was completely hooked."

Under the tutelage of her master, Brayshaw went on to become the first woman in Australia to hold an executive role on a number of boards, including the peak body for Chinese Martial Arts in Australia, the Australian Kung Fu Wushu Federation.

Citing an additional range of physical benefits, such as increased flexibility and motion through her joints, Brayshaw said finding Qigong and Tai Chi was "the greatest gift I've ever been given".

Having established JinLi five years ago, she was now passionate about passing on her knowledge of the arts to her 250 students, many of whom arrived at the school looking for similar kinds of respite.

A 'sense of peace'

Paralympian Hannah Macdougall tried Qigong and Tai Chi after a string of unfortunate events in her life left her "flat as a tack".(ABC News: Jane Cowan)

One of those students is Hannah Macdougall, a dual Paralympian and bronze medallist who has represented Australia in swimming and cycling.

Macdougall, who was aiming to qualify for the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, credited Tai Chi and Qigong as one factor in producing some career-best performances over the past two years.

"I took it up several years ago, after I got back from a [cycling] World Championships where I'd had a crash," Macdougall, who was born without her right foot, said.

"I was injured and working through that. I put my body into a state of starvation and then put on 8 kilos, broke up with my boyfriend and found out mum had cancer."

Macdougall said she heard about the benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong through a podcast, from an elite runner talking about how helpful it had been for her energy levels.

"I was flat as a tack, so I googled it and found JinLi. I went along and felt so welcome in the class, it was just beautiful," she said.

"I really loved how it was so different to everything I've done before in elite sport; it's slow and I'm really bad at it.

"I had to put my competitive hat aside - I'm not going to be a Tai Chi or Qigong Master any time soon — but it really gave me a sense of peace."

Medication through movement

It's a sentiment shared by many more of Brayshaw's students.

Pauline Farrell says Tai Chi and Qigong not only helps her physically, but mentally, too.(Supplied)

Pauline Farrell, 71, took up Tai Chi and Qigong 14 years ago after spending a decade caring for her husband with cerebral palsy. She said she was initially interested in Tai Chi because she thought it may help with a prolapsed disc that forced her to give up tennis.

"My husband also really encouraged me to do it, to get out of the house. And I felt better, I had more confidence, was fitter, stronger, my back was getting so much better, I was socialising and meeting new and lovely people," she said.

"But it also helped me be a better carer for my husband: I was excited to go home after I did it, because I'd had that little break in the normality of my daily routine."

Farrell's husband died seven years ago, but she continued with her Tai Chi and Qigong practice because of other benefits she had noticed, like improvements in her memory.

"As I get older I need to learn to remember things. I had no idea Tai Chi and Qigong had lots of different forms," she said.

"It's so hard to remember everything, [but] it's one of the reasons I keep going, because it's good for my brain."

No-one can better attest to this than 35-year-old Loretta Bozelle, who sustained an acquired brain injury in a head-on car collision when she was 19.

Loretta Bozelle (front) acquired a brain injury and her occupational therapist recommended Qigong and Tai Chi.(Supplied)

After the accident, Bozelle had to re-learn to walk, and was heavily reliant on opioids for pain relief.

She lived with a permanent weakness down the right side of her body, and said her occupational therapist recommended Tai Chi or Qigong because of its "neuroplastic" benefits.

"I notice I have better awareness now, clarity and mobility," she said.

I'm on pretty much the lowest dose of opioids that I have been in a fair while, and I know Tai Chi and Qigong has been a big part of that. For me, it is medication through movement."

Bozelle has now commenced training to become a Tai Chi and Qigong instructor, and wants to educate others with disability or brain injury about "just how much it can offer them".

"I don't think I would be here without Tai Chi or Qigong. I have seen it change my life and the lives of a lot of other people. I want to be able to give other people who are in similar situations the same opportunity as me."

This is so good for putting yourself in a peaceful place ...

Seek it out on You Tube ....

Exercise Rule #1:  The #1 best exercise for everyone is "the one they either like enough, or dislike so little, that they keep doing it". 

Any exercise that you are unwilling to keep doing will provide no benefit no matter how well planned or applicable it is for your needs.

For years I would lift wts in a gym 3-4 months a year, get burnt out, then do nothing for about 9 months.  I once liked working out in a gym, but it no longer appealed to me.  So I kept quitting and restarting.  What finally got me exercising consistently was to find something I enjoyed (and I now haven't missed a day of exercise in 3.5yrs).  For me, that meant doing my workouts in the woods on a trail where I jog, do body wt exercises, lift and flip logs, throw large rocks, etc (and imagine I'm some kind of 60yr old Spartan).  The point is, if you find something you like, you are much more likely to do it consistently. And consistency is the most important requirement of any exercise plan. If you are doing something you dread doing, you need to look for something else or you will eventually quit.

