Advice for a Newbie

[dr.girlfriend]

Hi!  Hope it's okay to just jump in and post.  I read the pinned post, and it was lovely.

I'll try to keep the backstory to a minimum, but I think it's relevant.  Basically, I had a horrible gym teacher in elementary school who didn't "believe" in asthma.  He'd make me run laps in the dusty gym until I had an asthma attack and sometimes threw up.  It left me with a (relatively) lifelong hatred of running.  There was no gym requirement in middle and high school.  In college I chose more strength-based gym classes like t'ai, judo, and Nautilus.  I did some kickboxing in grad school, which was fairly aerobic but I liked it. 

When I started working (later than most after a Ph.D.) I lived in the city and walked a TON -- at least two hours per day to and from work.  About a decade ago, though, I had a baby and moved to the suburbs.  I still got at least 10k steps per day (work bought us all Fitbits) but it was in fits and spurts, and I was generally pretty sedentary.  I would get home at six and between kid and chores etc. it would be 10:00 before I could catch my breath and then I'd just watch t.v. and sleep.  I'd go on different kicks of trying to take more walks but time was a huge factor.  I got a treadmill hoping to use it after the kid was in bed, but it was too loud and so it really just gathered clothes.

Lately, thanks to COVID, I've been working from home.  My son is now 11, and between the two of us we cleared off the treadmill and have both been doing the treadmill every day.

I have been really surprised how much I like it.  Granted I'm keeping to fast-walking, but I am not getting wheezy at all.  I sweat, but feel really energized at the end.  I have realized that I've been using my exercise-induced asthma as an excuse to not really do much when it's probably not as much of a factor anymore.

So, my question is about where I should try to push myself from here.

I started with the treadmill's "Program 1" which is 30 minutes, back and forth between around 2.6 mph and 3.1 mph.  That was pretty easy for me, so I started bumping up the rate more consistently until it was 3.1 the whole time.  Then, this weekend I started to add more walking time at the end -- this probably won't be possible every day, but I'd like to at least do it on weekend days.

Geez, this is getting long.  But basically, today I did 30 minutes on 3.1 (about 1.5 miles) and another 32 minutes on 2.8 (another 1.5 miles because I wanted to hit 3.0 miles even) and felt fine.  I'm not sure where I should try to go from here in order to keep things at about an hour -- if it's better to increase my speed for the first part so I'm jogging more than fast-walking and then walk for the second part, or try to increase to 3.1 for the whole hour?  My goals, I guess, are weight-loss and heart health.  I'm short (5 feet 0) so 3.1 is a pretty fast walk for me, and 2.8 is a reasonably swift walk.  And of course I would back off if my asthma kicks in, but I'm starting to think I may have grown out of it without realizing. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!   

[Wines Not Whines]

That’s great! I don’t have asthma, so I can’t give any advice about that. I would try different things on different days. Go slower on your longer walk days (maybe pick up the speed a few times so you don’t get bored) and increase the speed on your shorter days. Obviously listen to your body and slow things down if it doesn’t feel right.

[brewco]

Couch to 5K is a great program that you can follow that incorporates running and walking. It will give you cues on when to walk and when to run so you don't have to look at a timer. I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but it is a nice program if you want to have someone else tell you what to do and allow for progression of building your endurance.

ETA: You don't have to run with couch to 5k. You can alternate fast and slow walking - it will still help you build endurance and can help increase your speed slowly!

[libbygrl109]

I had exercise induced asthma until I was in my early 20s, and then eventually outgrew it. Now I only deal with asthma when other things are factored in (mainly allergies and humidity), so I have the medications to control it when it does come during a workout. If you're really wondering about where your asthma is at currently, it would be best to talk with your doctor. Where do you want to get? Do you want to eventually be running? If that is the case, then Couch to 5K is a great plan for that. Walking is awesome in and of itself. There are lots of plans online that focus on certain goals. The American Heart Association has a few plans based on starting fitness level.

[dr.girlfriend]

Hi guys! Not sure if anyone really cares, but figured I'd update.

After a week or two of messing around, I tried another program that alternated between like 3.4 and 3.7 -- a light jog to a run. It was MISERABLE and I hated it! I've realized that fast-walking is definitely it for me (at least for now), and I've been adding just a little to my speed and more to my time.

I'm about 6 weeks into this now and lately I've done 3.2 for about 60-70 minutes, getting in around 3.5 - 3.75 miles. It feels good to me -- I get sweaty but never out of breath. Maybe it's not the most vigorous workout, but I look forward to doing it instead of dreading it, which is probably the biggest factor. After a month of absolutely no weight loss, I have finally been losing a few pounds over the last few weeks too.

Anyway, thanks for your advice!

[dcn]

You could also switch up the incline for a challenge!

[dr.girlfriend]

Jun 29, 2020 6:39:13 GMT -5 dcn said:

You could also switch up the incline for a challenge!

I don't think my treadmill does that but I'll check!  It's a folding one.  :-)

[dr.girlfriend]

Jun 30, 2020 22:45:18 GMT -5 mofongo said:

I have asthma, do you have an inhaler? Can you ask your doctor for one when you exercise? I do all sorts of hardcore cardio (not jogging b/c I don’t like it) and I’m fine as long as I have my inhaler in case I need it. Good luck!

Yes, I've always had an inhaler.  :-)

[hurricanedrunk]

Great update! The important thing which you've hit on is finding something that you enjoy! Do you have hiking trails near you? That might be a way to mix things up.