How on earth do I get back into shape?!

[granfire]

Another case of getting old sucks.

Little back ground, things have been turbulent the last 2 years. among other things my sister got sick and died last spring. so most of last year, some ailment or another kept me from working out, I went one day, was sick for a few weeks after and so on. So this August I returned to work out, went 3 times, now it's going on 4 weeks (again) that I am under the weather. I keep thinking I should just sit it out, but gosh darn it, this is too long (yeah, gonna have to break down and see the doc, I know)

I gained about 20 lbs - not a bad thing because I was so skinny I about fell out of my clothes - but it's not fit weight....but a place to start.

Now here is my midlife crisis of the day: Damn this age, it was so much easier way back when... skip a week or 2 hardly missing a beat, now I miss a week it's like starting over.

Some days I feel like conceding, but that is not really an option, because the lack of fitness really makes me feel bad and not function well.

k, whine session over...tomorrow I go see the doc.

 

[Carol]

Very sorry to hear about your sister. That really sucks.

With a turbulent couple of years and training once knocking you out for 3-4 weeks, that to me doesn't sound like "getting old" or over-training. I'd be more concerned about symptoms of depression. Definitely see a doc.

Perhaps an exercise or activity for a change of pace would help? Personally I used to love to swim but got out of the habit for a few reasons. I took it up again this year and am forgotten how much I missed it

Best of luck to you. Hang in there and get some qualified people to help you, one way or another things will get better. :asian:

 

[d1jinx]

sorry about your sister.

As for the working out thing, when you get an answer let me know. I travel alot and can't always work out consistantly. I try the gym, but its not the same. And it seems that life keeps getting more hectic and my training takes the back seat. good luck and I'll bereading to see what others say.

 

[granfire]

thanks.


well, i was on medication when my sister first was diagnosed (breast cancer) and I took it for a while, but it seemed this summer I did not need it anymore, not sure, but I am doing ok mentally, it's just that really the body has given out, long lasting colds and stuff, one after another. My Mom btw had the same thing, weird year it was.

I had gone down to about 116 pounds during this time, way to low to have any type of muscle tone or strength. Now I am back to a good weight, but it's not fit weight (my butt got big )

and I have bronchitis or what ever this bug is. sigh, I hate being in this sad a shape!

 

[jeorf]

First, I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. D@mn disease....

Here's my thought, "One foot in front of the other." It's really hard to come back from time off, lost endurance, etc and from great emotional upheaval. Give yourself a break - it'll take a little time to get back to where you were. It's ok. Your entire life isn't going to be the same anymore so why should your martial arts be? You'll be good - just take your time.

BTW, if you are a woman, highly recommend enrolling in the Sister Study. Just do a search - it's for sisters (obviously) of women with breast cancer - they're studying environmental stuff. It's a fairly involved initial start up (you have to collect dust and toe nail clippings and such but nothing invasive) and paperwork over the years. (And they send you a nice card if you get diagnosed yourself, I unfortunately learned )

Best to you.

 

[blackxpress]

This sounds like a more serious problem than just age and being out of shape. Training one day should make you sore. It should not make you sick. You don't say how old you are but I quit training for a year when I was 50. Came back at age 51 and dealt with a lot of soreness, poor cardio, lack of stamina, etc. but it didn't take me long to get back into shape and it sure didn't make me sick. Now I'm 52 and in the best shape of my life. We've got a lady at our dojo that started training for the first time at age 55. That was 3 years ago and she's in fantastic shape now. IMHO you need to see a doctor ASAP. What you describe sounds much worse than just being out of shape. You might have a serious medical condition. Do yourself a favor and get yourself checked out. And let us know how you're doing. Oh, and as everyone else has said, real sorry about your sister.

 

[granfire]

First, I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. D@mn disease....

Here's my thought, "One foot in front of the other." It's really hard to come back from time off, lost endurance, etc and from great emotional upheaval. Give yourself a break - it'll take a little time to get back to where you were. It's ok. Your entire life isn't going to be the same anymore so why should your martial arts be? You'll be good - just take your time.

