Exercise- where to start?suggestions

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RegulJ
RegulJ Member Posts: 244
edited June 2014 in Working on Your Fitness

So I have finally be "cleared" to start exercising again. My skin is all heald up from rads and I have been cleared to go in the pool!!!

I haven't excercised since my surgery in Nov 09 and I am not sure where to start.

Should I do as much as I can until I can't go any further?

Should I base it on time? Say 20-30 min. once a day? twice a day?

Should I base it on the type of excercise? Walk for 20min or try some aerobics for 10minutes?

Should I try to do something everyday? Or every other day? Pool excercises?

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited July 2010

    Come over to the 'lets post our daily exercise' thread. Really a fun group of ladies at all fitness levels & at all stages of treatment & post-treatment. It's always on the active topics page, 'cause someone is always doing something active! Hope to see you there. Ruth

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  • NatureGrrl
    NatureGrrl Member Posts: 1,367
    edited July 2010

    The exercise thread is great -- you'll find lots of encouragement there!

    Just starting out, pace yourself... don't push yourself as hard as you can.  If you do, you may well just end up wearing yourself out, and setting yourself back.  Once you see how it feels you'll be able to progress from there.  Start slow and easy, and just listen to your body -- it'll tell you when you've had enough and when you can push more.

    I started out with walking; I aimed for 30 minutes at whatever pace my body felt like doing, but if I did less than 30 because I was too tired, I tried not to beat myself up. And again, your body will guide you about picking up the pace, and you may rebound quicker than you expect!

    Do what you'll enjoy; it'll be easier to keep it up if it's what you like best.  

    I shoot for 5-6 days a week but at first it was more like 4.  Do give yourself a day off every week to recover and mend, especially once you get into it and are doing more.

    Good luck!  You can do it!  

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  • Claire_in_Seattle
    Claire_in_Seattle Member Posts: 4,570
    edited July 2010

    First of all, you will have "muscle memory" so you should recover quite quickly.  I exercised throughout treatment, only missing the day of surgery and a couple of days at a conference (unless you count "working the room"!).  I went back to my weights/crunches as soon as my drains were out.

    Having said this, I really dragged during chemo (surprise) but figured I might as well be exercised and dragging as opposed to just dragging.  You should be past the chemo drags, but I would suspect you have some left over from radiation.  So go back to doing whatever your old routine was.  But ease into it.

    For example, you have no idea how much my lazy abs protested once they realized their vacation was over.  I would start with a 30 minute morning walk and do it daily.  I would go for time (or find a 1+ mile route) as you can always pick up the pace later.  When I was doing chemo, I had a route I would do which is about 1.25 miles.  I dragged my butt around it.  Now I almost skip.  Then, I had some really easy cycling routes which I also did.

    Don't forget upper body work and strength training.  That is, if you are cleared to do that.

    I am laughing about swimming.  I finally went earlier this week when warm, and for about half an hour of lake time.  Couldn't believe how sore I was the next day.  And this is someone who cycled 200 miles two weekends ago!!!!!

    Anyway, good luck.  I think you will feel wonderful to get back in the exercise groove.  And having a fit and toned body does wonders for the self-esteem as well.  Just find those routes and carve out the time.  Then just go for it. - Claire

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  • hymil
    hymil Member Posts: 826
    edited July 2010

    You could start by just doing anything gentle that you enjoy like short walks and keep a diary cos you are probably doing quite a lot already and don't realise it. I started by trying to run because my church had a huge sponsored run going on and there was great team support, in hindsight it was a bit ambitious, couch-potato to 10k in three months, but it got me out there after my mastectomy, later I joined the gym which is a bit boring but eminently measurable, and I will be signing up for a class or two in september once I see how my schedule at work allows me. Swimming has challenges of its own in the What to Wear section but if you can crack that its a great morale boost. The great bubble-cloud disaster was a morale-flop extraordinaire. Go for gentle and sustainable, come over to the exercsie thread and good luck! Oh, and I had several exercise buddies from church and family, that helped a lot, they dragged me out when I felt like giving up. Teamwork and acountability, measures of progress and achievable targets. 

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  • suman12
    suman12 Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2011

    You should to do first of all a short morning walk.After some time you can improve the time.slowly slowly You could do exercises.Keep it up and do exercises regularly. It ican be very beneficial for you.

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  • hymil
    hymil Member Posts: 826
    edited January 2011

    Dom. John Chapman, benedictine monk and 4th Abbot of Downside, wrote this great advice to his monks and anyone else who would learn: Pray as you can, not as you can't. Substitute "exercise" for "pray".into that - "at all times and in all ways"

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  • alexander10
    alexander10 Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2011

    You will find lots of encouragement there.First of all You should watch your capacity for that particular excerciyse and you have to note the time.then increse your time daily.Don't force yourself any more fro this.

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