Can't hack cardio!

k1340347
k1340347 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 15 in Fitness and Exercise
Wonder if anyone could help me out with this.. I use a manual wheelchair full time and have just got back into the gym after around a year off after a few broken bones. Strength training I'm ok with and could do for around an hour 'no sweat' but when it comes to cardio e.g. Stationary cycling or intense swimming I can't manage more than about 5 minutes before I feel like I'm going to pass out or puke. I know I'm starting over in terms of my fitness level but is there anything I could do to perhaps make things a little more bearable, or does anyone have any experience working out in a wheelchair and what they do for cardio?

Replies

  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    i don't have experience with using a wheelchair but i have plenty of experience in sucking at cardio. my advice is to find the thing that you dislike the least and be patient with yourself. i started on an elliptical and panted over to my emergency inhaler after 8 minutes the first time feeling like DEATH ITSELF. the next day (or a few days later) i went back, went slower, and aimed for 9 minutes.

    your heart and lungs work like any other muscle in that you have to build up the strength and endurance needed for cardio. if you haven't done it in a while then you need to go slowly and carefully while you train them again.

    be patient, go slowly, build over time, take the rest you need and try not to get too discouraged.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Sounds like you need to build up more slowly
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    As already said, slow down.
  • DaveDR7
    DaveDR7 Posts: 49 Member
    Hi k13'
    I've no experience with wheelchairs and have only just started exercising, at 52. I've tried dietary in the past and nothing really worked. 6 years later at 250lb, I had enough and now doing the Insanity Programme, I know .... I'm stupid, but it's working for me!
    I can honestly say SNAP, I can quickly get my BPM to it's theoretical maximum (220 - your age = 168bpm in my case) I normally average about 140BPM over the period of exercise, but I can't push above and beyond, just before you get to that stage of bursting a lung or puking....... REST!
    Take 30,60 or 90 seconds rest and get your bpm under control. Then exercise again and continue this until you slowly build up your stamina, be prepared it will take weeks if not months to do so. So don't give up, just slowly build up.
    I've not once hit the time goal for the Insanity programme, but I do continue to complete all the exercise days, even if it takes me over twice as long.
    I do know that in 6 weeks time, I won't be able to recognise myself, because I'll either be dead or slimmer!
  • ThyPeace
    ThyPeace Posts: 16 Member
    There is no hurry here. As others have said, if you feel awful, take a break. Then do it again. Take a break before you feel awful the next time, though. This early in your journey, the goal is to make the motions available to you, rather than feeling like you're working out. You mention "intense" swimming. As a former longtime swimmer, I can say there are a ton of levels of swimming and they all work your body. For me, the easiest strokes are side stroke and elementary back stroke. For you they may be different. But whatever you can do in a pool, it's better than not. I would set a goal of something like 15 minutes in the pool, but only half of that being actual swimming. The rest of the time can be just holding onto the edge and breathing.

    ThyPeace, the nice thing about the pool is that just getting into the water will speed up your metabolism.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    k1340347 wrote: »
    Wonder if anyone could help me out with this.. I use a manual wheelchair full time and have just got back into the gym after around a year off after a few broken bones. Strength training I'm ok with and could do for around an hour 'no sweat' but when it comes to cardio e.g. Stationary cycling or intense swimming I can't manage more than about 5 minutes before I feel like I'm going to pass out or puke. I know I'm starting over in terms of my fitness level but is there anything I could do to perhaps make things a little more bearable, or does anyone have any experience working out in a wheelchair and what they do for cardio?

    I had this problem the first time I started using my home equipment (it's like an elliptical). I would step on the thing at the lowest resistance level and within 2 minutes my heart rate would be at my maximum and I would feel like I was going to pass out. The reason was that my heart and cardiovascular system just wasn't up to the task. What I did was get on the thing until my heart rate would get to the maximum I was comfortable with, then step off, walk around for a minute or two, and come back to it. Rinse/repeat. I did that each day until I could stay on a little longer. It took probably six months to work up to spending 15+ minutes at a time on the thing, and now over a year later I can stay on it for an hour or more if I want at the highest resistance level. It's all about training your system to handle it. Go slow, do a little at a time, rest, then go back and do it again. Work your way up. You will get it. A HRM might help you as well, it did me. I could see when my heart rate got above what I was comfortable with, and I'd know to slow down.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    Slow and steady, when it comes to cardio.

    Unless you're doing HIIT, you should be able to hold a conversation while on a treadmill/eleptical/running. Swimming, same thing, slooooow down - but don't talk while swimming, you may drown :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I don't have any personal experience with a wheelchair but, as the other have said, start short & gentle and take your time building up. Good luck!
  • k1340347
    k1340347 Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks very much everyone, looks like I'll just have to take things a little slower for the next few weeks !
  • BeeerRunner
    BeeerRunner Posts: 728 Member
    Just take it slow and gradually increase your time. My mom wasn't in a wheel chair full time, but she had to use one for the zoo, museums, etc... She started by walking around the kitchen table once a day. And gradually increased from there. Her next big achievement was getting to 5 minutes on the tread mill, but she would do this several times a day. I don't know if she ever got past 15 minutes straight, but she would do this several times a day. She went from a size 14/16 to a size 2. She also watched what she ate to lose all that weight.

    It can be done, but doing in short intervals with rest in between should help.
  • ValeriePlz
    ValeriePlz Posts: 517 Member
    My gym (L.A. Fitness) has the arm spinning thing ("arm bike"?) and is wheelchair accessible.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    Not personal experience, but maybe some inspiration.

    He does cardio pretty well in a push rim wheelchair ;)
    402_1marcel_hug_5000m001.jpg

    Marcel Hug. Spina Bifida. Did the Boston Marathon last year in 1:24 (and has won Berlin 2x, NY 2x, London 2x, Boston 2x, and Chicago 1x). About 50 minutes faster than any runner.
  • scg17
    scg17 Posts: 88 Member
    My dad spent a lot of time in a wheel chair after losing his foot. The arm bike is a good cardio start up, then just add in whatever else you feel comfortable with in small doses. He does upper body weight machines at low weight high reps for cardio too now.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    ThyPeace wrote: »
    Take a break before you feel awful the next time, though.

    this, and also: try to pace yourself so that it will be longer before you do feel that awful again and need another break. high intensity stuff is very popular right now (and effective :tongue). but based on my own experiences as an on-again-off-again bike commuter who hates cardio, you really need to start out by building a basic level of more ordinary stamina first.

    when i re-start biking after months of sitting on my butt, i usually spend the first four to six weeks monitoring my physical state and focusing on NOT getting anywhere near that gonna-hurl state. i'm aiming for the goal of 'i'm moving and i feel basically pretty normal'. so i adjust my pace to the state i want to stay in, rather than pushing the pace and expecting my body to learn how to not be in that state.

    i hate cardio though. i have the soul, heart, mind and temperament of a couch potato, so we could just be very different kinds of people.

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited January 2017
    double post derp
  • CTcutie
    CTcutie Posts: 649 Member
    Start slow w the cardio- you're going all out & don't need to torture yourself - and maybe try heavier weights, if you can manage it
  • tiny_clanger
    tiny_clanger Posts: 301 Member
    Without wanting to pry, it would be helpful to get a bit more information about why you are using a wheelchair. Depending on your disability, the sensations you feel might be related. For example, if you have a high SCI, you may be experiencing some dysreflexia which would suggest maybe you have a musculo-skeletal injury below your SCI lesion or something else that needs investigating. Or if your condition may cause blood pressure disruption or difficulty dealing with cardiac stress.
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