By Lisa Snow
Personal Trainer & Group Fitness Instructor

This Valentines Day, you want to keep your heart healthy.  Doctors, physical therapists, and personal trainers agree you should do more cardiovascular exercise.  But what if poor balance casued by Parkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis (MS) makes it difficult or impossible to walk on a treadmill?  (Let alone run.)  Plenty of other good cardio options exist.  The recumbent bike is usually a good place to start.  Unlike a treadmill that keeps going whether you can keep up or not, an exercise bike stops almost as soon as you cease pedaling.  Your pedaling controls the speed – the machine only controls the resistance, which you can make harder or easier with the push of a button.  For total beginners, start with 10 seconds of challenging pedalling followed by easy coasting for the rest of the minute.  When the clock turns over to minute 2, do another 10 seconds of doable but challenging pedalling.  Try to continue for at least 10 minutes if you can.  After a few days or a few weeks, as this gets easier, you can do 15 seconds of serious pedalling at the beginning of each minute, then coast the rest of the minute.  Over the course of several months, keep adding 5 seconds each week.  Once you get to 30 seconds of work out of every minute, you’re ready to increase the resistance level.