I'm pathetic, did 3 mins on my exercise bike and dying :'(

MrsStripyPie
MrsStripyPie Posts: 22
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm 20, I weigh 274lbs and just thought I'd get back on my exercise bike. Did three minutes and I'm dying, chest getting tight and hurting so I had to stop. I used to be able to do 20mins straight without fail.

Hate my disorder medication, made me gain weight with stress. I want to lose it but how can I lose the weight if even 3 minutes is a struggle?
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Replies

  • sch1994
    sch1994 Posts: 57 Member
    Dont say your pathetic, I was the same on my elliptical! I used to do 25 Mins no stopping, Now I can barely do 10! and I had to build that up as well! Just keep at it and try to up it everyday by a minute or even half a minute, depending on how your feeling! :) Chin up at least your trying!
  • MrsStripyPie
    MrsStripyPie Posts: 22
    Dont say your pathetic, I was the same on my elliptical! I used to do 25 Mins no stopping, Now I can barely do 10! and I had to build that up as well! Just keep at it and try to up it everyday by a minute or even half a minute, depending on how your feeling! :) Chin up at least your trying!

    Going to write down the mintues and calories burned, then add it up over the day. Going to keep getting on it and stop whenever my chest hurts :( xo
  • Garfy117
    Garfy117 Posts: 30 Member
    3 minutes is more than yesterday. Tomorrow it may be 3 and a half - any step forward is a good one - congratulate yourself for what you have acheived rather than beat yourself up for what you have not.
  • lewispwest
    lewispwest Posts: 498 Member
    Knowing your limitations is not a bad thing. You do what you can do then you work up to doing more. I feel bad for not running on treadmills at the gym but now I run the last quarter of my bit. As I go I'll run more of it.

    Doing something is better than doing nothing, regardless of how long, just remember that .
  • wifeymou1112
    wifeymou1112 Posts: 129 Member
    3 minutes is more than yesterday. Tomorrow it may be 3 and a half - any step forward is a good one - congratulate yourself for what you have acheived rather than beat yourself up for what you have not.

    This ^^^
  • RozzeleS
    RozzeleS Posts: 65 Member
    3 minutes is more than yesterday. Tomorrow it may be 3 and a half - any step forward is a good one - congratulate yourself for what you have acheived rather than beat yourself up for what you have not.

    Completely agree with this.. We all have to start somewhere x
  • PHS7
    PHS7 Posts: 213 Member
    Pathetic??? BS. How many minutes did you ride yesterday? So today you did 3 minutes. Tomorrow maybe 4 or 5. In a couple of weeks you'll be blowing it away. How long did it take you to get to your current weight? 20 years. So you cannot expect to be at the finish line when you just started the race. Take your time. Do a little bit more each day. Then one day, you'll amaze yourself.

    CONGRATS ON MAKING A START!!!!
  • skinnyin60
    skinnyin60 Posts: 20 Member
    No amount of exercise should be considered pathetic. What WOULD be pathetic is lying on the couch or in bed all day and not getting up and working out, however little you can manage. Well done for making one of the first steps, it only gets better from here.
  • lemur_lady
    lemur_lady Posts: 350 Member
    Everybody has to start somewhere. When I started exercising 5 mins and I was dying. Now I can do an hour :)

    Baby steps towards a healthier you. Keep up the good work :)
  • moya_rargh
    moya_rargh Posts: 1,473 Member
    I'm 20, I weigh 274lbs and just thought I'd get back on my exercise bike. Did three minutes and I'm dying, chest getting tight and hurting so I had to stop. I used to be able to do 20mins straight without fail.

    Hate my disorder medication, made me gain weight with stress. I want to lose it but how can I lose the weight if even 3 minutes is a struggle?

    Whoa there! Three minutes on a bike defeats three minutes on the couch. You're anything but pathetic!

    Keep going.
  • RJKontos
    RJKontos Posts: 17 Member
    Six months ago I could do only 6 minutes on my elliptical; today I do up to 50 minutes (I'm still dying but it is so worth it!) :smile:
  • wisteriafleur
    wisteriafleur Posts: 24 Member
    A good way to go is set a short term goal and work up from there. I take disorder medications and gained weight, quit smoking and gained weight but when i started exercising i set the goal that i was going to use my stationary bike for a 15 minute period and no less. I started out doing 15 when i woke up and 15 before i went to bed and even though I can now do 1 hour of exercise i still can not do 30 minute sets, its all in 15 minute increments. I know i will eventually build up to the level where i can go for 30 minute periods. I started back on the site at 256, having lost down from 260 so im near the same weight as you and i know it can feel a bit hardcore or rough after being inactive but im telling you, finding a short term goal like how long you need to work out is very useful towards lowering and maintaining weight. I say try for 5 minutes at least.

    http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Target-Heart-Rates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp

    This is an article on average target heart rates that is very useful for people who do not know the rates they should be reaching

    It's important to note that the American Heart Association says in this article:
    "If your target heart rate is too high, you’re straining. So slow down."

