going to the gym

[lebowski8]

my sleep apnea is being successfully treated using cpap (about 500 nights now). about 3 weeks ago, my wife and i joined a local fitness center.

all my life, i've never been much for physical activity. i've always been intellectual and liked to watch movies and read more than anything else.

in the past, i attempted working out before -- the first when i was 24, i went to my college's gym. i went about 3 times a week, and that lasted about 8 weeks. and i hated every minute of it. it was painful I did it again the next year, and the following year, each with about 4-6 weeks of just going because i wanted to lose some weight, but again, i felt bad each time i went. I returned again to the fitness center at 30. same thing, but even worse at 30. constant join & muscle pain, etc.

i couldn't understand it: i heard people all the time talk about a rush they felt after working out. how the felt worn out, but really good and alive. I thought that it was total BS. since i only felt pain after exercise. i thought people were expressing wishful thinking, trying to con themselves, lying that workouts felt good. you know, that decpetive mind trick of autosuggestion, repeating a false mantra because you want it to be true. i thought they were self-deceiving.

but now, it's different. i'm 35 and the fattest i've ever been. but i also have about 18 months of nightly cpap use behind me. so i thought-- well, i feel so much better in the rest of my life. maybe getting vigorous exercise won't be as bad as before.
3 weeks later, i understand it now: i'm not feeling pain. in fact, i'm feeling really good when i work out.
in fact, for the first time in my life, i feel those mysterious natural things called endorphins that people had been praising.
I thought it was a mass delusion. hurray for sp02 over 96% instead of 79%! Hurrah for an AHI of 0.8 instead of 45+!

...turns out, i just needed oxygen!

so, could anybody else share about pre-cpap / post-cpap exercise experiences?? did you experience something different, or was it all the same?

[kteague]

I am still hopeful I'll have your experience. Congrats on this great life change!
Kathy

[Muse-Inc]

Took me 9 months as a hosehead to be able to do more than 3-4 mins on my exercise bike,...wammo 10 mins 1 day, within 3 months was up to 60-75 mins/day. Backslide into apnea symptoms when I was clueless I was losing therapy air, still trying to get back to that level of exercise. It's shifting my life around to make the time...things have been challenging.

I too never had those feel goods following exercise, it was always find a cow right now & eat it or just plain ole pain. Like you, I actually feel good afterwards...so I do some every other day or so.

[LoQ]

I am still hopeful I'll have your experience. Congrats on this great life change!
Kathy

Ditto. Unfortunately, I've yet to experience the sp02 over 96% instead of 79% event.


Some of us are beginning to suspect that getting your AHI down below 5 isn't enough if your oxygen isn't above 95-96%.

[BlackSpinner]

Yes it is beginning to happen again. I knew it could but it has been over 10 years since it had. I started running with the dog this summer - the dog needed to lose weight and this fact gave me the motivation to get started and keep it up - finally. The dog loves it and really wants to do it so I have to too. But it is beginning to feel good again - not yet at the runner high - we are still on the ground but it isn't just a chore anymore.

[brazospearl]

Lebowski8, congratulations! It just keeps getting better, doesn't it? I haven't actually started exercising again yet, but the thought of doing that spontaneously crossed my mind 2 days in a row, so it appears I'm heading in that direction. Hey, it's a start, right?

[Breathe Jimbo]

I looked at my bicycle for about 5 seconds yesterday.

[Jersey Girl]

I also recently found my way back into the gym. I have had very bad knees - lots of arthritus and not much cartalidge left. I went to the pain dr. and got a small amount of meds - just enough to take the edge off the pain so that I could exercise again. I never liked doing physical activity, but I like the relaxed ragdoll feeling I have when I leave the gym. It's the getting there that feels difficult - waking up early enough before work to get there.

I'm really glad that you are able to get that those endorphins going.

Keep up the good work!

Warmly,

Jersey Girl

[carbonman]

so, could anybody else share about pre-cpap / post-cpap exercise experiences?? did you experience something different, or was it all the same?

It's always good to listen and reflect......
always good to look back where we have been
and project where we are going.
Thanks! for the opportunity.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33900&p

[Breathe Jimbo]

As part of the Friedman v. 24 Hour Fitness class action settlement, I just received a free three-month pass. I guess I have no excuse for not going to the gym now. At least the treadmill. Just created an appropriate playlist (fast beats) for the iPod software on my iPhone.

65 minutes on the treadmill today. Chafed.

[Joe50]

The forums at Bodybuilding.com have an over35 section for people who are advanced or just becoming a gym-rat. If you have any questions about your workout/diet they will be glad to help without busting your chops for not knowing all there is to know.

[cflame1]

I've been working with a trainer since Feb 2010. Twice a week.

[Uncle_Bob]

I looked at my bicycle for about 5 seconds yesterday.

I rode mine 12 hours to work this morning

But after looking at your avatar I now feel like taking a nap

[Gadget_OSA]

I started going to the gym in mid 2008 trying to improve my falling energy levels. At that time I didn't know about OSA. Being of an engineering persuasion I kept a spreadsheet of session times, machine settings, heart rate and work load for each visit. I use the cross trainer as it doesn't hammer my knees. Over the period from mid 2008 to April 2010 my gym work load stat's and times gradually decreased by around a third. In 2008 I was able to do the odd 60 min session and regularly do 40 min. The longest session length I could manage by mid 2009 to early this year was 30 mins. I went onto CPAP in April this year and after around a month on the hose I was able to start pushing the load settings back up. I am now back to around my 2008 rates, managing 40 min sessions and not falling asleep watching the evening news. So keep at it lebowski8. It's all good.