BTW, if you are a woman, highly recommend enrolling in the Sister Study. Just do a search - it's for sisters (obviously) of women with breast cancer - they're studying environmental stuff. It's a fairly involved initial start up (you have to collect dust and toe nail clippings and such but nothing invasive) and paperwork over the years. (And they send you a nice card if you get diagnosed yourself, I unfortunately learned )

Best to you.

Ah, I hope you are doing well. I have not been within the same time zone as her for going on 18 years now and she had a lot of things going against her, we were like fire and ice. She lived hard and burned out quicker than most I supposed. But I will look into it. My imune system has really taken a hit from the stress.

I have still to work on it to allow myself to not be top of the class or trying to keep up with it.

 

[Lynne]

Sad about your sister. Life is so hard at times.

Regards the age thing/being out of shape, I'm 52, and there is always something going on. I get elbow and wrist tendonitis. Tendonitis seems to hang on for about 9 months.

I have a stress fracture of a metatarsal. That was from doing jumps in class where we were trying to bring our knees to our chest. I was teaching a kids class two nights back-to-back. This injury happened in March and hasn't healed.

I have bunions, flat feet and hammertoes. That mess interferes with squat thrusts, jump squats, running, etc. My balance was awful because of my feet but I've overcome most of the balance issues thanks to our Pyung Ahn forms and two plus years of training.

I don't warm up very fast which irritates me. I still feel quite stiff after our warmups.

Perimenopause adds a retardation factor, lol. Sometimes I lose focus in class, almost like I can't hear instructions. I wondered if I was suffering from low blood sugar. But I think it's hormones.

On the otherhand, my Sa Ba Nim told me I did very good on my test this past Saturday. I know he wouldn't say that unless I'd done very well.

I have to work harder at my endurance than the teens who participate in sports, but I also have more endurance than a lot of the teens. They die in sparring; I don't...usually.

We have people with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. One of my classmates is around 70 or older.

If you have a passion for your art, you can succeed and surpass your expectations!

 

[Lynne]

About getting in shape - I would work on my forms first. I'd do them daily. They are a quite a workout if done with the preparations and deep stances required. I try to do all my forms continuously. It leaves me breathing hard (and helps build the muscle memory us ol' farts need.) Secondly, I would would do some push-ups, crunches, and leg raises daily. Not necessarily a lot of reps because you want your muscles to recover. Thirdly, I'd hold the horse stance during TV commercials. Fourthly, find some kind of cardio activity and practice intervals, just for ten minutes or so. Intervals will build your endurance quicker than steady-state cardio.

If you can only do one thing, I'd go for practicing forms as much as possible.

 

[Jade Tigress]

thanks.


well, i was on medication when my sister first was diagnosed (breast cancer) and I took it for a while, but it seemed this summer I did not need it anymore, not sure, but I am doing ok mentally, it's just that really the body has given out, long lasting colds and stuff, one after another. My Mom btw had the same thing, weird year it was.

I had gone down to about 116 pounds during this time, way to low to have any type of muscle tone or strength. Now I am back to a good weight, but it's not fit weight (my butt got big )

and I have bronchitis or what ever this bug is. sigh, I hate being in this sad a shape!

i'm very sorry to hear about your sister, my deepest condolences.

this sounds like the physical toll of stress to me. i've been dealing with the exact same thing for some years now. you may think you're doing ok mentally but your body is telling you otherwise. also, statics show that people who take anti-depressants have a 90% chance of relapse if they stop. not fun to hear, but it happens.

definitely see your doc, you may also want to consider some counseling or a support group.

best wishes and please keep us posted.

 

[dancingalone]

Are you eating well-balanced small meals, Granfire? I find as I get older, the saying you are what you eat becomes more and more true. I do get physically sluggish now if I don't take care of my body and make sure it receives the proper proportion of nutrients when it needs it.

I now graze throughout the day on plenty of vegetables, fruits, and small amounts of grain. I like red meat, but I limit myself to perhaps a 4-6 oz serving a day, and I try to eat more wild meat and chicken instead.

I'm not a "crunchy granola" type, but my doctor recommended a change in my dietary habits. I resisted it at first, but so far it seems there may be something to it after all. My occasional hay fever outbreaks seems to be less severe, and I'm not finding it hard at all to remain within my ideal weight range. (As a *sigh* former devoted carnivore who had a sweet tooth, I had to workout a LOT to stay fit.)

