Frustration with endurance

dontcallmecandi
dontcallmecandi Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello

I am fairly new and I am hoping you can help me. I used to be very active and would do Barre3 workouts 4-5 times a week. I've badly fallen off the wagon over the past several years and now that I am trying to fix the giant mistake I've made (gaining 50lbs...) I am beyond frustrated over my lack of endurance. Maybe it's the 50lbs or the age but I am dead after 10 minutes of brisk walking and I STRUGGLE to achieve 10 minutes on the stationary bike.

It's frustrating for a number of reasons: first because I've never been "in shape" but even way back when I was able to be active and not nearly die and second, because I can't last long I am not really getting my heart rate up and therefore not burning many calories. I know with time it will come back but I am beyond discouraged. It makes my 100+lb weight loss goal seem even bigger.

Do you have any words of wisdom or ideas for improving endurance? Obviously just keep going and adding more and more each time but is there anything you know of to help? Are there some exercises better than others? I am starting with cardio because I figured it was best for heart health. I was thinking of incorporating Yoga once I feel more comfortable. I feel lost when it comes to weight training so I'm not even sure where to start there.

Replies

  • dontcallmecandi
    dontcallmecandi Posts: 17 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Fitness is something that is lost fairly quickly when you stop and gained pretty slowly. It just takes time and putting in the work. There are various plans out there for running, cycling, etc. I kind of liked following something structured when I was getting back into things years ago because it took the thinking out of it and didn't let me do too much, too soon, which is about the worst thing you can do.
    Great insight. I didn't consider any sort of plan for something as simple as walking or doing the stationary bike. Thanks for the suggestion, off to Google to see what I can find!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    dontcallmecandi wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Fitness is something that is lost fairly quickly when you stop and gained pretty slowly. It just takes time and putting in the work. There are various plans out there for running, cycling, etc. I kind of liked following something structured when I was getting back into things years ago because it took the thinking out of it and didn't let me do too much, too soon, which is about the worst thing you can do.
    Great insight. I didn't consider any sort of plan for something as simple as walking or doing the stationary bike. Thanks for the suggestion, off to Google to see what I can find!

    When I first started back, I just walked...it was difficult for me to just walk my dog around the block at first. Once I had built up to walking for 30-60 minutes most days I started a C25K program because I wanted to start running 5Ks with my wife. Ultimately, running wasn't my thing and I became a cycling enthusiast...within 1.5 years of starting, I road my first metric century (62 miles)...I pretty regularly go out for 25-30 mile rides on the weekend just because it feels good.

    It just takes time...you can't rush it.
  • dontcallmecandi
    dontcallmecandi Posts: 17 Member
    lalalacroix wrote: »
    My advice would be to keep it up. If you can only do 10 minutes that's fine, try for 11 minutes next time.

    5 years ago I could barely walk through the grocery store without being in terrible pain. Last Sunday I hiked 10 miles in the mountains in some pretty difficult terrain. While my weight is just over 20 pounds less than then, the real difference is that I decided to push myself and not give up.

    Wow great job!! What inspiration!!!
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I highly doubt it's about age and I'd be somewhat wary of blaming your weight. I think it's that, cardiovascularly, you didn't have a lot of endurance to begin with. If you don't have a somewhat high level of endurance to begin with, it can drop like a stone when you take breaks (forced or otherwise) from whatever that activity that you have endurance in is. In my experience, that lessens the higher amount of fitness you have.

    Cardio wise it took a significantly shorter amount of time to get to and exceed my then normal level of fitness than my level of strength after my most recent two surgeries. Both involved me being very sedentary the first six weeks out and only slightly less so for the second six weeks (which is to say, I could bear weight and was allowed to bend my knee as much as I could tolerate after week six). I completed a rather hilly century 7 months out of my second surgery (and trained for it - with some unfortunate forced distrumptions). Meanwhile it took over a year for my my quads on my penultimate surgical side to get to within 1 standard deviation of normal (based on semi frequent isokinetic testing). Note - I don't enjoy most strength training exercises but love cycling and now rowing and also did a lot of swimming after both surgeries once I was allowed in the pool. Cardio wise I came in with a very solid base and strength wise I was likely stronger than your average person, but not exceptionally so.

