nellorat: Not-At-All-Pointless Poll: Re Exercise

Arthur and Kevin's Nellorat (

nellorat) wrote,
@ 2008-07-12 21:42:00

Not-At-All-Pointless Poll: Re Exercise
As I reported last entry, I need to exercise regularly, and I'm doing something about it, as

supergee has for years and

womzilla now is. Even many of the rats run on wheels, though far from all!

Tonight I did fifteen minutes for the second time, and it got less enjoyable around ten minutes--actually, around eight minutes, but I can't see using less than five-minute increments. I did make it to fifteen minutes without any problems. However, I'm wondering if I might be more tempted to do this every day, as I need to, if I didn't have that strenuous last five minutes. Mind, my goal is 45 or fifty minutes; however, I am happy to work up to it gradually rather than overdoing. Yet is less than fifteen minutes worth doing, and/or is some tiredness necessary for more stamina?

Poll #1222348
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Given the above information, should I

View Answers

reduce my regular treadmilling to 10 minutes
13 (61.9%)

stay with 15 minutes
8 (38.1%)

Also, How long do you think I should stay with a certain time of treadmilling, before increasing it?

View Answers

one week
1 (4.5%)

two weeks
8 (36.4%)

three weeks
2 (9.1%)

until it feels comfortable the whole time
11 (50.0%)

I'm lazy but cheered: my bg was 160 before treading, 120 afterwards.

Mood: blatantly fishing for encouragement as well as real information & opinions

(Post a new comment)

wcg
2008-07-13 02:02 am UTC (link)

This is really something that depends greatly on you. I put in an hour on the treadmill every other day, with a five minute cool down period afterward, for a total of 65 minutes (except for those days when the weather cooperates, and I can go do the road course in relative comfort). Obviously that's not what you're looking to do any time soon.

Starting out, I'd walk at a comfortable pace every day for as long as I felt unfatigued. Then I shifted to a walk/run combination where I'd run until I hit my maximum heart rate and then walk until my pulse dropped back below 140. Eventually I got to the point where that took more time than I had to devote to exercise. I also had my doctor tell me to cut back to every other day to let my knees recover. You may not want to do the running thing, but try varying the load some to bring your heart rate up at intervals.

(Reply to this)

gramina
2008-07-13 02:04 am UTC (link)

You might find this piece helpful -- the author started out walking ten minutes a day, and increasing by only a minute at a time. She's very much fitness-oriented, not size-ist as far as I can perceive, and likes being strong -- I find her very encouraging.

I'm currently trying to get back to walking at least five laps of the parking lot at work every weekday -- that's about 2 miles (it's a big lot). I'd like to be biking more than I am, though I'm blaming the weather on that one -- I melt in the sun.

Good luck -- !

(Reply to this)

machineplay
2008-07-13 02:07 am UTC (link)

First, well, why not do less than 15 minute increments? You could do less! Every minute counts. That said, given what you report...

I said stay with 15 minutes, but make that your 'long day'.

Increases go well like this over the course of a month: long day/short day: 2/5, 3/4, 4/3, 5/2

You could do 7 days all at one time-level, but your body will respond better if you alternate stress levels. I also said 'until it feels comfortable the whole time' and I would stick with that, no matter what. You should be challenged but not intimidated, by your 'long days'. You can also drop to 2/5, 3/4 once you get moving, going up every two weeks.

I think you'll find a burst of improvement soon. Your body is getting used to the treadmill and your nerves are connecting to do the task. Once you're through the learning phase and your muscles that need to work start engaging, you'll experience a significant improvement. That only happens once, really, so don't get over-enthused. Give yourself a week or two to find out what you can really do, then start setting your training levels.

No matter what, don't make yourself miserable. 10 minutes is better than none. :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

dreamshark
2008-07-13 02:41 am UTC (link)

I think you'll find a burst of improvement soon. Your body is getting used to the treadmill and your nerves are connecting to do the task. Once you're through the learning phase and your muscles that need to work start engaging, you'll experience a significant improvement. That only happens once, really, so don't get over-enthused. Give yourself a week or two to find out what you can really do, then start setting your training levels.

Interesting. I think that's what happened for me with the elliptical.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	daedala 2008-07-13 02:45 am UTC (link)
	Your body is getting used to the treadmill and your nerves are connecting to do the task. This is hugely important. One of the reasons beginners do so well with strength training exercise isn't that they are getting stronger, but that their nerves are figuring out how to do it -- waking up, I suppose. I would guess the same happens with cardio. (Reply to this) (Parent)

dreamshark
2008-07-13 02:29 am UTC (link)

It depends on whether you're really experiencing physical discomfort or you're just bored. I don't think you should push yourself to the point where you feel pain or are seriously stiff the next day. But if you're just not enjoying it... well, why should you? What's more boring than walking on a treadmill?

