I am in week 2 of exercising. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I am loosing motivation all ready I hate being sore!! I have fibromyalgia so my body hurts on a regular basis. Now with adding exercise, my body really hurts. My significant other (Michael) is into weight lifting. He is in terrific shape. He is trying really hard to help with my motivation but it's not the same as having someone who is in the same situation as you are.
How does everyone stay motivated?? Does anyone else have fibromyalgia and exercise too? I would love some pointers.
Do you have access to a trainer? If it's making you sore you might need to look at what you're doing (and I certainly don't have any experience of your condition to advise you on that). A bit of soreness can be good, particularly after weights, but not to the extent that it puts you off doing anything.
As for motivation, the easiest one is to think about whether you'd rather exercise for half an hour or an hour or however long it takes, or whether you'd rather be fat 24 hours a day for the rest of your life. (OK, it's not as simple as that, but it makes the exercise look rather more appealing!)
Hi Cindy--you don't mention exactly what exercise you're doin'! That might help us offer more specific suggestions. In general, though, I can say that I had general muscle soreness and was TIRED for about the first 4 weeks of exercising. Now, my motivation comes from the fact that I can actually SEE the difference and it's not so much about what is on the scale. Rather, it's more about the fact that...OMG!...there are muscles in there! Funny, but I first noticed it one day in the shower while shaving my legs and I looked down and there was a muscle crease on the side of my thigh! Cool :-)
I think if you can just hang on another 2 weeks, you'll not only feel better (and not so tired and sore), but you'll start to really see and feel the positive effects from the exercise (like...not huffing when you climb a few stairs).
In my experience, the first 6 weeks were cr@p. Hated it. I have asthma and coordination issues and it just felt horrible. But I stuck at it, and things got better and better, and now I love it!
From my limited understanding Fibromyalgia is not fun, but it's a chronic long term condition that needs careful management. I think you need an experienced trainer or physical therapist to guide you in the right direction.
I just do it because I know that I feel better afterwards. If you are still feeling pain, you may need to find some other exercises that you would find pleasurable.
You might check out over here http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=14
they have threads related to fibromyalgia.
I can relate! I have a neurological disorder that causes chronic pain, and exercising, frankly, hurts.
Just about every day I get up and don't want to go to the gym. Every day I have an internal argument about going. But I go six days a week, and I work out for up to an hour doing cardio and then another half hour weight training plus stretching and ab work. I haven't discovered any of the endorphin highs, and I always feel sore and in pain afterward and for the rest of the day. Despite what others say about enjoying exercise, my favorite day is Sunday, which is the only day I don't go to the gym.
But for me, the alternative is worse. I will not succumb to diabetes, heart disease, or osteoporosis (which I already have in two vertabrae). I absolutely refuse to give into the pain because then it will really run my life.
I found that once I set the alarm and made it a habit that I just kept doing it. Have you tried water aerobics? There are several people in my class that have fibromyalgia, and the only special thing they do is wear "jackets" because the pool can be cold until you start working. One woman also lifts weights and does other kinds of aerobics. We've talked a bit about this issue, and she says, too, that just making exercise a habit helps to get her there.
I have a very competitve nature and me and 2 girls at work have set up an incentive program. I want my 3 smiley faces every week. After two weeks I get to reward myself. My rewards are things that will help me with my weight loss (new swimsuit, swim shoes, sweatsuit, exercise dvd, etc). That excites me. That motivates me. This website and this forum motivate me also.
At the beginning it was so hard for me not to just say "I'll just skip this one day it won't hurt" while knowing that it WOULD!
All my other attempts went like that and I'd stop because I didn't feel like it, I was too sore, and all that. I don't know about your condition so I can't say what I've said to myself about the soreness going away.
All I can say is stick with it and it'll pay off. Just try to think of it as something that you NEED to do, not that you HAVE to do it. It's an everyday thing
I have chronic neurological problems but manage to workout 6 days a week. I have to constantly listen to my body. I have work at a pace that is beneficial but will not injure me. There is no hard a fast rule to it I just have to be aware of pain that is abnormal and stop as soon as I feel there is a problem. It has taken a long time but I am up to 50 minutes a day so I have made a lot of progress. I began with just plain walking then added in some weight training. I work out alone because I know being in a class or with a trainer would encourage me to go beyond my limit. I usually take ibuprofen after I am finish and take a very hot bath or shower which helps a lot. Also I have found that stretching a lot after I am finish has made a big difference. It has really cuts down on muscle spasms
I understand where you are coming from Cindy, I felt the same way you did when I started excercising about 3 years ago. I have not done any kind of physical exertion for quite some time, and I had to give time to my poor body to get used to the excercise. It did happen, gradually and I have stuck with it ever since. For me, it took quite some time to not notice the aches and pains, but eventually my body got used to it. Now, that being said, I needed to find something that I liked doing, in order to keep going or I would have given up as well. A lot of people have suggested a trainer, and I think that is a great idea. The trainer will be able to gauge your strengths and weaknesses and will help you develop goals to work towards. Keep it up, it will get better, and think about what a great thing you are doing for yourself!
When you start noticing how strong you are and how much easier thingsa re for you to do, it can be incentive enough. I love that I can get down on the floor to play or clean or whatever and GET BACK UP with no problem. It takes time to get there depending upon your shape before starting but it is sooooo worth it.
Thanks everyone for the advice and support. I will be at the gym tonight and working towards 45 minutes on the treadmill. I have been alternating body areas with the machines. I did arms and chest on Tuesday. I will do either legs or abs today. There is a trainer at the gym and I am sure he would be willing to help.
I stopped at my Doctors office last week on Friday and I am down 6 lbs. I will visit them again next week and weight myself again. I threw my scale out that I had at home. Hopefully a few more lbs. will be gone.
Staying motivated to Exercise
I hate being sore!! I have fibromyalgia so my body hurts on a regular basis. Now with adding exercise, my body really hurts. My significant other (Michael) is into weight lifting. He is in terrific shape. He is trying really hard to help with my motivation but it's not the same as having someone who is in the same situation as you are.
Thanks for the support and advice
Thanks everyone for the advice and support. I will be at the gym tonight and working towards 45 minutes on the treadmill. I have been alternating body areas with the machines. I did arms and chest on Tuesday. I will do either legs or abs today. There is a trainer at the gym and I am sure he would be willing to help. 