Is it Possible?

tz841

For the past several months I have been much more sedentary than active, (I had abdominal surgery, three months later I fell on a cement floor and really hurt my back, and then I fell on the ice outside and thought I damaged the area where I had surgery). A couple months ago, my doctor was not impressed with my cholesterol numbers as well as my pre-diabetic status and she told me I should start walking again (like I did before my surgery last spring) - 30 minutes a day, three to four days a week. Since I don't have a safe place to walk outside anymore and my funds are limited, I joined the least expensive fitness center I could find on January 5th. I began walking on a treadmill on January 8th - 30 minutes at 2.2 mph and 5 minutes of cool down. I have done this now for eight out of nine days, plus added in a couple 10 minute sessions on an elliptical-like machine and increased my walking speed (depending on the day) up to 2.5 mph.

I noticed today – and I didn’t think about it when I did it – that I walked up two flights of stairs and walked around the campus at work before realizing that I wasn’t winded at all. In fact, I realized that I didn’t feel sluggish either; and when getting up from my desk at work, I just seem to move better.

So my question is: is it possible to see results that quickly from simply walking on a treadmill? I thought it would take weeks before seeing any noticeable improvement, if even then, with heart function and flexibility…So, what do you think? Is it possible? Or is this all in my head (which is also very possible)?

FreshKrisKreash

I think it's possible. I stopped exercising for months and for the past three weeks I've been back at it. I felt better after the first workout.

AllanMisner

Muscle memory might be at play. Keep up on the progression at a reasonable rate. It is easy to get too exuberant and injure yourself. Slow and steady wins the race.

tz841

Thanks, Fresh and Allan. I'm grateful for your responses. I've not heard much about muscle memory. I have been slowly but steadily building up my workout - I don't know if I'm supposed to feel exhausted when I'm done, but I usually do. I hope that this will eventually be energizing instead of draining. :-)

chopper_pilot

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

I worked up to half an hour twice a day and dropped thirty pounds without even dieting. It just took about 3-4 months of going at least 4 times a week.

tz841

Thanks, Chopper. I appreciate hearing from you and your wonderful results. I'm so glad for you! And you give me hope!