Do you feel physically WEAK?

Well I have a good story:

On Monday I had my first appt with a personal trainer to help me with preventing my pre-diabetes from becoming diabetes! I've also started taking a nutrition class which is on Mondays. So when I finish the nutrition class, I go to see the trainer.

Okay. I'm a 62 year old female who has thought that my physical condition is poor. SURPRISE!

He, 'R', had me do 6 evalution tests, a Fitness Profile.

1 Cardiovascular
2 Flexibility
3 Muscular Strength-Bench Press
4 Muscular Strength-Leg Press
5 Muscular Endurance-Sit-ups/Curl-ups
6 Muscular Endurance-Push-ups

I scored High Superior in both flexibility and Leg Press! I leg pressed 300 pounds! That means I have the strength in my legs of a 20 year old female of my weight, 146!!!!! And the flexibility of a 20 year old blah, blah, blah!

For the sit-ups, I scored a Mid Excellent, if I'd done just 5 more, I'd have been in the Superior group. What I did was as many sit-up as I could in 1 minute. I concentrated on my form the first few more than speed, so I think I really could have done the extra five.

But at Mid Excellent, that is where females of age 25-(I think) score.... The other areas I still scored in the Mid Good scale.

I did good.

Now, R and I will work up an exercise plan/routine for me on Monday next week.

I have filled out a short term (2-4 months) and a long term (5-12 months) goal form. One of my short term goals is to look HOT for an up-coming family wedding I have to go to in late June. I haven't seen my family since 1997, so this is really special for me.

At my present weight of 146 I'm still about 25 pounds over weight. I'm small, or used to be anyway, and my BMI is still in the obess column.

I don't know why I'm so surprised that I have more strength that I "thought", but it makes me feel so good to know I'm not weak. Although I did fail on the push-ups, I didn't even complete one! So I have something to work on now, and I like it.

It is a lot of our thinking that gets us into trouble when we are depressed or anxious. I know, I've been there and back a few times.

For me I know I do my 'work' better if I have someone to be accountable to besides myself. Not in a bad way, but I lack the motivation a lot. Going to the nutrition class for 12 weeks, and a personal trainer and I joined a 6 week (or 12 sessions) of an aerobics class - where I'm with other people, I hope to gain the will power to go it alone when I need to.

I'm not working and have tons of time on my hands. I don't have to pay anything for the once a week nutrition class or the personal trainer. That is provided to me because my husband is retired military and it is something that the base here has going on right now.

They know that medical costs go down when people are fit, healthy, active. It is wonderful to know about such support groups that are available. The aerobics did cost, but not out of my reach. And I have met a wonderful group of women of all ages at the community based aerobics class.

Being connected is what is going to keep me working onmy own fitness and health.

Hey Beholden,

That's really great that your fitness test went so well & that you're getting all this at free of low cost. make the most of it.

I've always thought of myself as strong, and I am fairly, until recently I had to haul some major stuff out to the garbage. my 20+ year old microwave died, and it was one of those old massive ones, like they all were 20+ years ago. I had to carry it down 3 flights of stairs and out to the curb. I thought I was going to die. At one point I had to sit down on the stairs to rest.

Then my even bigger / older TV died. It was 18+ years old a big old 27 inch tube TV. I barely managed to carry it three feet to get it out of the way. I knew there was no way, I was carrying that down the stairs, so I called a male friend for help to come help me move it. I figured between the two of us we could carry it. Nope he took one look at it, picked it up and carried it away by himself. And he's not in particularly good shape.

Show me I have to really work on my upper body strength.

--splitimage

I hear you about the upper body strength....I've had to move our TV out away from the wall to dust and it is HEAVY. So I just raise dust bunnies now!

I used to have very good upper body strength, when I was a massage therapist. But that's a long while ago. I did that for 10 years. so I just built up muscle in arms and back....I'm really surprised that I tested where I did with that now. Well, it was still good for my age, etc. And if you don't use it you loose it!

Three flights of stairs carring anything big and bulky would cause me to have to sit and rest. You did good. I had one of those big ones too. Back in the day!

I'm making the best of the training and hope to have a better body both physically inside and outside and already, my mental health is improved a lot from but the exercise and the social aspects of it.