    Just make sure you stay safe. Only you know your limitations. I just want to be motivational. My typical BPM is 140-150 so im well within my target heart rate. I've been trying to also strengthen myself to where i can do 20 minutes each but still no gold star. I am not beating myself up though. I think its wonderful that you are trying and you are on the right track. After all you are trying to get help from others and there is a lot to be said about someone asking for help
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  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    DON'T hit is so hard .... warm up slowly and pace your self.. Do not get suckered in by the "There's no gain without pain" muppets.
  • wisteriafleur
    wisteriafleur Posts: 24 Member
    Be honest with yourself I mean really what did you expect? At 247 lbs did you expect this to be easy? To just jump on the bike and eat salads? Thats not how it works.

    I was in your shoes once and took up walking as my exercise. At first I could not walk half a mile and when I did my legs would burn, my back hurt, my hips hurt, my legs hurt, I was sore for a day or two.

    Slowly over the course of the summer I watched my self go from a half (miserable) mile to 4-7 miles a day.

    You CAN do this but give yourself time. 3 minutes today will turn into 30,60, or 90 minutes someday.

    Be patient and honest with yourself.

    amen to that lol, when i first started back i could barely make it half a mile to a mile and now i push myself to do at LEAST 6 if not 7 or more and here i am now at over 13miles a day
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Be honest with yourself I mean really what did you expect? At 247 lbs did you expect this to be easy? To just jump on the bike and eat salads? Thats not how it works.

    I was in your shoes once and took up walking as my exercise. At first I could not walk half a mile and when I did my legs would burn, my back hurt, my hips hurt, my legs hurt, I was sore for a day or two.

    Slowly over the course of the summer I watched my self go from a half (miserable) mile to 4-7 miles a day.

    You CAN do this but give yourself time. 3 minutes today will turn into 30,60, or 90 minutes someday.

    Be patient and honest with yourself.

    This!
  • trekkie_bbs
    trekkie_bbs Posts: 64 Member
    Be honest with yourself I mean really what did you expect? At 247 lbs did you expect this to be easy? To just jump on the bike and eat salads? Thats not how it works.

    I was in your shoes once and took up walking as my exercise. At first I could not walk half a mile and when I did my legs would burn, my back hurt, my hips hurt, my legs hurt, I was sore for a day or two.

    Slowly over the course of the summer I watched my self go from a half (miserable) mile to 4-7 miles a day.

    You CAN do this but give yourself time. 3 minutes today will turn into 30,60, or 90 minutes someday.

    Be patient and honest with yourself.

    +1 from personal experience. I could not have said this better.

    Going till your chest hurts is not smart. Exercise that hurts will eventually forcing you to give up. Set goals. If you are like me and don't know how to set them then you have your baseline. Now set goals just below it and if you start to hurt back-off. You will either find a way to love or at least have some fun exercising or you will stop exercising.

    And just in case you missed what the above poster wrote. You CAN do this! :flowerforyou:
  • Schmiznurf
    Schmiznurf Posts: 61
    You'll get better with time, so don't worry. You can't just jump straight in and be as good as you used to, it takes time.

    With my exercises I write everything down about what I can and can't do and one lot of exercises I only do once a week. The first time I did 8, second time I did 10 and then the third time I did 16, so managed to double my output with just two more days of doing it.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    If anyone said "I saw this obese person do 3 mins on a bike and they were dying, how pathetic" on this forum, they'd be utterly ripped to shreds. Saying it about yourself doesn't make it okay to say that.

