MOOSE JAW -- A Moose Jaw man with COPD has created a custom fitness centre in his backyard to keep himself, and others with respiratory diseases, active during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dale Roach was diagnosed with COPD more than a decade ago. He said staying active, eating healthy and staying on top of his medications are all crucial to his health.
“In a nutshell, COPD makes it difficult to breathe in and breathe out,” Roach said. “The more exercise we do, the better shape we’re in, the less oxygen we need to run our bodies.”
Roach usually attends a pulmonary rehab class for people with respiratory disease, hosted by the Lung Association, three times per week.
The pandemic forced the class to be put on pause. Roach didn’t want them to stop entirely, and he said the Lung Association encouraged them to stay active, so he recreated it in his backyard.
“We don’t have the machinery that we have in our exercise lab, so we make alternative stuff,” he said.
Roach built stairs out of wood, drilled pipe into his deck to make a pull up rack, made a weighted pulley system using sand and drilled resistance bands into a post.
He was able to take a lot of what he’s learned in the class and replicate the workouts in the backyard.
KEEPING EVERYONE MOVING
Roach invited a handful of classmates, who also have COPD or other respiratory diseases, to join him in his backyard three times per week.
“We don’t have self discipline enough to do it on our own,” he said. “If we don’t have the social aspect of it, we’re on the couch.”
“It’s more encouraging and nicer to have someone around to talk to,” Lillian Christman, one participant of the class, said.
They all stay six feet apart and Roach provides hand sanitizer and wipes to make sure everything stays disinfected between sets.
Gladys Pasquet, another participant, said she’s happy to have the group classes back up and running - even if they’re in a different way.
“[Exercise] is very important because it makes me breathe properly,” Pasquet said.
Her husband comes with her to every class to help her carry her oxygen tank, which Roach left plenty of room for when designing the backyard gym.
She said working out with a group of people with similar illnesses makes it a comfortable and understanding atmosphere, as everyone can go at their own pace.
Because the usual pulmonary rehab classes are held in a long term care home, Roach doesn’t expect to be able to return for a while,
Until then, he plans to keep the workouts going and the backyard open, and encouraging everyone to keep exercising.
