having trouble exercising after long break

deluxmary2000

I'm going to start off by saying that I'm just VENTING, and I know a lot of people have it worse than me, etc. But I'm also pretty much impossible to offend (the gauntlet has been thrown), so feel free to tell me to STFU if you like.
Anyway, I've been getting so frustrated at how much my physical ability has tanked in the last year and a half. I was never overweight growing up, but I was always thin and VERY weak. Couldn't run, couldn't lift anything, etc. A few years ago I started running, and slowly built up to half marathons, although I never did manage to run a full marathon. Then I started a "boot camp" style class and loved it, and started out with some basic weight training. It doesn't sound like much, but I was able to OHP 50 lbs, and go for "easy" 5 mile runs, and do burpees all day long (not really, but it felt like it), etc. The basic idea is that I wasn't superwoman, but I felt like I was FIT for the first time ever.
Then I got pregnant... and I thought I would keep running and strength training right up until my water broke. That didn't happen... I had complications and was put on limited mobility for 7 MONTHS. Then I had a c-section and hernia surgery in the same week. Yadda yadda yadda, waah waah waah.
So now that I'm fully recovered, I go to the gym but it is so freaking depressing. I feel like I can't do ANYTHING. I can't run for more than a minute straight. I can't go more than 5 minutes on the stairclimber. I can barely lift my own arms, let alone any significant weight. And it sucks, and it makes me want to just quit. I feel like all my work was for nothing.
Anyway, now that I've whined for awhile, does anyone hAve experience with coming back after an exercise hiatus? Will I ever get my groove back??

bwogilvie

Yes, you will get your groove back. But it will take a while. And take it slowly. If you're doing high-impact activities like running, cardiovascular fitness can come back more quickly than your joints can handle. You don't want to ramp your activity up too quickly and then get injured and have to take time off.

Just do what you can, and then the following week, do just a little bit more. Eventually you'll be back where you were, and then you'll progress further.

Since my main activities are cardio (cycling and running), the one specific bit of advice I'll give is that HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has been shown to produce significant fitness improvements, not only in power but also in endurance. (See Alex Hutchinson, _Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights_,with references, and Gretchen Reynolds, _The First Twenty Minutes_, without references.) If your training time is limited, HIIT is well worth considering. But first, build up some basic muscle, ligament, and tendon strength, since HIIT can cause serious injuries if you do too much, too soon.