How much is too much exercise with a PM?

I am currently exercising about 45-60 minutes 5 days a week.
I have a PM since February and I noticed I am full of energy about 6 hours after the work out.. (because I usually go in the morning). Then I feel very very tired at times.. Keep in mind I also had a gastric bypass in July 2009 and lost 70 pounds.. Can anyone share their opinion about energy, weakness, lack of breathe?

7 Comments

go for it

by Tracey_E - 2010-05-24 06:05:30

If you are feeling good, keep on exercising! If your heart is otherwise healthy and the pm fixes your problem don't worry about overdoing it. If your heart has plumbing or structural problems, you may want to talk to your dr first.

If you are feeling tired later, you might want to discuss it with your dr. Something else to do is keep a diary- track your water, food, exercise and sleep. Sometimes by writing it down you'll notice something that could make you tired. Lots of exercise means you need lots of water and lots of complex carbs and protein, not getting enough will make you tired late in the day. What you eat makes a difference also. Example, I notice I get tired late in the day if I have carbs for breakfast, so starting my day with protein fixes the problem.

thanks...

by sergbull43 - 2010-05-24 08:05:57

Thanks TraceyE..I needed that.. I am literally dozing off here at work... So so tired and lithargic.. Its awful.. but then Again.. I did have little protein today.. Little for the amount I should have after Gastric bypass!!! I will go home and REST!

idea...

by Tracey_E - 2010-05-24 09:05:17

Your body needs fuel if you're going to make it work hard! Rest and drink water tonight, and try an experiment tomorrow- be extra diligent about water, make sure you have protein for breakfast and eat regular meals the rest of the day. I noticed a huge difference in my energy later in the day when I switched from bagels or cereal for breakfast to meat or protein bars, and I don't get as hungry late morning.

Good luck! Let me know how you're doing. If you don't find a simple solution, I would go have a chat with your family dr, make sure your mineral levels and thyroid are good. If you feel good while you are working out, your pm is doing its job and it's unlikely your heart is the problem.

Tell me more

by heartu - 2010-05-24 09:05:33

Tracey is right on the mark about eating some protein to keep you fuller longer and give you sustained energy.

Now I am going to ask you to give me details about your exercise regimen.
1. How long (weeks/months/years) have you been exercising?
2. What kind of exercises do you do?
3.At what intensity? Do you break out in a light sweat, heavy sweat, can you carry on a conversation while you are exercising or are you breathing very hard?
4. Are you monitoring your heartrate while you are exercising?
5. Do you warm up first and cool down afterwards?

Exercising at lower levels burns fat. Exercising at higher levels (aerobic) burns mainly carbohydrates, but fat as well. And exercising at athletic levels (aka anaerobic) can't be done for long periods or you will burn out quickly because the body doesn't rely on oxygen because it metabolizes muscle glycogen to give you power.

My rule is if I am tired I either do not exercise that day or will do a lighter workout. It is possible to overdo it.

TELLING YOU MORE

by sergbull43 - 2010-05-25 01:05:13

This is the situation.. Since my gastric bypass I exercised initially 20, 30 and now 45-50 minutes a day. I do the treadmill only because I have no cartillage in my knees and its painful to do anything else really.. but I have to get my metabolism moving so I dont gain weight back...
Now answers to the questions:
1. 1-2 years I have been doing the treadmill
2. Treadmill on incline to 10-12 at times... 3.3 miles per hour.
3. I break out in a good sweat.. My back, arms hands, legs get all wet.
4. I monitor my heartrate on the treadmill.. and go to 130 at times... per minute.
5. THe only warmup I do is start slow on the treadmill and then go faster after around 5-10 minutes. I do stretch for like 2 minutes after because I am timed since I have to be at work between 7-7:30 AM.
I slept when I got home from work today... I was exhausted.. its only been 2 days that I haven't worked out and since I had a baby shower for my daughter on SATURDAY, MAY 22nd.. I was going going going for weeks, with anxiety, energy... and then I last night..and I was totally short of breath last night too.. THOUGH this started Friday when I got an anxiety attack and good not breathe well and literally vomited. I think that was just nerves though about everything running well with the baby shower.. ANyway I am off to bed.. its almost 10 pm and I have to be up at 5 am.. to exercise..
Thanks and I will keep you posted...

Judy

thanks!

by sergbull43 - 2010-05-25 02:05:48

Thanks for your input... I will followup with the doctor. I always want to use the incumbent bike but its always in use THAT early in the morning. They only have 1. I am thinking of starting to do DOUBLES.. like 45 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon at least 4 times a week see if that helps my energy level, but right now I just want to keep at a lower pace to not to overdue and exert myself... Thanks again and I will follow up with the doc!

Judy

Thanks for the Info Judy

by heartu - 2010-05-25 08:05:21

Wow, you get up at 5am to exercise! I exercise better later in the day (bewteen 3-5pm). I certainly am not qualified to tell you what is going on, but I would recommend that if you are still short of breath to see your doctor. That should not be happening.

Do you know what the upper limit of your pm is set to? Initially mine was set at 130, but I found that when I exercised that my heartrate would go higher and since the upper limit was only 130 the pm would put me into a 2:1 block. The doctor raised the Upper Tracking Rate to 150 and it did the trick. So what I am saying is that perhaps your settings need to be tweaked.

Also, my understanding is that walking on a treadmill can be hard on the knees and riding a recumbent bike or elliptical is easier on the joints (swimming is very gentle on the joints). You do a pretty steep incline. So far I have only gone up to 5% at 3.6 mph and my heartrate gets up to 134. If you are using the handgrips to monitor your heartrate check it against taking it manually. My handgrips are not reliable so I got myself a heartrate monitor and so far it has been very accurate (my EP also said it was OK to use).

Before my pm I used the "how I feel factor" when I exercised. So if I was huffing and puffing after my workout, I knew it was too hard and I had to scale back. If everything checks out well with your doctor you could consult an exercise physiologist who can come up with an exercise program for you that will keep your metabolism up and keep you energized as well.

Other things you could try to do when you feel tired is to get up and just do some stretches to get the blood and oxygen flowing. Make sure you eat so your blood sugar levels don't go too low and stay hydrated. It is extremely important to drink water or you will also feel very tired. But again if you continue to feel very tired and SOB , please see your doctor to make sure everything is ok.

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