Any suggestions for better exercise plans?

[xiphias]

'Cause I really need to be getting at least half an hour of aerobic exercise at least three, and preferably five, times a week. But every time I do half an hour of aerobic exercise, I can't catch my breath for about 48 hours or longer, and Primatine Mist doesn't really help much. Besides which, the stuff burns like acid.

Comments

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

i would be looking for non-aerobic exercise to do. it sort of seems like that whole unable to breathe imminent death thing might be a sign.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

My suggestion is start with 10 minutes and work up from there. Also, perhaps start with brisk walking (enough to work up a sweat) before switching to something more involved down the road.

I'm not talking about warming up for the workout, I mean start exercising with something your body knows how to do, only do it a bit harder than usual, and see if that allows you to ramp up your exercise more effectively than, say, taking up sculling. and burning out right away because it uses muscles in ways you're not used to.

[supergee.livejournal.com]

Have you talked to a doctor about this. Real asthma medications might help.

[tylik.livejournal.com]

In particular Singulaire, for exercise induced asthma, is amazing (if IEA is indeed what you have). It changed my life (quite literally -- I would not be able to do the kind of martial arts I do know had it not given me effectively greatly increased lung capacity).

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I'd avoid the aerobic for now and work on strength training and deep breating things, so tai chi and yoga or pilates that get you focussing on your breath and the movement of energy through your body, maybe working with hand weights to improve muscles also. With any luck, that will improve your stamina and help with aerobic stuff a couple months from now... swimming is pretty low impact for a full body workout, otherwise, and the moistened air might help (um, or make it ten times worse, I've no clue).

[lietya.livejournal.com]

If you can't breathe after "aerobic" exercise, it ain't aerobic. :) In other words, the whole point of aerobic exercise is to do something that's *not* pushing you past the comfortable-breathing level; since this is, it's failing at its purpose. Simple walking is a great form of aerobic exercise, and you can set the pace to whatever you want - one footstep per minute, if that's what it takes to be able to breathe. Swimming is also supposed to be good, although it requires a pool and all. Bike riding, if that doesn't push you too hard.

The trick with anything is to start slow; I have exercise-induced asthma severe enough that I almost ended up in the hospital from trying to run, and managed to go from "walking 3 miles an hour stresses my lungs" to "5.5 miles an hour is comfortable" by working up to it in teeny increments. Do 10 minutes of walking, then one day you'll feel up to 11 at a slightly faster pace, and so on.

I third the suggestion of real asthma drugs, too. The preventative kind can do a lot to strengthen the lungs; the ameliorates-asthma-attack drugs are literally a lifesaver when it's *happening,* but do little to prevent the next time (and aren't good to rely on over the long term). Azmacort and Qvar and Intal have all worked for me, but basically anything in that class.

[mrmorse.livejournal.com]

On the asthma drug front, albuterol works a hell of a lot better than Primatene. I'm with everyone else. If this is a recurring problem, get a prescription for a real asthma medication.

[cellio]

I would work up to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-5 times a week, but starting there seems like it's asking for trouble. Try 10 minutes 3 times a week and then start increasing length and frequency as you acclimate.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

The problem is, I was doing that before the hot and muggy weather set in. And I missed going to the gym for several weeks.

[mswae.livejournal.com]

That's actually OK, because it says to me that slowly working up to 30 minutes was working for you. If you missed time (and it does happen), just go back to your comfort level and start from there.

Also, even though 30 minutes of cardio per day is good and you should want to do it, doing other forms of exercise like have been suggested is also a good idea, esp. if they have you active and not dying on the floor, IMO :).

It's also worth talking to your doctor about exercise-induced asthma, like a bunch of people have been saying, I think. I mean, you do exercise and you can't breathe, so ...

[aethelflaed2.livejournal.com]

When the weather is this gross, I can't work out outside. My asthma kicks in. I find if I go somewhere with GOOD air conditioning it eases my lungs. A good way to slowly get some walking in with a/c would be to walk around a mall (not on the weekend when its uber-crowded). This way you get exercise and your lungs are less likely to get inflamed. Not all gyms have enough a/c so, check out the clubs system before joining. Yoga and tai chi classes are good for your breathing.

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

Add another tik in the box for 1) getting a real rescue inhaler and 2) getting on a preventative antiasthma drug.

In terms of where to get exxercise, your 30 minutes don't have to be altogether. Start with smaller increments?

Also, many people in my social circles down here have started using Dance Dance Revolution as a nice addictive exercise program

as an asthmatic adding aerobic exercise to my life:

[sev]

I agree with the suggestions that say to ditch the over-the-counter asthma inhaler and replace it with an albuterol inhaler. I don't have any experience with the preventative drugs, but that sounds like a good idea as well. I don't know if Primatine has changed its formulation since I used it, but ... that stuff can be really bad for some people. My experience is that albuterol works better & has fewer side-effects.

I also agree with the ramp-it-up suggestions. Does your aerobic exercise include the use of a heart rate monitor? If you're anything like me, I recommend using one. I tend to push too hard & then have trouble recovering. The times I've monitored my heart rate during aerobic exercise I was able to watch my heart rate going up even when I felt like I wasn't working that hard -- but that's exactly the level I should be exercising at, when I've missed a few weeks & need to get back into the habit. Without the monitor I kept pushing until I felt like I was working hard, and that's too hard for starting out. But I get bored if I don't push, so I was pushing to keep myself occupied...now I watch the heart rate monitor to keep myself occupied. :)

It sounds like your breathing issues are worse than mine currently are -- I suffered pretty bad asthma for awhile, but it's ameliorated over the years. If you're anything like I was when I was in high school, you'll want to make sure that the exercise you're doing is something you enjoy, or at least something that doesn't piss you off or frustrate you. Getting frustrated with the exercise used to make my asthma attacks much, much worse.

Should and Can

[(Anonymous)]

Suggestions:
Stop focusing on what you should do, and look at what you can do. If I've learned anything about exercising, it's that being realistic is the most important factor in success. Start really, really small. Find some form of exercise you can do for 1 minute without being unable to breathe or having joint pain later. For the time being, don't worry about whether or not it's aerobic. For example, walk in place for 1 minute. If that works well, stick with that time for a week at least, then try 2 minutes. Keep increasing the amount of time in no more than 1 minute increments until you're where you want to be. This may take more than a year to accomplish. That's okay. You may need to increase in less than 1 minute increments. For a long time, I could go up only 15 seconds at a time. It's enough that you exercise to the point of feeling a "glow" and having your breathing and heart rate increase a bit. You can worry about hitting target rates later, when your body's ready for that level of exercise. Right now, it isn't. If you find you can't do ANY kind of exercise on dry land without causing joint pain, join a health club with a pool. Walk in the pool for as long as it takes to reach the "glow" point, NOT to exhaustion or breathlessness. (Walking gets things moving, but you're not working against resistance, so it's not so hard on your joints and lungs as swimming.) Another suggestion is to find some form of exercise you can do easily at home, so you don't have to find time to get to the gym in order to exercise. Walking in place works, and doesn't take any equipment. If you find it boring, you can even read while you're doing it!

Re: Should and Can

[(Anonymous)]

Oops. Got so busy talking to Rebmommy that I forgot to sign my post..
I'm sure you could tell it's from - Felis Sidus