I know I have got to get more active for sure!!

2 Cloves of Garlic.

2 Tbsp Of Lemon Juice.

2 Tbsp Fat Free Yoghurt.

Pinch of Paprika  ( optional)...

Blend the Chickpeas 

Add Remaining Ingredients and Blend Well....

That's it ....

Love it with Celery as a dip ...

These were the things i used to do .

Warmup
Pushups 120
Squats 20
Crunches 60

My last workout was in May 23rd 2020 .

So its going to take some time reaching those numbers once again .

I have gained some weight too .

So i am going to eat less and burn more .

Thanks

Does any one else follow a plant based diet, and  how do you find it? Do you miss meat? My husband was very sceptical as he loves his meat, but I have fed him meat free meals last 6 days, and he has no complaints,  enjoyed everything I have cooked and also says he feels better.

There are several apps that help you choose a local trail.  They'll even warn you if you start wandering off track.  They'll tell you how far you've gone, your pace, and your elevation gain.  Some of the more popular free ones are AllTrails,  TrailLink, and Cairn.

Get up, get out, and put those smoke-free lungs to good use.

There's a ton of information online concerning home workouts.  I'll just include one article, one video, and one book suggestion.

The article I'm linking to is: "The 42 best Bodyweight Exercises: The Ultimate Guide for Working Out Anywhere!"  I chose this article because it not only provides numerous options for bodyweight workouts, but includes progressions for beginner to intermediate to advanced.  Figure out where you are and get to work on getting better.

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-42-best-bodyweight-exercises-the-ultimate-guide-for-working-out-anywhere/   

Speaking of progressions in bodyweight training, I suggest the book "Convict Conditioning" by Paul Wade.  I'm not a fan of the whole convict shtick.  Put off checking this book out because I thought it was some silly gimmick.  Marketing gimmicks aside, this is a great book for those looking to get stronger without investing in a gym membership or home gym equipment.  The six exercises recommended and the progressions from beginner to expert are outlined in detail.  With time and a lot of sweat you can go from a couch potato to someone who's able to do pistol squats and one-armed pull-ups.

And finally, the video.  Not a lot of detail here, but gives you a good idea of how many options you have to get moving.

from the little that have i read and from quite a few videos i noticed that the problem of weight gain is what follows a quit. i am in the baby stage of my quit but i think it is good to keep the workshop guys busy. after all - an idle mind is the devils workshop, lol. 

so here is the plan (this is complimentary to the 'diet quit for the psycho quit keeper' and both must run parallel for effective results)

the idea is to get the body and mind so busy into exercising and diet control that craves becomes a non issue to them. yes, we play dirty.

ab exercises:

1. leg raise

2. m/climb

3. plank

4. b/crunch

5.v/crunch

6. scissor abs

now i am making up an excel sheet. the only pending issue is the number of sets that i can do without straining myself. so i will use the next few days to check out the same. once that is done i will start the 100 day work-out. 

the idea is to keep the mind and body so tired that they remain grateful for the needs and so they discard the wants - 'esp the 'want to smoke' feeling. 

feel free to add, share, suggest any other better ideas. i used to love doing 1,4 and 6 exercises but it has been quite a while now that i have worked out seriously. this is a good time to start again.

unable to attach word doc, need help in doing so. not urgent so you can take time in advising me on how to do it. 

Breathing exercises

Here are a few techniques, I encourage everyone to try just a few minutes a day to do a technique that feels good to you, its a case of experimenting as everyone is different but the rewards are worth the time.

Deep Breathing

Most people take short, shallow breaths into their chest. It can make you feel anxious and zap your energy. With this technique, you'll learn how to take bigger breaths, all the way into your belly.

Get comfortable. You can lie on your back in bed or on the floor with a pillow under your head and knees. Or you can sit in a chair with your shoulders, head, and neck supported against the back of the chair.

Breathe in through your nose. Let your belly fill with air.

Breathe out through your nose.

Place one hand on your belly. Place the other hand on your chest.

As you breathe in, feel your belly rise. As you breathe out, feel your belly lower. The hand on your belly should move more than the one that's on your chest.

Take three more full, deep breaths. Breathe fully into your belly as it rises and falls with your breath.

