Weakness, what does this mean?

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candistyx
candistyx Posts: 547 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I've not really done much cardio beyond walking because I never felt like the pain I knew it would cause me :blush:

So today I was trying to run up and down stairs because I decided I finally need some cardio. Now I was expecting at some point for my legs to start feeling "the burn" but instead they just went weak and jellylike (and I felt faint at the same time so it might be connected to that) and while my lungs definitely burn, my legs not so much.

Is this normal?

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  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
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    No, it sounds dangerous. Makes me wonder what your blood sugar and blood pressure were like in those moments.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
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    funchords wrote: »
    No, it sounds dangerous. Makes me wonder what your blood sugar and blood pressure were like in those moments.

    I am quite a hypochondriac and my partner is diabetic and I often (although not right then) test my blood sugar when I feel faint and it's always normal.

    I think though I tend to have lowish (not dangerously low) blood pressure so anything that could lower it might lower it to "feeling faint" levels. As a teenager I used to faint if I stood still (like walking was not a problem, but standing in one spot and I found myself waking up on the ground a fair few times) for more than 30min and when I kneeled in church (the doctor said back then that it is not unusual in young women and not to worry). But I thought vigorous exercise should (temporarily) raise bp not lower it?
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
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    Try interval running. Put on the tunes, run for a song, walk for a song, run for a song, walk for a song.

    Once that becomes easy. Run for two songs, walk for a song. Run for two songs, walk for a song. And so on.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Don't worry - they'll be sore tomorrow :p
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
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    I agree with funchords. If you are used to walking, build on that success with some gentle intervals of faster/slower. Stairs are steep and actually much much harder than a slow jog on a flat surface.

    Your heart and legs need to learn to work together. This means leg muscle, heart muscle, heart rate, and heart stroke volume (pulse) all need to collaborate. Your brain needs a steady supply of glucose to work also, so when it feels its sugar is getting threatened, it is not happy. Your sudden weakness suggests one of these critical functions went on strike. It's the body's way of protecting itself, nothing to worry about, you handled it appropriately by stopping. The challenge for you now is to be brave enough to get back up and try again, slower this time. If you don't have enough $ or insurance to see a cardiologist to help understand between right-for-you training and too much, you might get a home pulse/heart rate monitor to take some before and after readings for a while. Get to know how low/high you are normally.

    There are also a lot of exercises for runners - lunges, squats, and calf raises for example - that can help you build strength without as much strain on your heart. Do these as cool-downs after your intervals. You can do this!
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
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    3laine75 wrote: »
    Don't worry - they'll be sore tomorrow :p
    Heh nope (my abs from the pushups I've been trying to do though, oh boy!). But anyway thanks everyone, I guess I'll try and pace myself better. One issue that my feet have been playing up for a while, that's why I did the stairs, I heard it (on the way up) was lower impact (counter-intuitively) than running on the flat and honestly it did hurt my feet less so that's why I liked the idea.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    candistyx wrote: »
    So today I was trying to run up and down stairs because I decided I finally need some cardio. Now I was expecting at some point for my legs to start feeling "the burn" but instead they just went weak and jellylike (and I felt faint at the same time so it might be connected to that) and while my lungs definitely burn, my legs not so much.

    Different people feel the outcomes in different ways, although what you describe happens to me if I'm underfuelled and training for a long time; 2 hours of fast cycling or running.

    I think you'd get more gain from just using a conventional running plan. While runners will do stairs or hills to sharpen their capabilities, it's not something most would do routinely as it unbalances the muscle development

    You need to progress slowly, rather than try to thrash yourself on day one.

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