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Being in the gym

Posted , 8 users are following.

andrea93419
andrea93419

hello! Today I went to the gym for the first time in a year for a gentle workout, only for half an hour to work my leg muscles.  I was very concerned that my heart rate become high very quickly, and at one point the machine paused itself for me to rest!!, however the strange thing was I hadn't even worked up a sweat or breathless!! 

I know as an Auto-innume condition our body doesn't know when it's over done it, but what would have happened if I'd carried on,???? Anyone else had the same experience?

many thanks Andrea xx

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Tastyron
    Tastyron andrea93419

    Posted

    Hi Andrea.

    i went swimming for the first time last week. Thought I was taking easy (trying to master the total immersion technique, not very well yet) but my heart rate was about 150 at times, my max being 160. Had to keep stopping for a rest but was surprised how quickly and easily it went up. 

    I have always been happy with my fitness usually but this condition has stripped me of all my fitness in about six months. Gonna be a slow but patient rehab methinks

    Ron

    • andrea93419
      andrea93419 Tastyron

      Posted

      Hello Ron,, me and you both honey!! I've had a physical job for 22 years, but my goodness I've become a wreck, as you say it's going to be a slow Rehab! Thank you for putting me at ease a bit, it's just the way it is now!

      Thank you 🤔🤔🤔 xx

  • EileenH
    EileenH andrea93419

    Posted

    If you haven't been in the gym for a year you will need to start from way down again! Inactivity leads to loss of muscle tone and bulk very quickly and you become very unfit.

    If you'd carried on? I think you'd have felt as if you had run the 10km! And wait until tomorrow to see what your body thought.

    What was gentle a year ago is heavy stuff now - build up very gently. Preferably with a day rest between sessions. You will be able to get trained again - but not as fast as you used to.

    • andrea93419
      andrea93419 EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you Eileen, it just came as a bit of a shock to see how much this illness has taken its toll on me!   #notamused .com 

      🤔🤔 xx

    • EileenH
      EileenH andrea93419

      Posted

      Some years ago a study was carried out in Arbroath in Scotland with a load of Marines who were stationed there at the time. On Friday they did a fitness assessment and then turned up at the local hospital to occupy a hospital bed in a ward there for the weekend - on bedrest only, no treatments of any sort, On the Monday they did another fitness assessment and this was repeated until they were back at the same level as at the start. It took 6 weeks - yes, SIX WEEKS.

      A friend of mine is a physio and very fit. She was in an ICU bed for 10 days because of a cerebral bleed - by a miracle there were no neurological problems but she couldn't even stand unaided after 10 days and it took months to get back to normal. She did tell me the rate at which you lose muscle tone and bulk when you aren't using muscles on bed rest - it's unbelievable.

      You've had PMR for a year and, presumably, not done much for a year - you will have lost most of the fitness level you had previously.

      This explains it - from a fitness coach: 

      "Many people go back training too soon after being sick and risk getting sick again due to pushing the body too hard too soon. Remember, after 10 days of inactivity the body can start to lose fitness so the longer you are out of training, the slower you need to take it when you go back.

      The first session back should be no more than 60pc of your maximum effort, you should be slightly out of breath but no more as you want to gauge your body's reaction to the session.

      If you are very sore for days afterwards then that is an obvious sign that you need to slowly build your training back up.

      Recovery is one important element of fitness that most people forget about; the fitter you are the faster you recover, so it's great to use this as a gauge.

      There is no hard, fast rule as to how much less you should be lifting or how far you should run, you need to be honest with yourself and assess how you feel both during and afterwards.

      The slower you build it up, the safer you will be. I applied this principle myself this year after a virus prevented me from training for the first four months, I went from running ultra marathons to zero and have spent the past few months building myself back up in terms of strength and running fitness – patience is key and that's the hardest part."

       

  • nick67069
    nick67069 andrea93419

    Posted

    Firs, congrats to a new start!  What you experienc is normal. Your high HR is a reflection of long sedatory period and it will disapear if you continue with regular exercise. What is happening, your muscle need oxigen and HR has to go up to supply enough of it.  It would have happened even without PMR.  What is really important is to watch your HR and use it as a speedometer. Keep it in 60-75% of your max HR, which means for us old falks, don't go over 125... at least not in the begining.  Your mind knwos what you could do, but your body is saying "not yet".

    If it is any concellation, I had the same when I started first time after PMR diagnoses. It went away over time, but I had to slow down.

    Try to google "total immersion". Go to ta tab for HR and read about zones... You should strive to stay in zone 1 for now.

    • andrea93419
      andrea93419 nick67069

      Posted

      Thank you Nick and Eileen, I'm glad to know this is 'normal' with PMR, I'm still on 7mg of prednisolone with a CRP 0f 13, however I feel so good at the moment that I need to try and regain some semblance of fitness! 

      Thank you Andrea xx

    • EileenH
      EileenH andrea93419

      Posted

      Not just normal with PMR - if you hadn't had PMR and not done this level of exercise for a year you'd still be struggling. 

      My warning though is to start by not training every day - building up slowly for me was also building up from 1 day in 3 to every day as well as only doing a very short/light day at first until I was sure I was not too bad the next. As long as the autoimmune part of PMR is there your muscles won't respond "normally" to training so you run the risk of soreness. It will come - just not as fast as it used to!

  • Oregonjohn-UK
    Oregonjohn-UK andrea93419

    Posted

    I can only confirm what others have said - take it steady!   Having been very active, and never had any illness, up to the start of PMR 19 months ago, it was a shock to discover just how 'unfit' I was.  Your brain says keep going but the body is screaming STOP.   My motto is the Tortoise and the Hare.  Don't do too much to quickly, a little more often is much better.
    • andrea93419
      andrea93419 Oregonjohn-UK

      Posted

      I have to say thank you all very much for the explanations of how my body is reacting! So I'm responding as I should  so that's good to know. I was sensible enough yesterday (which is unusual for me) and stopped after 40 minutes of what I felt was no training at all, except the high heart rate, and this morning I'm not aching,but I actually feel 'looser' than normal. So I know I always like to run before I can walk, however I'm going to have to take this very very slowly!

      thank you all so much

      Andrea xx

    • LayneTX
      LayneTX andrea93419

      Posted

      So nice to read these posts today. I'm struggling too.

      I rarely get my heart rate up though. I'm never out of breath, so it's so darn hard to figure it if I'm doing enough. But, my reoccurrence of Trocanteric hip from shoveling some weeds, thought it was easy, but weight put on leg was too much, so now I'm back to not much walking. Dang it!

      LOVE total immersion techniques! Learned that gosh, 12+ years ago. Ha.

      its so relaxing, and almost peaceful way to swim. 

      As far a weight/body weight exercises I'm just doing 5-6 reps, hope it's enough! I know...need to do perhaps several times a day, but I forget.

      Good or for you Andrea and all!

    • andrea93419
      andrea93419 LayneTX

      Posted

      Hi Layne, yes this site has been fantastic today over the 'gym' issue!! Good advice from people who know!!

      Andrea xx

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