Do any of you take glucosamine or any other type of joint medication?  I noticed one of my knees starting to pop, which it hasn't done before.  I don't want to waste my money if it doesn't work, but am wondering if I should be taking something for the cartilage?  I don't have any pain, just popping.  It's very annoying.  Not always, but sometimes lunges can cause a little pain.

Lucky you that there's no pain!  Hopefully you can prevent that from happening.  I know of people who try the glucosamine and feel it's helpful.  I don't take it because it's a bit rough on my stomach.  I've found that fish oil capsules  and a cupful of fresh or frozen cherries a day help me with inflammation/joints.  Maybe back off the lunges a bit and try to strenghten those quads and other leg muscles with matwork or other exercise options for a while and then try the lunges again.  HTH

I take Sam-e it is a supplement to help with joints and mood. I believe it is helping somewhat with the mood ( there is suppose to be something that levels the seratonin in the brain) But it also helps with joints, and I have not had much pain, if I do it does not last long- maybe just a short pain here and there. Anyways, you can read more about it online if you were to google Sam-e. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

I will also vouch for fish oil! It has helped my knees. I have never had popping sounds, but you also mentioned a bit of pain, which could get worse over time without proper intervention. I was having some knee pain and found a few things quite helpful! Doing more squats and lunges with proper form (getting the form right is trickier than it seems- your weight has to be over you heels for squats with your butt sticking out as though you are going to sit down, and evenly distributed between your legs for lunges) has helped strengthen the muscles in my quads, which in turn has helped my knees. When I started to do more lunges (when I bought Jari's Ripped and Chiseled) I realized my form was not correct on the lunges (even though I have exercised for years and years! but just had never done so many lunge reps all in a row), and I noticed some knee pain. Since then, I have corrected my form, strengthened my quads, and have added the fish oil religiously, and no more knee pain! I hope you find your solution to this and nip it in the bud. HTH!!! :) ~ work out woman ~ (:

How much fish oil do you take?  It seems I've heard this before, but haven't begun the regimen.  I assume it is best to take it with food?  I've been exercising since 04 and I think you're right.  I think somehow I did my lunge wrong and it caused this to happen.  I haven't really done more than a few lunges since and I've been taking it easier with my cardio.  I really want to fix it and prevent further problems/pain so that I can get back to my plyos and more intense cardio I miss.

I've been using glucosamine and chondroitin for 8 years.  They have sorted my knees and I can jump, lunge and do anything I like now. I have found that it works for about half the people who try it. You need to give it a two month trial at adequate dosage. If you are 8.5 stones or under the dose is 500/400mg three times  a day and higher if you are heavier.

Hi Fitchick,

My knees went bad at age 40.  Diagnosed with arthristis. Had some popping...but mostly what they call crepitus.   I was in pain all the time....lost muscle and range of motion in the legs.  I had been thin when it started...but without exercise I put on weight.  I became crippled up and disabled for about 3 years.  I was really, really scared and disapointed at my prospects for the future. 

I took Glucosamine and Chondroitin and saw wonderful results.  First time I tried it...I took only the glucosamine, but took it erratically, a tablet one day...and none the next....never the recommended dose or for a long enough time.  Then my knee surgeon encouraged me to take Glucosamine/Chondroitin....and this time I took the full dose EVERY DAY.  In about 4months I had dramatic improvement and could start rehabiliting myself....I had huge muscle atrophy, esp my right leg.   To this day....I still avoid high impact....why press my luck?

Eventually I was feeling well enough to learn bellydancing and flamenco.   I'm 54 now....pain free with full mobility and good leg strength....and guess what...I am STILL DANCING!!!!!  What a beautiful gift for someone who was terrified of the future at 40. 

Currently I take a liquid combination of Glucosamine/chondroitin/msm, plus vit C and fish oil.  Don't ask me what brands, that's not really that important...as many brands have a similar formulation.   I'm pretty sure Collage doesn't want this forum to turn into a place where peeps are here to hawk products they are sell.  Hopefully I'm not crossing a line by mentioning the generic suppliments I use.

Thanks to all and I think I am going to try some of what I've heard here.  W.O.W., what other ideas for strengthening the quads can you suggest?

Hi Fitchick,

I take only glucosamine (and not any chondroitin) in a liquid drink form, not tablets. The tablets did upset my stomach, but the drink does not. I think it does help with general creakiness, but I don't have arthritis or anything like that. My father-in-law took glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis. He said at first it seemed to help a lot, but then the effect sort of wore off.

Hey MLB, I've been looking for a bellydancing DVD.  I'm a beginner and don't want to do lots of spinning.  Do you have any recommendations?  Fitchick, looks like you've got lots of ideas here.  I take a fish oil capsule in the morning and at night.  I get "Arthritis Today" from the Arthritis Foundation and they say for people with Osteoarthritis, 2000 mg a day.  It apparently prevents inflammation instead of suppressing it.  HTH

Hi Katie,

Was just checking in and saw your message.  I'm taking a teenage girl to the theator tonight so short on time.  (I'm a school mentor and also a "big sister" in the Big brothers Big sister program.)   But tomorrow I'll look through my DVD's and tell you which ones I have liked.  I've got a couple of idea...but need to dig them out for the correct name.   Are you looking for instructional or more fitness orientated?

