My body can't move like it used to

clarkeje1

I'm so angry and frustrated with myself. I'm trying to get back into a workout routine but it makes me frustrated that my body can't move like it used to since I've gained more weight. I need to not get discouraged and use this feeling as fuel to keep going. Can anyone relate?

lauragreenbaum

Yes, but for me it's more about age than weight. I'm about 20 pounds overweight, and in my 50's. Getting back into shape is harder than it was when I was much younger. But...it's possible and it's getting better the longer I stay with it. So, don't give up- it'll get easier!

LyndaBSS

Do exercises at the level your body allows right now, then enjoy your progress as you go along.

lorrpb

Of course you won’t suddenly be back where you once were. Start small where you are now, and keep progressing. It’s amazing how far the body can go with consistent work.

ABNana2614

lauragreenbaum wrote: »

Yes, but for me it's more about age than weight. I'm about 20 pounds overweight, and in my 50's. Getting back into shape is harder than it was when I was much younger. But...it's possible and it's getting better the longer I stay with it. So, don't give up- it'll get easier!

Same here, age more than weight. I have lost 35 pounds so far and it's taken a while. My body has new aches and limitations now that I'm a little older. I have 10 pounds to go to reach my goal weight, but ideally I just want to be healthy and strong so I can live a long, happy life. Keep at it. It gets easier. You've got this!

littlegreenparrot1

I often will start trying to get back into something, and assume I can go just as fast and as far as I did before, immediately. Even though it may have been several years since I was doing it at that pace!
Of course that is a great way to get annoyed and hurt myself.

Try and relax, plan a program, for the first few weeks just getting there might be enough.
Then as it becomes a habit, it might be you can work harder, you'll see the progress.

MikePfirrman

Your body is the most amazing, living machine ever. It truly is miraculous. However, after years of neglect and normal wear and tear, it tends to function like you'd expect -- a machine that's been sitting there idle for many years when it's "restarted".

It took a lot for me to lose weight. I started in my early 40s. I blew an ACL in my 20s and had completely blew my knee out, very nastily, coaching BB for my son. The injury was so bad I couldn't walk for nearly a year. That kind of injury, when you're also at your biggest, gives you a whole new perspective.

Back when I hurt it, I started with what I could do, which was PT (Physical Therapy) to start. Then it became learning how to walk again, literally taking one step at a time. There was a lot of determination, but also a lot of feeling sorry for myself. That all ended when I started becoming a "regular" at the local gym, just doing what I could.

There was a guy there that was a war veteran that worked out regularly with only one arm (and he was very strong, much stronger than I was!). He wasn't setting any limitations on himself, so how dare would I? Another lady I met had MS and wheeled herself from one machine to another to keep her muscles strong for her young kids. There was a father and son and the son had only use of his upper body and the father would pick him up, literally, and place him on equipment to keep his upper body strong and use what limited use he had with his legs. In my opinion now, after years of inactivity and now more activity than I've ever done, I think how ungrateful I was before my knee injury, that it took THAT long to finally realize the gift that all of us have, without limitations others have every day. I keep that in mind everyday now when I workout.

Aches and pains and weight happen. I took such inspiration off of others that made what I had seem trivial. I still can't do what I did in my 20s, but I can do amazing things now, much better than when I was in my early 40s (I'll be 56 this year with nearly 10 years in maintenance). Some things I do better than in my 20s, like my cardio endurance. I just can't stop and start like I used to!

It might take you six months to feel like your "back" to your old self, it might take a year. You might, like me, never quite meet your level of expectations. But one thing is for sure, consistent, gradual effort rewards immensely, not only for what you're physically capable of, but also how you look, feel and your health.

Silvershock19

MikePfirrman, That made me tear up a bit! Awesome observation and awesome example set by these men and women you met at the gym. Thanks for sharing.

grimendale

I can relate. About 5 years ago, I was doing a lot of running and even managed a Tough Mudder (12 mile obstacle race). I fell off the wagon, gained back a bunch of weight, and stopped running entirely. Back in January, I decided to get back in shape and started with the C25k program again, since it had worked well for me before. The first workout was 1 minute of jogging followed by 1.5 minutes of walking a total of six times. I went just over half a mile by the end, and had to flop down on the sidewalk and gasp like a fish. It was humiliating going from where I was to where I'd found myself, and I seriously considered giving the whole thing up as a bad job. I made myself go back out there for the second run, though, and I got a little better. I'm getting closer to my old runs: I finished the C25k and the 5k to 10k programs and am now working a 10k to half marathon program. I'm still not back to my old pace/distance, but I'm getting closer every workout. Start slow and work your way back up. It's going to take time, and you may never completely get back to where you were, but at least you'll be better than you used to be.

springlering62

I am 58. When I was 22 I raced singlehanded sailboats. I weighed so little that even with the maximum amount of permitted deadweight lashed to the boat, I couldn’t make minimum weight, but the guys would let me race anyway “because she’s a girl”.

Got married, two kids and 35 years later I had put on over a hundred pounds. I drew a line in the sand last year.

I would venture to say that, at 58, I am no longer a willowy youngster, and I may have a poochy belly and cellulite but I am unquestionably in the best shape I’ve ever been in.

But it hasn’t been easy. I had to commit to getting off my *kitten* and doing something about it.

springlering62

Meaning to say, for me it was, don’t sit there and analyze the aches and pains and the what if’s, it was just get off your *kitten* and do something about it and I’d recommend same to everyone.

Self doubt is a *kitten*.

Azdak

There is a great verse by the zydeco musician CJ Chenier:

Little boy sat down and cried
Old man passed and asked him why
He said “I can’t do what the big boys do”
The old man sat down and he cried too.

ALKHAN2019

Always operate within your limits, once you become comfortable then move up a notch, that way you will progress and see the difference. I have been doing this for 1 year and I can see the benefits, consistency is key.

megamom

I am 64, close to 65. I started slow knowing I was in it to get healthy and not swimsuit ready. I have lost 60 pounds in 10 months and almost 93 since I started. Belief me when I say it was not easy getting back into shape. I didn't exercise at all the first 35 pounds except work. But I wanted to get fit and stay active and out of a nursing home so I keep going to the gym even when I was so sore I didn't want to. I climbed on my bike and rode, slow at first and not far but recently rode a 15 K and did really good. My body also doesn't do what it used to, my knee hurts and my hip and shoulder, but less then it did 60 pounds ago. My balance has improved and I have muscles and feel better then I have in decades. So go workout even when you don't want to. Go slow and slowly do more and you will get to the peak of what your body can do. It is so worth it. Take it from this ole lady, the alternative isn't worth it.

Momjogger

I can totally relate! I didn’t start to feel like my old self until I had lost about 25 pounds. It took about 5 months and all I did was walk, do Zumba, and spin. I am starting to feel good, lift weights, and today I climbed two ladders to jump off a 20 foot platform into the water. It felt great! I’m feeling stronger and not as sore when I lift. I have more stamina and energy. It takes time to get there, but trust the process and listen to your body. You will make gains if you keep it up.