Thanks for your support.

Hey. Really glad that you are having a fun time with it :-)

The following website has a really good article on push-up progressions (when I started I couldn't do one but now I can do 5 nose to ground without a break):

http://www.stumptuous.com/mistressing-the-pushup

There is also heaps of other cool advice (like on chin-up progressions etc)

:-)

That is great.

Personally, I feel weak a lot of the time b/c of the fibro, but if something needs to be done, I can usually do it.

There were some health people here at work last week, to check our BP, weight, BMI, etc...and I always enjoy that their stupid BMI table never actually goes high enough...ha...but I'm working on it. I've been walking for 30 mins @ lunch, and doing some strength training at home. In the past 4 weeks I've lost 14 lbs. My goal is to get to 180 (I'm 5'8"), which I haven't been since I was in High School when I played Basketball.

Great to hear you are walking! It is so good for all of us, usually. 14 lbs in 4 weeks is a good loss QueenAccountant. Keep up your strength training and you will build muscle so that your metabolism revs up a notch or two! That's what I'm doing.

I did more weight training with the personal trainer on Monday. He had me show him how to use the machines! and then Idid the reps. I held the "plank" position on the floor mats for a whole 60 seconds! So I know I'm getting better after only 2 times. My hubby goes to see the trainer on Thursday pm, so I'm going along so I can do 'my thing' by myself.

Tomorrow night at 6:30 I have aerobics, (that's moi, doing the aerobics) which I skipped last week both days...and I was too tired after doing the weight lifting work again this past Monday to go.

I have to get used to being active again. I'm trying to figure out when the best time is to have a little more protein, before or after I do my work outs, in order to have the 'fuel I need to do the work and then recover. Anyone know? Think I'll post in the general forum about that.

Plus, the sun will be out again tomorrow and in fact all week - right through the weekend! Yeah! Happy Happy Happy.

Let's all stay motivated to be more fit!

The standard thought is to take protein AFTER workouts (the idea of a post-workout protein shake). The idea here is that during strength training the muscle fibers are ripped a little. After strength training (over the next couple days) you experience that delayed muscle soreness which is your muscles rebuilding to be stronger. Muscles are mostly protein so the thought is to take protein after working out so that your body has the protein that is needed to rebuild.

The thing is that since it takes a couple days for your muscles to rebuild (so the idea that you shouldn't train the same major muscle groups to failure two days in a row) it really isn't as crucial for you to get in additional protein in the hour or two after training that people (particularly bodybuilders) seem to think. It is more important to eat a balanced diet (with the proper ratios of good fats / oils, complex carbs, and protein) EACH and EVERY meal. And... To have 5-6 meals a day (with the total calories being what your daily intake should be given your aims).

But... Most people aren't as serious about it as all that (eating 'proper' takes considerable planning, time, energy, and $$$ not to mention force of will when you really don't feel like eating that meal right now...).

With respect on how to fuel your body BEFORE workouts things are, once again, controversial.

(I say go with the balanced diet thing and figure out how much time is optimal for you between meal and workout. You don't want to feel starving during working out (that would be the feeling of your body catabolizing / eating your hard earned muscle) but you don't want to feel bloated either. I workout early in the morning and a banana, small handful of peanuts, and cup of milo 20 minutes prior work for me.)

Your body can use different sources of fuel.

ATP / glycogen is stored in muscles and this is your bodies first choice of a fuel source. Since it is actually stored in the muscles it can be accessed quickly. It is most useful for things such as fast sprints / strength based weight training / maximal effort kinda stuff. The source of this is sugar / carbohydrates (so the idea of 'energy drinks' helping replenish this source). This source runs out quickly, though. That is why they say to not strength train for more than about 40 minutes or so.

Fat stores are a backup. Runners experience this 'wall' kind of block when the body is running out of the first source just before it switches to the second. This second source requires oxygen for metabolism (which is why my smoking impacts on cardio more than strength). This second source isn't as good at fast / explosive but can be sustained for much longer periods of time (e.g., marathons).

(A third source is your body catabolozing / eating your muscle mass)

So, while there are these two sources of energy the thing is that in practice your body uses a little from both, it is just that the ratio is different for different kinds of activity (e.g., strength is mostly the first, steady state cardio is mostly the second).

