TIME TO GET RRRIIIIIIIPPED!!!!! - the exercise thread

Hopefully this week I'll be able to get back to swimming. My schedule is worse for it this semester, so I haven't been able to.

 

Best exercises for people with painful joints? i've got lots of options at my school gym and I really want to get back into stuff, but my knees have been bad ever since I stopped prednisone.

 

Do you have access to a pool?

 

Yep, there is a pool.

 

At first swimming was difficult for me, but I found it helped my chronic pain a LOT. Like, I'm honestly surprised how much it helped.

 

Agree, swimming is good if you want to be gentle on your joints because it’s very low impact while still providing good resistance.

 

I'm back at school for the semester, which means unlimited gym access. I'm really excited for this semester to be The One where I don't burn out halfway through and stop going altogether, and while I'm aware that is a repetitive toxic thought pattern for me, I've set up my class schedule to leave my mornings completely open. I'm hoping this will be enough to prevent the end of day homework stress that has always prevented any and all exercise once even a little bit of school stress starts up, and maybe get me to wake up before noon reliably.

Anyway, fitness goals for the semester: "run a mile at 5mph with no walking breaks (right now i'm at run for .2, walk for .o5 for four cycles)" and " >200 lb squat, with decent form"

A bonus of going in the morning is that it's less crowded, but apparently there is not a time of day where it is possible to get on the bench press

 

a couple weeks ago I got a low income membership at the ymca... and had a panic attack and cried in front of the receptionist. but I got it together and he was really nice about it, and I've gotten better about not catastrophizing about these kinds of things.

aaand today I went to my free consultation appt, where a trainer showed me how to use a lot of the machines and stuff, and that went a lot better, I pretty much passed myself off as a functional human being all things considered. x'D

I'm feeling pretty optimistic about it? having someone show me how the machines work made it a lot less intimidating, that was where a lot of my anxiety was, and I think I'll be able to remember now how to use them. I forgot to ask about the locker system, so that'll be a little scary next time, but I think I can work up to asking.

I'm

gonna do an exercise

\o/

 

I've gone to the gym twice so far, and like

I've come out of the first week feeling pretty... empowered? by the fact that I chose machines that were pretty low anxiety for me, and I didn't push myself especially hard, and I did feel like I got some movement and exercise and like I was kind of engaging with the experience of having a body, which was my main priority, and while it wasn't some Ultra Perfectly Efficient Workout, I didn't once feel pressured to want that or felt guilty for not doing that

I was always pushed to ignore my limits in PE or I'd lie in order to get out of class, and it's taken me a long time to be able to face exercising again, but like... I actually had a good time. I mean it makes sense, because I was in control of it, but it's still pretty crazy to me. I feel hopeful about this routine I'm trying to establish.

 

So turns out I'm generally supposed to avoid pools because of the risk of cryptosporidium/etc. :( But thank you all for the input!

 

That’s too bad, but it doesn’t leave you without options. If they have elliptical machines, those are also good cardio with low impact.

 

Also rowing machines! They're pretty rare, but some gyms have them and they're great cardio with almost zero impact

 

Does anyone have any advice about protecting against knee injuries? My left inside knee has been sore for the past few days (two days off the gym, I don't work out on weekends) and I don't want to injure it, but I don't want to give up my running routine, since i'm finally seeing steady improvement. Is there any solution besides "Stop running on the treadmill dumbass"? The elliptical just isn't the same.

 

That sounds like potentially an MCL issue? I would definitely give it a complete rest until the pain goes away because knee injuries are terrible. Put some ice on it and stay off the treadmill and the elliptical until it feels better. It is definitely really annoying when you're making so much progress, but if you damage your joint that will be a much more significant setback.

Afaik, you can't really do much strengthen the ligament itself, you can only strengthen the supporting musculature and make sure your alignment is as good as possible so you're not putting unnecessary strain on it.

A compression brace for the knee can really help give you extra support. I'd definitely recommend those.

If possible, you might also want to have someone who knows about sports shoes take a look at your gait and evaluate whether the shoes you're wearing are a good fit and giving you the correct type of support. Running shoes come with different types of soles that may ameliorate or exacerbate any issues you may have, depending on whether the type of support they offer is good for your foot and the way you tend to move.

If your shoes are old, they need to be replaced. The cushioning doesn't last forever. A reasonably knowledgeable salesperson should be able to tell you how many miles you can expect to get from a new pair. Some places will evaluate the wear patterns on the soles if you bring them back to give you a better fit next time.

 

Thank you so much! My shoes are definitely old, I hadn't even thought of that as a problem, but thinking about it, I do have a history of rolling my ankles, which probably relates to the way I put my feet down, which could be affecting my knees. I will look into getting a new pair that maybe encourages my feet to tilt the other way? Also a compression brace. Hopefully I can find one in my price range!

 

Good news! I did half a mile without a break on the treadmill today with absolutely zero knee pain. I'm still taking it easy, but a couple weeks being gentle on leg day and staying on the elliptical with a brace seems to have done the trick. I still need to look into new shoes, but it seems like it can wait a bit, considering the kind of shoes that have special knee support are on the expensive side

 

Athletic shoes can get pretty damn expensive. It’s regrettable. I’m so glad your knee is doing better though!

 

$100 exercise bike for living room, best purchase ever. Currently working out watching Agents of Shield projected on the wall in my own home.

 

Been sick for a whole month, bedridden for several days of that. Finally feeling better, hoping to get back to working out tomorrow morning.

 

okay hi so this is the exercise thread and therefore seems most likely place to find folks with martial arts or self-defense type Knowledge since I know these things are exercise
I need....something.
I have no idea what anymore.
I wanna try and learn something with which I can defend myself, so that I can get my PTSD to maybe Fucking Chill.
I need something I can learn that isn't like....based in formal movements (like tae kwon do) bc that's never been useful to me in a fight. it also needs to be something geared towards incapacitating your opponent as quickly as possible without ME having to put tons of force into it cuz uh....hi I'm small, not very strong, my joints aren't the most stable, and I will likely never be able to match anyone in a real force contest. unless they are also 5'3", 160 pounds, and have EDS. so.
also, it would be NICE if it was something that takes into account that "hey sometimes people have weapons, here is what you do then", but I guess not absolutely necessary.

....anyone got any suggestions?

eta: also as many suggestions as possible would be nice cause I...can't exactly control where schools teaching things fall and if it's a three hour bus ride from where I live that just ain't happening.