If it's the only exercise available to you, I'd recommend getting an iPod and finding some really interesting podcasts to listen to. I find that I can bike for a couple of hours at a time in the real world, but rarely last longer than 15 minutes on an exercise bike because of the boredom factor. If I switch from one machine to another every 10 minutes AND have my podcasts to listen to, I can exercise for at least 45 minutes in a gym before my head explodes. Not only that, if I have a really good podcast waiting for me, I look forward to it! Really, my iPod changed my life!

When I'm trying to push up my time on a machine I usually do it one minute at a time rather than in 5 minute increments. That way I can see progress quicker. I would think you could start adding a minute at a time after the first week. Not necessarily every time you exercise, but as soon as you feel like you can. It's very encouraging. I was ridiculously proud of myself when I made it to FIVE WHOLE MINUTES on the elliptical. Man, that's a demanding exercise machine!

One advantage to a treadmill over ordinary walking is that you can play with the computer(yet another way to keep yourself entertained). We have a very nice little corporate gym with fancy treadmills, and I have started to appreciate the bells and whistles. You can vary your speed, vary the incline, watch the effect on your heart rate, try the Fitness Test if your machine has one. Big fun.

I've been experimenting with interval training. That's where you walk at a comfortable speed for a while, then push the speed up to a level that leaves you just a little out of breath for maybe a minute, then drop back to the comfortable speed until your breathing and heart rate settle down. This increases your fitness level much more quickly than steady walking. Some people think it has other magical effects like increasing your metabolism for hours afterwards. I'm skeptical of that. However, it indubitably increases the amount of exercise you get in a given period of time. Once you develop a little more stamina, you might like that better than continuing to increase your time. I know I do. But, as we've already established, I have a kind of short attention span.

Congratulations on getting started with your exercise program! Consider yourself encouraged!

"I'm lazy but cheered: my bg was 160 before treading, 120 afterwards."

What the heck is "bg?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	noveldevice 2008-07-13 03:13 am UTC (link)
	bg or sgl are blood or serum glucose. Same thing, different terms. We say sgl in my household. (Reply to this) (Parent)

gerisullivan
2008-07-13 02:31 am UTC (link)

Good for you!

That 8-minute mark is a familiar one for me, though my experience is more that from about 8 to 11 minutes into the workout I think I'm not going to make it another 2 minutes, let alone 10 or more. This was on the ellipitical, before it broke, and I was aiming for 20 minutes. For me, once I got past that point, the strong discomfort went away and I was then fine for the rest of the 20 minutes and sometimes 22-25. I still find it curious that I can pretty easily do 20-30 minutes on ellipticals in hotel health clubs even though it's well over a year since my elliptical broke.

Does walking on the treadmill remain steadily uncomfortable from the discomfort point all the way to the 15 minute mark, or does it get easier again in the last 2 minutes?

To my eye, developing the habit is more important than whether you do it 10 minutes or 15 minutes right now. Do whatever it takes to get on the treadmill every day. If you miss one day, don't kick yourself, but make doubly sure to get back on it the next day. 'Cause once you miss two days, that can easily turn into missing three or four, and soon you have to start all over again. (Says the woman who needs to get back to using the NordicTrack, oh, last month or the month before.)

Less than 15 minutes is worth doing -- ten minutes is ten minutes more than zero, which means 10 minutes is a win. The cardiovascular benefits reportedly kick in when doing 20 minutes or more at or above a certain heart rate level, so building up to longer sessions will provide benefits there. But the real key is developing the habit, and you're on track for doing that. Yay, you! The improved glucose level is great feedback. Nice!

As for how long before increasing the level, I'm with the "until it feels comfortable the whole time" crowd, though I'd add "or until you get curious about what another 5 minutes will feel like." That's how it works for me, though I'm also happy dealing with smaller increments, another minute or two, another couple tenths of a mile, that sort of thing.

(Reply to this)

daedala
2008-07-13 02:55 am UTC (link)

What you should do is what works for you. Helpful, yeah. But the difference between ten and fifteen minutes, or when you increase the time, doesn't really matter very much. What matters is whether you keep doing it. Maybe you'll find you like the sense of accomplishment with fifteen minutes better than ten; maybe you'll find it's too unpleasant and want to quit. Maybe you'll find it better to wait until you're comfortable to increase your time, or maybe you'll feel better with regular progress as long as it's not too fast.

(Personally, I vote for strength training over cardio, but that's me.)

(Reply to this)

noveldevice
2008-07-13 03:17 am UTC (link)

One caution I will offer is that people hurt themselves much more frequently walking on treadmills than they do walking on real terrain.

I can't use treadmills, because I will hurt myself. Something about the completely stationary (if that's not a contradition) nature of the motion has a very very bad effect on my knees. It took me ages (and a certain amount of being crippled up repeatedly) to figure out that treadmilling didn't work for me. If you find that you are damaging yourself on a regular basis--not just the usual post workout "pain", but actual pain--stop treadmilling!