 

[granfire]

Well, I think I floored the doc because I left this cold linger so long

I need to clean up my food act, working on this constantly. It's kinda tough, when you really don't want to eat to eat something good. But I have pretty much banned sodas and junk food from the house not regarding the Hunny Bun I had for breakfast....


keep the good stuff coming. doing forms is a great idea! Never thought of it.

Well I did, but not for fitness reasons. Seems like I forgot ALL of them....oh sigh. life is a journey!

 

[Miles]

Sorry to learn of the passing of your sister!

There's been a plethora of really good advice. I agree that the first stop should be to see a doctor and get the medical OK to get back into your training.

When you do return to training, resist the urge to do too much too soon. I like the suggestion about doing your forms-if you do them extremely slowly...(and I mean Tai Chi-like slow) you can get a decent anaerobic workout.

Good luck!

 

[KELLYG]

Granfire,
I am sorry for your loss. I had a similar situation when my Mom was diagnosed and eventually passed from Cancer. Some of what is going on is depression. I went through a long bout of that when my mom was ill. I really did not want to do anything much less go to a strenuous Martial Arts class. The depression made me feel sore and tired all over as well as killed my motivation. My immune system stayed weak and I caught every cold etc that came along. I had to take antidepressants for a while as well, there is no shame in that at all. As a matter of fact it takes real strength to say I need help and to accept it.

I did tell my Masters what was going on so that they would understand that I was not being a slackard. I then changed how I viewed training. I went more for therapy then anything else. They understood and allowed me to "do my own thing" for a while.

The most important thing that I did for myself. I allowed my self to feel. I know that sounds weird. But when I was mad that cancer took her I allowed my self to me mad. When I was sad, glad etc I gave my self permission to feel these things. Hospice also offers grief counseling that to some is very helpful. Just like the old adage says time heals all wounds, it just sucks waiting till that happens.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Granfire,

One big electronic hug from me to you.

You certainly have had a rough spell and my condolences to you for the loss of your sister.

I am going to echo Lynne: run through your forms daily. It is a great workout, burns calories, and requires no special equimpment; just a bit of floor space. Before doing your forms, stretch a bit and warm up a bit. Focus on doing your forms correctly and with power and control.

This will not only give you a nice workout, but it will also help you to spot any trouble areas with technique and work to improve.

On the plus side, you are in class and posting here on MT, so you still have your head in it. My hat's off to you!

Daniel

 

[Live True]

Granfire, I add my condolences for your sister and the challenges life has handed you in the last year or so! Being overwhelmed by life can truly affect your physical health in so many ways. Have you ever heard of a stress relief headache? It's a known phenom where a stressful day or week will often end with an intense or simply annoying tension headache. I couldn't find any quick links on why these type of headaches occur, but I and my hubby have both had them. I'm wondering if your recent bouts of illness are similar? Now that the crisis is past, your body is catching up to all the stress it's been through in recent months. Still, as noted, a doc visit to rule out anything more severe is not a bad thing. Glad you went to see him, and I hope he did a thorough check up!

Second, so many of us want to go full bore with things we love, particularly after a long absence. Patience not being one of my better virtues, I had a really hard time getting back into things after giving birth to a beautiful baby daughter. I simply did it one day at a time, little by little. I started by doing some daily stretching and slow forms (yoga was a great way to gently get my body back in flexible and strong shape). I also added a daily walk with baby (which was good for sanity breaks for us both!). I then moved up to some crunches and pushups on a regular basis. I chose to pick one or two things each week that were challenging and do it/them daily until I was comfortable with my performance, then I'd add something else.

I also choose to do things that didn't require a gym, or that I could alter and do with baby, etc For example, I did sit ups (once doc released me of course) with my baby sitting on my chest, and I did squats while holding her. She was a good start to use for chest presses as well. I think we highly underestimate the benefit of body weight exercises for getting in shape. It was kinda fun to find active ways of doing the normal daily routine to help me get back into shape.

I wish you luck and hope you start feeling better soon!