I was introduced to my guest today by a past guest who takes her forced exercise cycling online classes for People with Parkinson's (PwP). Forced exercise isn’t exercise at gun point which is kinda what it sounds like. It is exercise with goals of hitting certain higher watts or rpms (revolutions per minute) so you maximize your heart rate. In other words, it isn’t sitting on a bike and reading a book.

You may have heard of the now famous tandem bike ride that changed the way some think about exercise as a benefit to PwP. Dr. Alberts at the Cleveland Clinic was cycling on a tandem bike with a PwP. He noticed improvements in her symptoms after the ride in which she was forced to cycle the speed he was setting. After studying the effects of forced exercise, it was determined that this type of exercise may help improve motor symptoms and cognition. Of course, it helps with your cardiac health as well. 

Kathy Helmuth with Parkinson’s Cycling Coach explains it all - as well as the fun and social aspect of an indoor stationary cycling program. If cycling isn’t your thing, you will still learn a lot from Kathy. Or, you may end up online looking for a bike afterwards!

Kathy can be reached at [email protected] or https://www.parkinsonscyclingcoach.com/