Exercise and Movement

If I could give only one recommendation, it would be this: Move, every day. After six years, exercise ranks first among all my methods.

What does the research say?

For no other method on this website is the evidence this good. In 2024, the Cochrane Collaboration, which evaluates medical studies independently, summarized about 150 controlled studies with almost 8,000 participants. Almost all forms of movement noticeably improve motor symptoms: dancing, gait and balance training, strength and endurance training, yoga and tai chi. No type of exercise was clearly better than the others. So the best training is the one you enjoy, because then you stick with it.

Whether exercise slows the progression of Parkinson's itself has not been fully proven yet. The large American study SPARX3 is looking at this right now, with newly diagnosed patients not taking Parkinson's medication who train on a treadmill four times a week for 18 months.

During exercise, the body also produces the hormone irisin, which has protected nerve cells in lab studies.

What I do

Since the summer of 2021, I have been training much more intensely. Every day I am active for at least 30 to 60 minutes, often longer, and almost every day I take a long walk. I can now walk eight kilometers in one go. My record is 12.5 kilometers in one day, walked during a city trip to Oslo in August 2026.

• Yoga: every day, following videos on YouTube
• Qigong: once or twice a week. I can recommend it to everyone.
• Kettlebell and dumbbells: alternating at home
• Cycling: about two hours through the woods, but only when it is warm enough, so from about 12 to 13 degrees
• Rowing machine: WaterRower
• Boxing and table tennis with the VR headset: deliberately with my weaker left hand
• Smovey rings: for arms and coordination
• Breathing exercises and ice baths: more under Sleep and Sauna

My videos to follow along

I use these videos myself:

What it does for me

Exercise improves my mobility, my mood and my quality of life. When I don't train for a few days, I notice the difference.

Effort and costs

The effort is time and discipline, every day. The costs are low: good exercise programs are free online, and a large, comfortable mat is enough to get started. For Parkinson's, a doctor can also prescribe physical therapy. But I think it is better to take action yourself.