Catch 22's.....

[squire_liz]

See, I know that a lot of my physical issues would be helped by exercise. It would help me loose weight, help relieve stress, give me more energy and help my body function better

Comments

[queenmaggie]

Yup. I hear you. I've reached the point where, when I 'power through" like I used to, I'm paying for it for a week, rather than the day or two it used to be. Research now shows that there is a problem in the muscles, that the lactic acids and other by products of stress on the muscles just don't clear the way they're supposed to certain genes get turned off. -And so many people think "It's all in their heads.." just because they've never experienced it, and so can't really imagine it. But until there's a physical test to "prove" the problem, too many people have taken advantage of terms like "fibromyalgia" and "CFIDS" so those who really do have them aren't being believed.
Swimming has been the only exercise I can return to and keep doing without causing worse damage.

[night_elf]

Your best bet is to start slow. Can't run? ok, walk. Just walk until you're no longer comfortable. Even if that is only for 10 minutes, 10 minutes is better than nothing. Go for a 10 minute stroll after dinner. The more you walk the longer you will be able to walk. Also, as maggie said, swimming and water aerobics are amazing low impact workouts. Listen to what your body is telling you it can and cannot do and work around it. Nobody should expect you to be able to run marathons and doo 100 situps right off the bat.

[alison_may]

This is really good advice. Who says you should have to be able to do a full workout straight away? Who says you should have to at all? I have recently lost a stack of weight and the only exercise I did was walking and cycling. I started with a very slow walk and worked my way up to the bike.
Walking is all you really need to do. Start with 10 minutes at a time and work your way up until you can walk for hours. Start at a slow stroll and over time you will find you can go faster and faster.
Water aerobics is also really really good. You will find a lot of elderly people there because its virtually the only exercise they can do, and as you get better you can increase the intensity of it all by yourself.

[goodgothgirl]

I agree with both these folks. They said what I came here to say. Carry on. :)

[cozit]

I agree with those guys... with the (well, obvious for me) caveat that you need to look around and see what you *can* do... even if it's just for those few minutes. And listen to your body when it tells you "no" with pain - if you ignore that, you're more likely to end up not doing anything for a while.

Hey, I'm up to walking again for real a few times a week, most weeks (allergy season = more joint, including ankle, pain right now). But if I ignore the ouch... or attempt to... I'm back to the *no* walking bit where it's painful just to do the bare minimum to get around for *way* too long, and no real exercise.

[apathys_girl]

I love water aerobics. Between it and Tai Chi, I was the happiest I've ever been. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find either that fits into my work schedule so I treadmill when I can and use the gym when I can.

[heldc]

Oh my goddess do I feel you on this. I've had a back pain thing since last summer, and I really screwed up my ankle about two months ago. I used to think nothing of walking several miles at a go, and I had to explain to Thane that walking 5 blocks to the grocery store was out of the question. He suggested 'just doing it anyway'. I spent 6 hours sitting on the floor cleaning on Tuesday, and I've been paying for it all the rest of the week. Just doing it anyway is not a workable plan.