W.O.W.-thanks again.  I have started taking the two capsules of the fish oil after dinner and we'll see what happens.  I also did Michelle Dozois your Best Body Circuit on Saturday.  I still did the atomic lunges, but I was just careful to be more on point with my form.  No pain!!  Thanks a lot and I'll let you know in about a month if I am 100% better

Excellent Fitchick! I hope that all goes well, and I will look forward to hearing about your progress! :) ~ work out woman ~ (:

Hi MLB, Thanks so much for checking out your bellydancing DVD's for me!  I think more fitness oriented.  I've been watching recently Shimmy on Fit tv and doing some of it.  I really enjoy horsebackriding and think adding this to my program might help me be a more fluid and balanced rider.  I've checked out what Collage has to offer-read reviews but haven't been able to decide which one to go with.  Thanks again!

Kate,

It's tough with BD dvd's....it wasn't until recent years that you could find good BD dvd at prices comparable to fitness dvd.  The dvds were produced in limited quantities by dancers for dancers....and without a mass market....prices are higher.  It wasn't' until Jillina and Suhaila and others teamed up with Miles Copeland for the Bellydance Superstars tour that you started to see quality mass marketed ones.  Most of the dvd I own or are familiar with were produced before Mile's Copeland BD superstars.

I studied bellydance from a live class.   I was really into it more for the art form and creative expression than for fitness.  So my bias and purchasing of BD dvd's leans toward technique or choreography.   Of those two....I used the first category the most...those that demonstrated a large variety of moves and variations..and show how to layer moves over other moves for complexity.  Later on I did purchase some video's for fitness...but by that time...I was already had a facility with the dance that I could improvise to any style of music, so following a BD fitness dvd was boring to me.   So I stuck those to back of the shelf and instead just found music I liked and lost myself in it for an hour or so and when I finished really felt I good a good mind body workout. 


Here are a few of my favorite technique ones:

Absolute Beginning Bellydance with Delilah, also
Delilah Bellydance Workshop Vol's I, II, II

Delilah is wonderful and inspiring lady and dancer from Seattle.  These are instructional....rather than fitness or choreography.  But they are so much more than just showing how to do moves.  Delilah is truly inspiring to watch and to listen too.  She talks from the heart about the art of dance and what it means to dancers on a personal level.   I came away with so much more than mechanics.  From these it was the beginning of a journey where I would learn to listen and feel the emotional content of music and then be able to tell a story or convey emotional content through movement.   Her website is Visionarydance.com.

Mesmera's Garden
Zambra Mesmera - GypsyBellyDance
These are technique, both show lots of different moves and variations.  Only available from her website I think.

IAMED- The International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance....has a good selection of DVD's, and many of the ones I've looked at are very good for teaching technique.  My favorite ones are by Ansuya.  Ansuya is the professional dancer in the Kathy Smith BD workout.  The productions quality is good on the technique DVD's I've seen.  However...some of their offerings of live performances have poor production quality.  Not sure if they offer any that are fitness type.

Jillina - I have the three of hers that are offered by Collage.  These are mainly choreography....with instruction on some of her signature moves.  I enjoy these.  These are better if you have experience with BD already.

Amira Mor - Belly Dance Your Way to Energy.
This is a choreographed routine that takes quite a bit of floor space.  At the time I was using this tape I found it really fun, easy to learn, and gave a cardio workout.

My only recent purchase is one I got off Amazon called "Pop Lock and Shimmy" by Michelle Joyce.  This is an intermediate/advanced level drum solo instructional.  I like this one, lots of content...good instruction and production quality.   I noticed she has other titles available for beginning level and some appear to be technique and other more fitness type.  I'd look into her tapes, some of hers have a clip available to see if you look through the amazon reviews.

Hi MLB, Wow, great info!!  I"ll check these things out and also pick Collage's brain about what they recommend.  I do get a little confused about DVD's branded as being "instructional" over "fitness".  It seems as if the two should overlap but I've a lot to learn.  Hope you had a great night at the theater!    -katie

I do take supplements, including turmeric extract, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Regardless of this my knees do pop a lot, even tough there is no pain most of the time, and I still get cartilage problems that are painful at times. I am nearly 53 and I have pretty bad arthritis in my knees, but I really think it would be a lot worse if I did not take supplements.

For me, it as not only quad work but hamstring exercises that have stabilized my knees. I have done Leslie Sansone videos with kickback moves and lateral work, and also hamstring curls, hip/thigh adductor and abductor exercises on a gym machine. My knees were once so weak and wobbly it hurt to even get on an elliptical machine, and now I can do wind sprints on one. I credit my many hours of walking videos and carefully increasing knee work in the gym for this.

I'm not familiar with turmeric extract.  Where do you get it and how did you come to start taking it?