At last: the post I was actually planning to make today!
Sorry for the spammage. It seems to be feast or famine on this journal lately.
I'd meant to start last week but never got my act together. This week, I'm back to tutoring, so I finally made my way into the gym and used the treadmill. I'd intended to go for an hour, but I messed up the controls, ended up splitting my walk in half as a result, so I got about 45 minutes, which still isn't bad for a first go. Now that I know the machine a bit better, I'll (hopefully) use it correctly and have actual data. Data is good. I like numbers that show progress. I like non-weight-related numbers even better, because my goal really is to get my stamina and strength built back up. While my hips, knees, and ankles would no doubt benefit from carrying less of me around, that's not the primary goal.
One important number I do have is 153. That's the highest my heart rate got, and I slowed the machine back down once it got there. High 140s is fine. 150s is getting up there. Of course, having pre-medicated my asthma, my heart rate was already almost 110 when I first got on the damned thing, but that's to be expected. At least I only get tachy and not wonky with the albuterol these days. Oh, and the heart rate stayed in the 140s at 3 miles per hour but overshot once I took it up to 3.5.
I'm not sure I have a solid goal here. Ultimately, I'd like to walk up a couple of flights of stairs without getting winded and maybe even survive a bellydance class or fifty. For a short-term goal, mostly I want to increase the maximum speed I can tolerate and add at least a little incline by the end of the winter break. I'm also thinking I may alternate days between the treadmill and the recumbent bike that has the neat electronic race-course-looking thingy. For this week, it's all treadmill though. Walking is a good starting point. No strength training yet, alas, because the shoulder's still effed-up. Not sure if it's the way I'm sleeping on it or what, but something's continuing to aggravate it so that it's not getting better as it should.
I'd meant to start last week but never got my act together. This week, I'm back to tutoring, so I finally made my way into the gym and used the treadmill. I'd intended to go for an hour, but I messed up the controls, ended up splitting my walk in half as a result, so I got about 45 minutes, which still isn't bad for a first go. Now that I know the machine a bit better, I'll (hopefully) use it correctly and have actual data. Data is good. I like numbers that show progress. I like non-weight-related numbers even better, because my goal really is to get my stamina and strength built back up. While my hips, knees, and ankles would no doubt benefit from carrying less of me around, that's not the primary goal.
One important number I do have is 153. That's the highest my heart rate got, and I slowed the machine back down once it got there. High 140s is fine. 150s is getting up there. Of course, having pre-medicated my asthma, my heart rate was already almost 110 when I first got on the damned thing, but that's to be expected. At least I only get tachy and not wonky with the albuterol these days. Oh, and the heart rate stayed in the 140s at 3 miles per hour but overshot once I took it up to 3.5.
I'm not sure I have a solid goal here. Ultimately, I'd like to walk up a couple of flights of stairs without getting winded and maybe even survive a bellydance class or fifty. For a short-term goal, mostly I want to increase the maximum speed I can tolerate and add at least a little incline by the end of the winter break. I'm also thinking I may alternate days between the treadmill and the recumbent bike that has the neat electronic race-course-looking thingy. For this week, it's all treadmill though. Walking is a good starting point. No strength training yet, alas, because the shoulder's still effed-up. Not sure if it's the way I'm sleeping on it or what, but something's continuing to aggravate it so that it's not getting better as it should.