    But yes, do not shy away from a plan for biking (even indoors) or walking. Once you're able to ride for half an hour, something like this plan might be useful https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/training-plans/beginner/article/izn20151216-Beginner-8-week-Sofa-to-50km-Training-Plan-0 though I wouldn't want to do the longer rides inside. Also based on where your profile says you're at, if you do have a bike and have any desire to ride outside, I can think of more than a few rides across the river in the Portland area that are very flat (for instance the path on Marine drive is nice and closer to you).
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    Also, starting out, don't try to push the pace. I know you want to get your HR up, but it is better to go longer than to go faster until you have some basic endurance.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    Yoga is fine for a rest day but it depends on what kind of yoga.

    You ideally want cardio and weights.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    dontcallmecandi wrote: »
    Hello

    I am fairly new and I am hoping you can help me. I used to be very active and would do Barre3 workouts 4-5 times a week. I've badly fallen off the wagon over the past several years and now that I am trying to fix the giant mistake I've made (gaining 50lbs...) I am beyond frustrated over my lack of endurance. Maybe it's the 50lbs or the age but I am dead after 10 minutes of brisk walking and I STRUGGLE to achieve 10 minutes on the stationary bike.

    It's frustrating for a number of reasons: first because I've never been "in shape" but even way back when I was able to be active and not nearly die and second, because I can't last long I am not really getting my heart rate up and therefore not burning many calories. I know with time it will come back but I am beyond discouraged. It makes my 100+lb weight loss goal seem even bigger.

    Do you have any words of wisdom or ideas for improving endurance? Obviously just keep going and adding more and more each time but is there anything you know of to help? Are there some exercises better than others? I am starting with cardio because I figured it was best for heart health. I was thinking of incorporating Yoga once I feel more comfortable. I feel lost when it comes to weight training so I'm not even sure where to start there.

    Slow down.

    When you walk, don't walk so briskly that you can only do 10 minutes. Slow down so that you can do 12 minutes. Do 12 minutes every day this week, then next week, go for 15 minutes ... gradually build up.

    When you get up to doing 30 minutes, then maybe start mixing it up a bit. Do a 45 minute slow walk. Do a 15 minute really brisk walk or hill climbing walk. Do a moderately brisk 30 minute walk.


    Same with the stationary bike. Set it up so that you've got the best fit you can. Those things are usually not designed to be particularly comfortable or well fitting, but do what you can. Then do a casual 15 minutes, and gradually increase.

  • Tramboman
    Tramboman Posts: 2,482 Member
    All the tips here will work.
    Start slowly, and increase your distances and speed as you adjust.
    Yoga is excellent for general conditioning and stretching.
    Walking and running are excellent for cardio.
    I started with walking, moved up to walking and running, progressed to running and walking, and finally to running.
    Went from 243 lbs to 175 lbs in about a year.
    Ran 2 5k races in September and October; took a first in my age group in one, and a second in my age group in the other. Set personal records in both races.
    Doing well in my age group wasn't too hard; I'll be 67 next month.
    Be persistent and keep at it: endurance will eventually come.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    I blew out my right knee when I was 42 and couldn't walk (literally couldn't bare weight) for over a year. Had two surgeries just to try to get the ACL restored and clean it up along with microfracture surgery to hopefully build back some meniscus.

    I got depressed and gained 15 or 20 more pounds to put me at my heaviest wondering if I'd ever walk again (at the time they said I was too young for a knee replacement, but this was like 12 years ago).

    My dog literally saved my life. I had managed (even fat) to take him to the park and walk him weekly. He was a skiddish boy we got at the shelter. You'd think it was a war zone trying to get him to walk through the neighborhood (and he was a 90 lb chow/golden mix, the size of a Golden with the strength of a Chow) but he would walk just fine in parks. My first goal was just walk. Then it was take him on walks again.

    Well, it took me just over a year but I went from just being able to stand up to one revolution on a stationary bike -- took months to regain motion. By the time I was limping around, my right leg was four to five inches slimmer than my left and purple most of the time! It all started with one step, then 10, then a few hundred. Then I was walking 3 miles everyday at lunch and taking my boy Joey for his long happy walks. He'd ride in our van, holding his head out the window smiling the whole time (even in sub zero temps!) on the drive to his park. He would literally cry with happiness! One day I tried to jog with him, mostly just to see if I could again, and that lead to a few years of jogging with him while he was still young enough. Joey's gone now unfortunately but lived a very long, happy life (14 years for a 90 lb big *kitten* chow is pretty great!).