(Reply to this)

	wild_patience 2008-07-13 03:28 am UTC (link)
	I had to start at just five minutes on the exercise bike. Now I can ride most of an hour with no problem on my street bicycle. Start with what you can do and gradually build up. If you can do 15 without feeling bad afterwards, keep doing that. (Reply to this)

piemancer
2008-07-13 04:42 am UTC (link)

Rather than sayin' it feels 'comfortable,' i like to go with what feels fun. That part of my treadmilling where i'm watching every second of that strenuous two mintue interval, and working hard in my brain to keep my body going on those stairs? The part where i can't concentrate on my book any longer? I think that's fun. It's not easy, it's not comfortable, but it's fun.

When it's not fun, i don't do it.

(Reply to this)

aquaeri
2008-07-13 05:11 am UTC (link)

I voted for 15 minutes, but I wanted to put in a rider - slower than you're currently going. The 8 minute point could be your "warm-up" point, because that's also where I start to hurt if I've gone too fast to start with. (I discovered I could run an extra half a mile in 80 minutes if that extra half mile was at the beginning, and less strenuous than the rest of the run).

The other thing I wanted to talk about is the "discomfort zone". I think to make progress you need to be in the discomfort zone - you shouldn't be totally comfortable, you should feel challenged, but it shouldn't hurt or be discouraging. The problem is when you're beginning to exercise, the discomfort zone is really hard to recognise, and I also think it's very small. Part of exercising is learning what that discomfort zone feels like, and stretching it to a size where you can move into it easily and stay in it.

(Reply to this)

my experience

quility
2008-07-13 05:19 am UTC (link)

My experience has been that the first 3 days of a new regimen are hard for me and then it gets easier. B/c I have experienced this many times in the past - I now tend to push myself those first 3 days - to a little bit past uncomfortable (very subjective) and know that it will get easier on day 4.

NOT ADVICE - but I used to worry when my chest hurt when getting back to cardio after being away for awhile - but now I know it's just reconditioning and fairly normal for me. This was a very light hurt.... I probably shouldn't even mention it. If your chest hurts - stop - but I mentioned it in front of someone else once and she said she gets that too. So I'd recommend talking to you doctor if you get it. *sigh* I shouldn't comment this late at night...

I prefer to exercise by doing something I enjoy - but if I am stuck on a machine I employ distraction as much as possible. I love NPR podcasts on my ipod.

Go you!

(Reply to this)

	firecat 2008-07-13 06:56 am UTC (link)
	Go you! Yes, less than 15 mins is absolutely worth doing. You said "less enjoyable" and later asked is "tiredness" necessary. Does "less enjoyable" mean "tired" in this case? Another option, which I have used, is to do two sessions of "however long I feel reasonably comfortable", with some stretching or some other kind of enjoyable movement in between. (Reply to this)

	supergee 2008-07-13 10:25 am UTC (link)
	Unaccustomed as I am to being a good example... Encourage, encourage, encourage (Reply to this)

esmeraldus_neo
2008-07-13 12:00 pm UTC (link)

It doesn't really matter, except for this: you shouldn't start out doing it for long enough to be discouragingly uncomfortable.

Stick with ten minutes for a week, two weeks three weeks, whatever. What you are doing at this phase is insignificant in terms of physical benefit, but vital in terms of establishing a habit. We're talking of a lifetime thing here, and two weeks more or less of ten minutes instead of fifteen doesn't matter; what matters is doing it every day so that it becomes a habit.

Habits take about three weeks to establish, give or take, if you're faithful about it. After three weeks of doing ay time at all, try increasing by five minutes per week until you are bored, then up the ante to ten minutes per week. Once you have been at it for a while, you can go up in larger increments, to a point, until you reach a reasonable regular average time.

For what it's worth.

(Reply to this)

redbird
2008-07-13 01:13 pm UTC (link)

My only thought is that it doesn't need to be, perhaps shouldn't be, the same every day: maybe do some days for 15 minutes and some for 10 or 12, or go faster some days than others. That might provide a little more interest. (My own cardio routine seems to be "set the thing for 20 minutes, stop when you run out of newspaper," but "stop" in this case doesn't mean end of exercising, it means "now walk over to the nautilus machines.")

(Reply to this)

	mayaknife 2008-07-14 12:24 am UTC (link)
	I appear to have sided with majority opinion on the one. I have a rider, though. That last choice should be "until it feels comfortable the whole time or I begin to despair of never improving". (Reply to this)

metasilk
2008-07-15 11:41 pm UTC (link)

I suggest staying with 15 -- as an average with a narrow standard deviation -- and that for about 2 weeks. If it starts getting "too" easy (your call) in less that two weeks, change something -- do something else for 15 minutes some days (walk? stretches/yoga? slow dancing?), or increase the time a bit.

As if I even know what I'm talking about! *grin*

But it depends: how much do you like the challenge? How prone are you to injury due to over exertion? Be healthy! Hooray!

Edited at 2008-07-15 11:42 pm UTC

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