    You're not remotely pathetic. You're awesome because you made the effort to do something and you did it. Yep, you wish you'd been able to do more... that shows you have ambition. Everyone starts somewhere and everyone improves with practice. This time next year, think where you'll be if you keep up this level of determination....
  • kjarvo
    kjarvo Posts: 236 Member
    It's not pathetic. Everyone starts somewhere. People wouldn't expect beginners to be able to run 20 minutes without stopping so it should be the same for other activities. Why don't you follow a c25k or pre-c25k and do 1 minute on the elliptical machine followed by 3 minutes walking around your house and repeat x 8? Treat it as training for building up to a consistent time.
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
    3 minutes is a triumph over sitting on your *kitten* all day. Next week you'll be able to do 6 minutes. No one said it was going to happen quickly.
  • CleverClone
    CleverClone Posts: 45 Member
    I agree with everyone else, 3 minutes is much better than no minutes! I was in your situation a while back and while I'm still not fit, I'm improving every day.

    DON'T hit is so hard .... warm up slowly and pace your self...

    Also, this. It's good to push yourself but not too much; if you do too much before your body can cope with it you'll only injure yourself.
  • wisteriafleur
    wisteriafleur Posts: 24 Member
    If anyone said "I saw this obese person do 3 mins on a bike and they were dying, how pathetic" on this forum, they'd be utterly ripped to shreds. Saying it about yourself doesn't make it okay to say that.

    I totally agree with this ^
    After all the site is called myfitnesspal for a reason
    we are all on here to better ourselves through physical fitness/healthy eating/ recovery etc

    You are far from pathetic and are to be commended for taking your first steps towards bettering your health and life so be happy and smile, you can and will do this. I know it. :smile:
  • PearlAng
    PearlAng Posts: 681 Member
    I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry you're feeling upset :( but at least you had the mindset to even try at all! Simply getting up and trying is the first step to success. If you can work yourself back up to it, I think you'll be doing it in no time. Try not to feel discouraged.
  • mikes99mail
    mikes99mail Posts: 318 Member
    DON'T hit is so hard .... warm up slowly and pace your self...

    Also, this. It's good to push yourself but not too much; if you do too much before your body can cope with it you'll only injure yourself.

    +1 for this. Slow down a bit.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    You'll be surprised at how FAST you'll improve. Just start a little slower next time, decrease your resistance and don't go quite as hard. I found that lung capacity improves super fast when starting new exercised program. Once I got to the point where my LUNGS didn't quit on me, it took a bit longer to convince my MUSCLES not to quit on me but the lungs got back into shape within a matter of weeks. After that it was slow going to see improvement in my endurance based on convincing my muscles not to quit. For example: at 360 pounds I started doing the elliptical. At first I was like you and could only do a few minutes at a go... Within a few weeks I was up to 40 minutes and I was able to increase my resistance to the point where I couldn't go much over 40 minute because my legs were jelly but the LUNGS?? The LUNGS were still going strong. Now getting the LEGS to coorperate for me was a different story, once I got to the point where my fatigue issues were with my muscles and not my lungs, I had to work up slowly adding just a few minutes or resistance points a week.

    I wish you all the best. You got this!
  • hortensehildegarde
    hortensehildegarde Posts: 592 Member
    If anyone said "I saw this obese person do 3 mins on a bike and they were dying, how pathetic" on this forum, they'd be utterly ripped to shreds. Saying it about yourself doesn't make it okay to say that.

    I think this may be one of the most brilliant observations I have seen on this site yet (and I hope it is accurate). Crap half the time I tire myself out trying to brush my hair (well., TBH that HAS gotten better lately with new efforts but it def did used to be an issue).

    There's nothing saying you can't do 2 mins repeatedly throughout the day. I think the point is to see what tests you and keep pushing that little bits at a time. If you haven't done this before I know it probably sounds impossible/improbable, but lots of people here are posting from experience that if you just keep chipping away at it, pushing it a LITTLE farther and giving it some time, you will SHOCK yourself at what you can work up to.

    Thank goodness we aren't defined by where we start :)
  • angieroo2
    angieroo2 Posts: 970 Member
    Take it slow and work back up to the 20 minutes (and beyond). One day soon you'll be so impressed with how much you accomplished and how far you've come.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    Everyone has to start somewhere! In 6 months you'll be doing 30 mins and not even breaking a sweat :smile:

    When I first joined my gym a few years ago after a break from exercise I found 3 mins on the stepper hard. Now I can do half hour interval training on it at a much higher level. You will build up your strength and fitness.
  • MscGray
    MscGray Posts: 304 Member
    We all start somewhere! Just keep after it!!! Pedal through out the day if you can/must, and don't be to hard on yourself. Instead of going all out when starting back up, maybe start at a more leisurely pace while your getting back into the swing of things....going to intense to quick will lead to injury or quit.

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