    I went on to run trails for four years, doing as long as 7/8 mile trail runs. Never great, but I'd finish usually in the top of the bottom 1/3, but I made a lot of friends I think because the joy that being able just to run again gave me.

    I can't run any more that well, but I've moved on to indoor rowing and have become semi-competitive. If I wasn't moving next month, I'd compete in San Diego this year at the World Championships. My goal now is to finish in the top half of the field next year at 55 and break a 7 minute 2K for the first time (something not easy to do for 20 year old men). I workout an hour a day minimum, most of it cardio. My cardio endurance? My son and daughter (in their 20s) tell me blows theirs away. My son is a talented MMA fighter and my daughter worked as a fitness instructor for 3 years in college.

    Oh, also, the knee doesn't hurt any longer. Same knee. I'm down to 190 (up from 170 with 20 lbs of muscle) from my original 250 and have kept the weight off for 8 years this Fall.

    These steps were so miniscule. Just stay consistent and work at it everyday and you will see unbelievable changes. Be patient, work as much as you can safely, challenge yourself and be extremely patient.
  • dontcallmecandi
    dontcallmecandi Posts: 17 Member
    OldAssDude wrote: »
    dontcallmecandi wrote: »
    Hello

    I am fairly new and I am hoping you can help me. I used to be very active and would do Barre3 workouts 4-5 times a week. I've badly fallen off the wagon over the past several years and now that I am trying to fix the giant mistake I've made (gaining 50lbs...) I am beyond frustrated over my lack of endurance. Maybe it's the 50lbs or the age but I am dead after 10 minutes of brisk walking and I STRUGGLE to achieve 10 minutes on the stationary bike.

    It's frustrating for a number of reasons: first because I've never been "in shape" but even way back when I was able to be active and not nearly die and second, because I can't last long I am not really getting my heart rate up and therefore not burning many calories. I know with time it will come back but I am beyond discouraged. It makes my 100+lb weight loss goal seem even bigger.

    Do you have any words of wisdom or ideas for improving endurance? Obviously just keep going and adding more and more each time but is there anything you know of to help? Are there some exercises better than others? I am starting with cardio because I figured it was best for heart health. I was thinking of incorporating Yoga once I feel more comfortable. I feel lost when it comes to weight training so I'm not even sure where to start there.

    4 years ago, I was obese and so out of shape I could barely walk a mile at a slow pace without having to lay down for an hour after. I would lay down for an hour, then go out and do it again. Sometimes 3 and 4 times a day. Once I got up to about 3 miles, I started power walking. I just kept going faster and longer. In the first year I lost 57 lbs. and went from a 40 waist to a 32, and could power walk up to 10 miles at over a 4 mph pace.

    A couple years ago I started adding running into my power walks. I could only run for about 30 seconds at first. I just started adding more distance to the running, and in about 6 months I could run 5 miles at a slow pace. Currently, I am in week 8 of a 12 week half marathon training plan.

    Yes. It is frustrating, and I don't want you to be discouraged, but it's not easy getting back in shape, and there are no shortcuts. It's going to be painful, tiring, frustrating, agonizing, and try to make you want to quit.

    DON'T LET IT!!!

    Once you get over the hump, it will start feeling great, and you will start feeling great!

    The hardest part is getting over that hump. It takes months and years, not just weeks, but it will be worth the pain and effort that it took to get there.

    Make it a habit. Make it become a part of your normal day. We eat, we sleep, we poop, we should do at least one form of activity every single day.

    Push it a little at a time and you will get results. Don't be ashamed to be out of breadth and be dripping with sweat. Get that heart pumping. It will make your heart strong. It will make your lungs strong. Sweat gets rid of toxins and cleans your skin from the inside out.

    I want you to know this all up front so you know what you are committing to. I'm 61 years old. If I can do it, you can too.

    I sent you a friend request.

    Thanks! I'll go approve your request.
  • dontcallmecandi
    dontcallmecandi Posts: 17 Member
    Thanks everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my initial post. You all have wonderful insight.

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