Breath Focus

While you do deep breathing, use a picture in your mind and a word or phrase to help you feel more relaxed.

Close your eyes if they're open.

Take a few big, deep breaths.

Breathe in. As you do that, imagine that the air is filled with a sense of peace and calm. Try to feel it throughout your body.

Breathe out. While you're doing it, imagine that the air leaves with your stress and tension.

Now use a word or phrase with your breath. As you breathe in, say in your mind, "I breathe in peace and calm."

As you breathe out, say in your mind, "I breathe out stress and tension."

Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.

This is just 2 but there are many more you can do on google and youtube and trusted medical sites.

I have just started doing Yoga and I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE it!

I always dismissed it before as I preferred more action and motion and to be honest was as flexible as a telegraph pole

but its great, I'm definitely more flexible but have a long way to go,  its surprisingly good at strengthening and toning and relaxing the mind, I like to mix it up a bit with some weights and a resistance band

So if like me you thought it might not be for you, you might just be surprised, I hope you give it a go 

You won't believe how wonderful they are !

I used a drinkable but, not expensive wine.

First batch was a Merlot for red and a Pinot Grigio for white.

Pour wine into a v. clean mason jar, 

add  3 tablespoons of a good apple cider vinegar with 'the mother'  to each cup of wine.

Cover jar with cheesecloth and rubber band.

Let sit on your counter for 2 months or until it smells and tastes vinegar-y.

Strain and save the new 'mother' for your next batch.

Decant into a jar or bottle with a tight fitting plastic lid or cork.

This stuff in unbelievably good !  Salad dressings, a dash in soups or stews, for a reduction sauce....

I can also avoid direct intake of sugars from tea , chocolates and juices .

I don't know what else i should do to reduce my blood sugar levels

Please help

Well, knock me down with a feather, all my results had returned to a normal range and I don't need to be prescribed the extra one.

Whilst I was there I told her about Quit Train and asked her to spread the word to potential quitters in her clinic.

The Tuck Shop Workout.

Target muscles...trapezoids, obliques, quadies, hammies, glutes and calves...how do I know...cos I can feel the bloody buggers yelling their protests.

Time... 12 hrs a day...for two days.

Exercises:

1. The Hotdog Roll / Melbourne Bitter Squats...let's put the cut up hotdog rolls in this tub on the floor...and the most popular beer on the bottom shelf of the drinks fridge. Then let's sell 300+ hotdogs a day...and 15 slabs of Bitters....(I'm not catching this year, nope I'll just do a couple a hundy squats in the tuck shop.) a slab is a carton of of 24 beers (a case is a box of 30 softdrinks, coke, Sunkist, solo, that sorta thing...this is important to know for Ron (later on))

2. The chip frier bane Marie lift n twist...works best if done contually for 7.5 hrs coupled with the hotdog roll squat, shuffle, stuff n bag, counter hand off stretch (or the 3 steamed dimmies in a cup fill and offload stretch)...lift the 2 kg basket of chips, twist and dump in the bane Marie...stuff the chip buckets stretch to serve...repeat. .in 2 days we cooked 380kg of chips (fries)....bonus to this work out is the fluid weight loss...dripping sweat...sure I lost a kg or two in fluid alone.

3. Get the chips....hauling 5kg bags if frozen chips out of the chest freezer.

4. The back kitchen chip dash...running from our tuckshop to the hockey club tuckshop next door to get hit chips from the frier in there before they burnt, or hotdogs or dimmies from the steamer.

5. Bar fridge twist n serve....stand at the bar, twist open the fridge, pull the grog and serve.. often coupled with a lunging stretch to make the EFTPOS machine reach from the tuckshop side to the bar.

6. The restock obstacle course and slab walk....(cos I'm kinda lazy) to save 10m of walking and climbing down/up 4 steps... Walk to the retaining wall, sit on it swing ya legs over and drop, open the chill trailer, climb in and drag the slabs to the front.. use on knee to prop the door...pull the slab out, stack them on the retaining wall, lock the trailer, climb back over the wall load up the slabs (so one carton either hand or one slab either shoulder or 3 slabs on top of each other in front of you) and walk back to the bar and load the fridge, grab 2 cans twist, slide on shelf repeat, in a lunge stretch to hold the door open and also reach where they are on the counter.

7. Clean up....scrubbing, and washing and scouring and sweeping and mopping.

So you want a good work out find a sport association hosting a 2 day tournament and volunteer in the tuck shop.