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Does anyone have any experiences to share in the use of free weights and relief of PD symptoms? I'll share one of mine to get things started. I started taking Eldepryl (5 mg twice a day) about two months ago along with my normal dosage of Sinemet 25/100 four times a day. The Eldepryl seemed to make me more sensitive to caffeine. My normal morning tea began to cause achiness and stiffness in my right arm. I switched to decaf, but found it hard to get started some days without my morning buzz. Sometimes I have my wife pull on my right arm to stretch it. Since she has better things to do with her life and it is rather difficult to carry her around with me all day, I started using a 2 1/2 pound leg weight on my wrist to stretch it. While sitting in my office or a meeting, I'll let my arm hang over the side of the chair to stretch my arm. I also take a brisk (well PWP brisk) 20 minute walk during lunch around a perimeter road circling our facility. The weight forces me into a cadence and a somewhat exaggerated arm swing. This reduces the stiffness and lessens the cramping in my forearm. After working in the yard all day yesterday, I had tremor in my right arm today ( somewhat unusual since up to this point I have not had substantial tremor). I'm wondering if this is fatigue related in that my muscles are beginning to atrophy due to lack of use. I purchased some 5 pound dumbells (the metal kind) today to try exercising to strengthen the muscles. Then I began to ponder whether physiology may have anything to do with why some people experience tremor versus rigidity as their first or dominant symptom. My thought is that since long, well stretched muscles tend to be more responsive (best for speed), they might be more susceptible to tremor. Those of us with shorter bulkier muscles might be more susceptible to rigidity, since our muscles are less responsive and might be slower in responding to the sequence of contract/relax signals from the brain. This would lead me to believe that strength training may reduce tremor, but aggrevate rigidity. Anyone have any experiences to share? Tai Che (spelling?) may actually provide a good compromise increasing strength while also increasing flexibility. Phil Gesotti (47/1) [log in to unmask]