There was a study done where it was found that when peoples heart rate was within a certain range the ratio of fat to glycogen burning was much higher than when their heart rate was higher than the range or lower than the range. This range was dubbed the 'fat burning zone'.

As a result of this many people attempt to do 'steady state cardio' keeping their heart rate within the fat burning zone. Takes about 20 minutes for the glycogen stores to deplete and then the thought is that you are working most optimally for fat burning.

PROBLEM:

lets say that the fat burning zone yields a 60-40 ratio of fat burning to glygocen burning (at least until glycogen runs out).

lets say that working within the fat burning zone burns 100 calories per hour.

lets say that working above the fat burning zone yields a 50-50 ratio of fat burning to glycogen burning.

lets say that working above the fat burning zone burns 200 calories per hour.

Exercise for you: Which workout burns the most fat?

(ANSWER: Fat burning zone workout burns 60 fat calories per hour. Working above the fat burning zone burns 100 fat calories per hour. Once glycogen stores are depleated fat burning zone workout burns 100 fat calories per hour. Once glycogen stores are depleated working above the fat burning zone burns 200 fat calories per hour. Working above the fat burning zone burns more TOTAL calories from fat even though the RATIO of calories from fat is lower than the RATIO of calories from glycogen).

High Intensity Interval Training (periods of almost maximal effort then periods of backing off) in conjunction with Strength Training provides the best way to burn fat stores and build lean muscle mass. 20-40 minutes Interval Training 3x a week (depending on the intensity) in addition to Strength Training is most effective. Of course one needs to build good aerobic capacities in order to do the 'high intensity' stuff, but aiming for 'high intensity interval training' is the most useful thing to do with cardio if one wants to burn maximal calories from fat.

Consuming simple carbs before working out (or during working out) will help replenish your glycogen stores for an 'energy burst'. It will also result in less fat being burned, however. Some people swear by aerobic first thing in the morning before food consumption. That is because they are trying to deplete their glycogen stores by starvation. Working out while weak isn't such a good idea (one is more prone to injury). Also... If you do care about promoting lean muscle mass (having the energy to lift hard and workout above the fat burning zone to becoming a strong and healthy woman) rather than promoting skinniness (endless steady state cardio where your body eats your muscles rather than relinquishing those fat stores) then you don't want to be working out before fueling your body! If you don't eat regularly (at least 5 times a day) your body will catabolize muscle for energy rather than utilizing fat stores (once you get to a certain body composition at any rate). It needs to be able to depend on a regular calorie intake.

(Your fatigue might be because you actually need to be eating more calories now. I'm eating much more than I used to even though I'm still losing fat and my weight is remaining pretty constant)

:-)

Good plank by the way! Took me a few weeks to build up to 60 seconds!!!

That's awesome!

I always hated doing planks, but they're good to do. Have you tried doing them with an exercise ball? Instead of laying you forearms on the floor, you put them on the exercise ball.

Kim Johnson, thanks so much for the explanation...I understand the basics, but will have to really 'think' about allyou said. I'm working with a nutrition team as well as a trainer, so I'll ask them what is the best plan for me.

The point of the nutrition ppl is to lose weight-less than 2 pounds per week, by eatting the best foods for me to prevent diabetes.

The point of the trainer is to teach me how to work out.

I am working at all of it, and it is very time comsuming to figure out my food journal every day....which is required of me with the nutrition class. Has been very helpful to me.

Queen A....

Thank you for encouraging my "Planks". I haven't tried them any way but just on the floor, flat. But I do have an exercise ball from when I did physical therapy for my hip pain about 2 years ago. I love doing stuff on that. Hum? planks with the ball, sounds really challenging to me.

sounds like you are doing great and in good hands with your personal trainer and nutritionist :-)

Well, that's what I thought too kim j,

I'm getting upset over my trainer's lack of sending me my routine via e-mail! And he wasn't there last Thursday evening at 7pm for my husband's appt. GRRRRR! He had the day (night) off and didn't bother to phone us. And his voice mail is full, so no way to contact him until monday.

