JAMES®: A Complete Programme

One of the pillars of Feel+^® is the JAMES programme. JAMES stands for Jogging or Walking, Abdominal (stomach) exercises, Muscle-building (weight training) Exercises and Suppleness. Think of them as being your new coach!

JAMES has been designed as a balanced and whole programme specifically tailored to the abilities of men being treated with hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Ideally, you should perform all the exercises recommended in order and not pick and choose from the programme. Talk to your doctor or nursing team, however, if you find any of the exercise particularly difficult to perform or need additional guidance.

What Is JAMES?

J for jogging also includes walking: 30 minutes daily is a minimum. Ideally, for your heart and lungs, you should make three to seven trips of 60 minutes per week.

A for abdominal (stomach) muscle exercises. Good stomach muscles mean a stronger back, improved stature and a little less belly!

M for Muscle-building Exercises. These are not designed to make you a fairground wrestler. It is intelligently applying all your muscle groups (legs, arms, shoulders, back of the neck) and strengthening them.

S for Suppleness, which will make you more mobile and more comfortable. It can also help to reduce stress.

Improved endurance, strength and suppleness can be achieved by following the JAMES programme. The outcome is up to you and depends upon your motivation, attendance and application to properly perform the recommended exercises and movements. Two exercise sessions per week is the minimum; the goal is three to four exercise sessions per week.

The Three Pillars Of Practice 

You will find many tips in the Feel+ programme help you perform these exercises. Here are the three basic rules to remember:

• Just as all the components of the overall Feel+ programme (Get Moving, Eat Well, Your Wellbeing) are inseparable, it is intended that you should perform all the JAMES programme exercises at each time, without picking and choosing from the list to suit your tastes or the difficulty.
• The key is consistency. Your body will only benefit and overcome the discomforts of the treatment if you perform the exercises at least twice a week, the goal being a weekly rate of three to four exercise sessions.
• Apply yourself. An exercise session should last between 40 to 60 minutes, do not shorten it. Regularly re-read the descriptions for each exercise and watch them being performed in the video or get help from a coach or physiotherapist. You can easily pick up bad habits or postures otherwise, which will not only reduce the effectiveness of the exercises, but could also cause injury.

Can A Physiotherapist Help Me?

Some people like to exercise alone, while others may feel that they need to seek help, motivation and correction in performing the movements, at times or on a long-term basis. Apart from a trainer at a sports club, you can seek advice from a physiotherapist. Your doctor may prescribe physiotherapy sessions, which you can follow in a hospital environment or at a place near you. If you attend the hospital for physiotherapy, there is no need to go where you had your operation: there are physiotherapists in all the institutions, and some of them are specialised in urology.

You should have a choice near your home. In all cases, even if urology is not the specialisation of the physiotherapist who you meet, he or she is perfectly able to decode your programme and understand both the constraints of your condition and the best way to help you carry out your programme.

The Physiotherapist’s Opinion

Jean-Pierre is a physiotherapist who has been in practice for 22 years in Brussels, Belgium.

“I like patients who come to me so that I can help them work and not just so that I can work! The results are much better when you meet each other half way.

The programme was designed with input from physiotherapists, and even without that, I would not be afraid to say it is balanced, safe and potentially effective.

I have patients of the age of those in the programme, serious, attentive people, good but sometimes worried students: they are afraid of an accident, or an injury, which would weaken them… It’s good that they come to reassure themselves… before carrying out the exercises alone.”