I'm such a weakling: Fitness advice needed

[Jean in Newcastle]

Background (forgive me if some of you already have heard this ad nauseum): I've was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 16 years ago. I had treatment from many doctors - some mainstream and some really weird. I had some relief with an extreme diet (no wheat, sugar, corn, eggs, dairy) but then last year my pain got so bad that I was almost an invalid. I spent many days sitting in my favorite arm chair. I slept there at night too because it hurt too much to lie down. I decided to try again with a new naturopath. This one has been a lifesaver. She did a slew of blood tests and discovered that I was severely deficient in vitamin D, had thyroid problems and adrenal problems. There may be some other problems too but those were the biggies. Medically, my vitamin D level is now normal (hooray!), my thyroid is normal at the last blood test and my adrenals are getting better but are still not normal. Other than a few flare-ups, I'm pretty much pain free.

 

I've never been athletic and even when I was thin (up until the end of college), I still was not actually fit. I need to lose 50 pounds. (I'm not going to deal with food in this post - just the exercise angle but I am trying to "eat clean"). In the past (probably due to the vitamin D issue) I would get injured extremely easily. Every exercise program I tried ended with tendonitis. I even got pretty badly injured getting a massage. Now that my vitamin D issue is resolved I decided that I want to slowly work on rehabilitating my muscles and tendons.

 

Ten weeks ago, I started to exercise. I exercise 6 days a week. I have broken my 6 day regimen just once in the 10 week period and I'm intensely proud of my self for starting to make exercise a habit. I started literally at only 5 min. of exercise a day. I was in a lot of pain the first couple of weeks with sore muscles. Slowly, slowly I've built up so that ten weeks later I'm now able to do a 20 min. light exercise work-out. I use the "Malibu Pilates" machine which is basically a chair with a spring-loaded level for resistance training.

 

I've done the 20 min. workout for 1 week. I feel pretty exhausted afterwards - this lasts for a couple of hours. I've had some muscle soreness - esp. in my triceps (the weakest part of my body).

 

Last night when I did the 20 min. workout I almost was throwing up by the end. I might have been dehydrated. I drank 3 big glasses of water before I felt my lips weren't like prunes anymore. Dh thinks that I might be exercising too hard and maybe I should back off. I'm afraid of losing momentum. What do you think?

[Cathy in SoCal]

After all you've been through, 6 days a week is quite a bit. But, of course, I applaud you for your great effort!

 

It does sound like you were dehydrated. My performance with and without adequate water prior to exercising is drastically different. I can hardly get through my workout w/o 1-2 glasses of water first, and I feel like Wonder Woman when I do have it. Water is incredibly important.

 

Don't be afraid to give yourself a day off in between work outs to give your body time to rest and rejuvenate especially with your history. You're in it for the long-term. It is a life-style change, so keep telling yourself not to worry about results right now. If you change your life-style, the changes will come. You can count on it.

 

Bless you!

[Penelope]

Maybe you were dehydrated. I get nauseated when exercising and slightly dehydrated. The other time I get really sick exercising is the first few weeks of pregnancy-- it has happend every time, even before I get a positive test. Just throwing that out as a possibility. :D

 

I had a friend with fibromyalgia, the last place we lived. She did a lot of water aerobics and swimming and said her doctor recommended that. I know people with arthritis also swim for exercise to minimize strain on the joints.

[Catherine]

I really applaud you for your efforts and hard work. I think it makes sense to keep going and do anything possible to not break the habit. My dh's heart attack 18 months ago was what got us going. It was slow going at first but we've stuck with it thank goodness. So my opinion would be to do anything you need to do to keep exercising, even if it mean shorter sessions some days, lighter workouts some days.

 

Hydration is key, I've found. I vote definitely keep the momentum going, back off for a few days if needed by lightening the workout slightly or shortening it a bit. Kudos!

[Carol in Cal.]

...I have heard that you should do it every other day. The day you do it, your muscles tear just a little, and the day you don't, they are rebuilt stronger than ever. So that is why trainers rotate which muscle groups they work if they work out every day.

 

Heart muscles are different, I don't know why, but 6 days/ week is OK for them.

[Jean in Newcastle]

What I did today which seemed to work. I did the workout I had been doing just previous to the new 20 min. one - it doesn't have the two really difficult exercises for me. I assume that those are the muscles which are tearing because they are new muscles to be worked and thus they are the ones which are sore afterward. So my new routine will be: new routine alternating with old routine.

 

The routines are not just strength training but are a circuit training kind of thing that rotates strength training with stretching and cardio.

 

So - as a total newbie to this exercise thing. Am I supposed to drink water just prior to exercising? Won't that give me a tummy ache?