The guy at the front desk told us that the day off thing was switched on R, but that's no excuse, he has a phone! SO on Monday, when I go for my nutrition class, i'm going over to the gym and talking to him. I'm going to ask him to please type up my routine so I can continue to do my workouts on my own, like he and I agreed on. I don't reschedule with him until my routine gets too easy or I think I need more of a challenge.

As for my husband, I will reschedule him again!

I need at least 2 X wk for my strength training, 3 would be best. But that involves me keeping the 1 car hubby and I share to go during the daytime or pushing hubby to go at least 2 X wk in the evenings. Once I am comfortable doing the machines on my own, which I think I am, I can start to use our "home gym" equipement because I'll know how the muscles feel, how to know when I've over done or under done a workout.

In the mean time, Im walking and I do some of the core training on my living room floor and at the aerobics class too. I really love pilates!

Enough GGGRRRRing, wish me luck with being assertive without coming off like a Witch!

The trainer I had in the past was not very reliable either.

I took weight lifting a couple times in High School, and I've been through physical therapy, I pretty much know what I should be doing.

It's just the doing part that I struggle with.

I hear you with the doing part. However, right now I am motivated and really want to keep it up. Darn trainer! But I need to learn to rely on ME so I want that routine written out on a sheet of paper, so I have something to follow. Like he promised. I could have given him an incorrect e-mail address. or he just did not do it.

I think that would make it much easier, and much less time consuming and safer for me to know what weights I need for the different machines.

I had a few troubles with the guy who does my gym program, too. He stuffed me around a little (left the program at home 2 days in a row etc). Then turned out that he didn't even consult my previous program when he designed the new one and so my new one wasn't a progression at all. I'm going to give him one more chance...

I don't know that anybody can tell you how much weight to use. It is a matter of trial and error. Basically... See how many repetitions and how many sets you want to do in your program (8-10 reps for 3 sets is pretty typical) and then... Try it with a weight. You want to be really struggling to do those last two or three repetitions in a set. If you can do them then put the weight up. If you can't do more than a couple repetitions then the weight is too heavy so you want to put it down. It can help to write down how many repetitions of each set you complete (and the weight you used) so you remember what weight to start with next time. Then you also have a record of the progress you have made.

Well, I was the one who screwed up. He did e-mail the routine to me...to the wrong address because I wrote it down wrong. forgot to include the little number "2" in my own *&*^8 e-mail address.

So, now I have it along with his assessement of my heart rate etc. My resting heart rate is high, so that is what I'm working at improving. He has a short term plan/routine for me on paper. By the end of 3 months, I'll see him again and have him tweak it for my longer term goals.

I got a book from the library - it was in the new book section - the title is The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough. It includes 4 levels of fitness along with 4 types of exercises.

1 minute of stretching and deep breathing
2 minutes of core-strengthening
3 minutes of resistance
4 minutes of high energy aerobic training.

= a total of 10 minutes, so now I have another reference from which to pick. I love pilates!

I hear what you're saying about trial and error though kim. I'm just not ready for that yet.

Well, maybe almost I'm getting there, YEAAAAH.

Yesterday, as I was searching, struggled to find the right machines, and set all the seats and cams and looking at my paper for all the right weights, (1st time all by myslef) - I'm sure that I looked like a chicken with its head cut off!

I thought some of the weights he wrote down for me were a little light! He did say that I should be feeling 'the burn' or tired with the last 2 of the 15 reps. But I was tired when I finished the entire program. He left off a few of the machines that he taught me, the leg curls for one - but I can figure that one out by myself.

I'm feeling more confident already just writing this. I'm feeling impowered

Another one I want to add is the donkey kick thing....maybe I'll do that as a floor exercise though. Do you do that type of workout too kim? or do you work with just learning and improving weight lifting?

I think I'm ready to add 5 pounds to a few of the ones machines that felt too light already! But R has "the plan" for me for 3 months, by adding a second rep of 15, with extra weight and then after the 2nd month, going into the third, adding a 3rd rep and more weight. He said when it gets too easy, it is time to move up.

I did my thing last night, and my husband has his appt. with R tonight, so I'll go and do it again tonight. Then I'm hoping hubby will reschedule for Thursday evening again, so I can get in 3 times at the gym in a week.