Tuesday, February 17, 2009
“It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment”
Marcus Tullius Cicero may very well be right, but without muscle we can't do much in life either. And as one with a chronic illness I am noticing my muscles withering away! I feel the atrophy - weakness especially in my core (abs, backs, hips - stabilization muscles) ... which I think adds to my pain. So, my question is ... how do you limit the muscle weakness without over doing it? I've seen a few posts lately about pushing through and overdoing it -- we all think we can do more and then pay for it later. It's a hard lesson to learn and I don't want to ignore those lessons ... I'm learning to say "no" and to limit my activities to one per day, I'm learning to take breaks and naps and recouperate. That with the everday activities that must go on (getting my son out of bed, feeding him, feeding myself, taking my medications, getting us both dressed, cooking dinner, etc., etc.) leaves little energy and time left in the day. So, how do you guys limit the muscle loss without going into 'overdone-it mode'??? Any thoughts, ideas?
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4 comments:
That is the ultimate CFS question, isn't it? How to stay in shape and avoid deconditioning (which makes our symptoms worse) without overdoing and crashing (which makes our symptoms WAY worse!).
As you probably learned from your exercise test, we can handle anaerobic exercise better than aerobic. So, in theory anyway, we could do some light weight training without causing a crash. On my better days, I do this by doing just one or two exercises at a time at different times during the day. So, I might do 2 sets of abs crunches in the morning, 2 sets of push-ups a couple of hours later, and some lunges awhile later. That way, I'm building some muscle without raising my heart rate too much.
Of course, that's the theory. The problem is that most days, as you said, there are all sorts of other activities that "count" as exercise for us. Today I went to the grocery store, so I need to skip my walk around the neighborhood. Making dinner, going to the store, even sitting up for too long at the computer - it all counts as "exertion."
The good news? A couple of recent research studies cheered me up. Although you need more exercise to lose weight, it takes only 22 minutes a day to keep your heart in shape and prevent all sorts of health problems - and that 22 minutes can be broken into 5 or 10 minute pieces! Hurray! Two 11-minute walks are something I can often handle!
The other study I recently read said that yoga is not only good for increasing flexibility but it also builds muscle. On most days, I can manage 20 -30 minutes of yoga. Hurray!
And, the strange thing about CFS is that, by routinely staying within our limits and preventing crashes, we can actually improve our stamina by VERY gradually increasing our exercise.
So, we do what we can and make the best of it, right?
Sue
Sue~
Thanks so much for your great insight! I'm still adjusting to the new definition of exercise, but you are right ... a little bit here and is a great way to tackle it.
thanks again,
~Pamela
I worry about this one too. I can see my arms and legs are starting to look almost wasted in comparison to how they used to be. And, like Sue, I get one longer, or two shorter walks a day, if one of those happens to be the supermarket then that's it.
I used to swim but just getting there and getting changed is almost too much. I try and stretch every morning and do some Pilates core exercises the physio taught me to protect my back.
If I could afford it I would have one-to-one Pilates sessions. There's one near me called 'modified pilates'. This means the instructor is a qualifed physio also. I would have to build myself up though to make a half hour session.
People think I have an eating disorder when they see me. I am withering away fast and it's so upsetting. A few weeks ago I would have to lay down after walking up 6 stairs in our split level house. I'm not sure what to do myself. Maybe it's just something that has to be sacrificed during the healing process until I have the energy to do more.
Do heart palpitations count as exercise? LOL
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