Living The Lifestyle - Monday 1/23/23
crewahl
Posts: 4,424 Member
This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!
Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.
Monday - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Flintwinch (Tim)
Wednesday - misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard
Today's Topic: Physical Limits
Do you have days when you reach your physical limit of what you can do? Is that limit a matter of fading energy or endurance, or is it a question of fatigued muscles? How do you determine whether it’s “I can’t” or “I don’t wanna”?
Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.
Monday - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Flintwinch (Tim)
Wednesday - misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard
Today's Topic: Physical Limits
Do you have days when you reach your physical limit of what you can do? Is that limit a matter of fading energy or endurance, or is it a question of fatigued muscles? How do you determine whether it’s “I can’t” or “I don’t wanna”?
0
Replies
-
🙋♂️
This is an odd one, but today for the first time in decades, I felt I had reached the limits of my energy or endurance - and then later in the day reached my limits of muscle fatigue. Since I haven’t done the former since my late teens, it took me by surprise, and I wondered if others have found their physical boundaries.
We had heavy, wet snow last night, and it bowed over a number of the giant arborvitae between us and our neighbors. Around 8:30 I took a plant hanging stake - basically a shepherd's crook about seven feet long made of 1/4” steel - and knocked snow off the arborvitae as far up as I could reach. After 35 minutes waving that thing above my head, I was staggering a bit and finding it hard to stand. I got in the house and just wanted to sit, and having sat, just wanted to lay down on the floor. I simply didn’t have the energy to sit up. No chest pain, no real muscle pain, no speech issues, no shortness of breath - just couldn’t summon the energy to sit up.
But I did, eventually, and realized I’d gone out there on an empty tank - no breakfast. Went ahead and had breakfast, showered, etc. My wife commented that I had a snow rake* that would reach higher - so feeling ambitious (and concerned about the trees), off I went to do that. I spent 45 minutes doing that and every muscle from the chest on up ached - so I decided rather than shovel snow, I’d stop where I was. My muscles were fatigued, and I had difficulty controlling the snow rake.
So my energy levels weren’t up to the task this morning, and my muscle conditioning wasn’t up to finishing the task this afternoon. I simply couldn’t make myself go forward after the first round; I needed to sit. I elected to stop after the second round because I felt doing more risked injury.
Have you gotten to either of those points? How did you know you had gotten there?
*If you live in the south, you likely don’t have a snow rake. Think of it as a 2-3' piece of aluminum that sits at the end of a pole, sorta like the tines on a rake. You reach up on the roof, let the rake sink into the snow, and pull the snow off the roof. The rake head weighs maybe two pounds - but it’s at the end of an extension pole of about twenty feel. That means at full extension, you’re controlling the equivalent of forty pounds. I cheated - I taped an empty plastic milk jug on the pole so I just had the weight of the 20' pole. That was enough.0 -
This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!
Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.
Today's Topic: Physical Limits
Do you have days when you reach your physical limit of what you can do? Is that limit a matter of fading energy or endurance, or is it a question of fatigued muscles? How do you determine whether it’s “I can’t” or “I don’t wanna”?
I'm finding so many more of those days, as I age.
Limit is usually energy, and I can't.
Wishing and hoping can't make it happen.0 -
Since I turned 60, I certainly find I fatigue more easily than ever. It's pretty much a downer. There are a variety of issues, sometimes it almost seems like chronic fatigue syndrome, but I don't think it's quite that bad. Just a few days ago I did maybe 30 minutes of work in the garden and then took a 2-hour nap. A couple years back I was doing some interior painting, and I found that the effort of controlling the brush in hard-to-reach places was enough to exhaust me after about an hour. Sometimes my lower back complains before anything else, and I stop right then. Walking seems the least problematic -- I can go 3 miles, but my pace is definitely slower toward the end. 5 miles would be a long walk.
I never go to the gym in January to avoid all the resolution-keepers, but in a week or so I'll get back and work up to 3 days per week. Improved strength does help.0 -
I have certainly pushed myself to the point of muscle fatigue, but that's really a reflection of a specific exercise approach. When I used to lift weights, I did a program that would push you to the point of real muscle fatigue. Afterwards, my muscles would feel like rubber and unstable. It was interesting, for sure. Likewise, sometimes when I've skied in dense snow, my thighs would get truly fatigued. I have also run to the point of fatigue.
In terms of energy/endurance, again, long runs tended to knock me out a bit afterwards. The same thing would happen with a big ski day.
These days, though, I find that mental fatigue is a big factor for me. There are some days where I spend so much of my time having to be deeply mentally-engaged, that by the end of the day I feel like I simply can't think any longer. On those days, when I get home, I can't even muster up the mental energy to read a book. Instead, I find that I just need to sit on the couch and stare mindlessly at the TV. This may be the introvert in me (sometimes), but I actually think it has more to do with remaining "engaged" for long periods of time.0 -
ClayandRocks wrote: »Improved strength does help.
I think that’s true - the whole “the more you do, the more you can do” thing has some validity. (Although some days it seems a high price to pay.)0 -
When I started playing Pickleball in Key West we’d play in the morning. Quit around noon. I’d get home, find something to eat and hit the couch. That was usually it until dinner time.
The indoor Pickleball game is currently closed here in Fort Myers. But when it’s going it’s not as challenging as the KW game outside in the sun and wind. I avoid the outdoor game because of the concrete but I may have to give it a shot.
I work out with a trainer twice per week. So I’m paying to be pushed. On training days my afternoon walks seem to about 1/2 mile too long. But as I’m walking around a lake, there’s no shortcut.
Now as I’m writing this I’m recalling a very early day in my weight loss journey when I dragged the stationary bike out of the corner of the basement and managed to do 8 min. I’ve come a long way.
I used to think of exercise as something I did to lose weight. Now I think of maintaining a healthy weight as something I do as part of overall fitness.
And last thing- at 285 lbs I was finding things I took for granted we’re becoming problem. The 1 household chore I’d always liked was raking leaves in the fall. I was getting to the point where I couldn’t scoop
them up. Even waking more that a couple of blocks was a problem. All that stuff scared me plenty.0 -
Depends on how active I've been - being active over a period of time tends to help me be more energetic.
What I am doing - If I am interested, then I am energetic.
Am I ill - I was ill over the weekend. I ended a meeting last Thursday, left work, laid down for a short nap and slept for 4 1/2 hours solid. I had hit my limit.
I rarely hit a physical limit unless I am doing really hard physical labor. However, I can reach a mental limit fairly often due to a relentless day at work. That wears me out.
0
