beginner gym stuff
I've been able to go to the gym more consistently lately, and I've started using the strength machines too, instead of just using the treadmill. Usually my workouts consisted of the treadmill, my indoor cycle, pilates and yoga, but I wanted more, especially after this year has been more difficult with consistency because I felt sick more often.
I thought about what an absolutely guaranteed positive force in your life strength training is; stairs are less of a problem, getting up after a fall is easier too, more stamina and strength to fight back or run away, being able to carry more things in a move, better mental health, fighting age-related or medication-related muscle loss, better posture and support for bones and joints, less pain, helping fight insulin resistance, and so on... it feels like a cheat code.
Especially for me, as I have lost quite a bit of muscle when I had to take Prednisone for months, and still have phases where I'm lying around a lot and cannot move much due to my chronic illnesses. Handling stress in healthy ways, having positive inflammation that's taking away from the negative one, training for strength and flexibility is really good for my conditions, so I am trying my best :) I also notice that every time I am knocked out for a week or two, I bounce back quicker than the last time in terms of getting my strength and stamina back.
Nonetheless, I have to start small because lots of areas, especially my arms, just don't have that much muscle strength yet.
Monday is my designated cardio day now, with 60 minutes of treadmill as I am used to. Inclines, running, etc.; I am trying to build up enough stamina to run 5km without a break.
Tuesday and Thursday are (active) rest days; I am at the office and usually doing a 3km lunch walk.
Wednesday is mostly my leg day; so far I am managing 25kg on the leg press, the adductor and the abductor. I do 20kg seated leg curls on a good day, less on a bad day. For now, I am pushing it on 10kg on leg extension and glute machine. But! I also train a bit of core here, so abdominal (20kg) and lower back extension (15kg).
Friday is predominately arm day (and some core and slight cardio too). I am just focusing on getting the correct moves and posture right, as my arms are essentially spaghetti arms with not much strength at all. I manage a (to me) surprising 25kg on the seated lat pulldown now, but I am a little baby at the chest press, managing a mere 5kg. Shoulder press seems to vary between 10-15kg.
I unfortunately seem to have an elbow issue with the seated row machine, where my right elbow will weirdly lock up when I extend again. This has happened for years in daily life as well occasionally, and I have to sort of twist and jiggle it around to unlock. I really have to be cautious about how I move the arm and the second it gets too heavy, it happens every rep, so for now just 10kg. Afterwards, abdominal and lower back extension again, and then, depending on energy and mood, 15-40 mins of treadmill.
The weekend is just for genuine rest, just sitting at the desk, or at best, some stretching or a walk in the forest now. I don't want to overdo it.
Right now, this works for me; my gym is veeery small and doesn't have that many machines, and I don't want a very complex routine. I might switch it up and try different machines here and there after the coming months, but for now, I just wanna lock into this and see how it goes.
After 3 weeks of this, I have noticed:
- I'm falling asleep quicker, and sleep feels very, very restful. I wake up before my alarm, slowly.
- I need a lot more sleep than I previously did. I really cannot get away with going to bed late now, or having a disrupted night. I think despite waking up naturally, I'd love to get 2-3 hours more.
- I am constantly tired, but not in the fatigued, totally exhausted way I was used to in bad illness phases. I'm just sleepy, while otherwise feeling normal. I can do my stuff, I can focus, I can walk around, but at the same time I could just lie down for a nap constantly.
- The skin on my face is really good. Also, I'm less gassy/bloated, better bowel movements.
- Going up the stairs is so easy now. Everything is sort of a little easier now, in a way that is hard to describe.
- Better relationship to my body.
- Generally less joint pain, especially around the hips, and the spine in general.
I'll make a followup in a couple months to see how things progressed.
Reply via email
Published