Taking a breather before going to the gym

[sophiap]

Today's theme has been 'Clean All The Things,' and barring laundry (still running) things are now as clean as they need to be for my physical/mental comfort. I've had the windows open and the attic fan running, so the place has aired out nicely, and I actually cleaned out the TV/craft cabinet, which is now simply the TV cabinet. All the craft stuff is sitting in bags in my study, so I can sort through it and figure out just how many half-done projects I have sitting around. There are a couple of kits I picked up here and there that I completely forgot I had, and enough sock yarn to knit a slipcover for my sofa. Methinks I may have a bit of a yarn addiction.

In other news, it's glorious out today, and I've done my farmer's market run (goat cheese, eggs, Roma tomatoes, sweet peppers, and some of the first apples of the season), and taken another walk besides. I'll also walk to the gym, using that as my warmup/cooldown. Earlier I splurged and picked up a wood-oven pizza to nosh on after I've worked out. I'll reheat that bad boy in a skillet with a little added olive oil, Parm-Reg, and red pepper. There's also half a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge with my name on it.

Tonight, I may very well do a post about some thoughts I'd had re. conventional wisdom regarding exercising with fibromyalgia and what my own experiences have been.

Comments

[sail_aweigh]

It must be something in the air! Or the fact it's a three-day weekend for most, that leads to an outright need to CLEAN ALL THE THINGS. For I succumbed to the lure myself and actually accomplished much more than I meant to. I hope I can sustain that over the next two days.

I'm curious to hear what your philosphy on exercising is. By the time many folks are in their 40s/50s they're suffering from some physical ailments, even if it's only the occasional twinge in a joint or the slight stiffness that comes as a precursor to arthritis. Many people, even those in good health, have to adapt their workouts to suit their lifestyle and chosen activities. What compensations have you had to make for fibromyalgia? Or have you even had to?

[sophiap]

I scrambled to get All The Things clean today so I can lounge about tomorrow/Monday and write fic. Lots and lots of fic. And knit.

Anyhow, I'm going to write things up in more detail, but to make a long story short, most of what I've read about fibro suggests things like yoga, or 'gentle' resistance training.

Feh, says the woman who did dumbbell rows with the 40lb. dumbbells about an hour ago. I have found that when I lift heavy and lift intense, I a) don't get flareups as badly (unless they're triggered by sleep issues) and b) can even convince a budding flareup to die back. By 'intense,' I mean that I'll be a sweating, panting mess and that there was at least one instance when I thought I was going to puke. The ache and fatigue from a workout is very different from the ache and fatigue of a flareup. One feels good and puts me in a relaxed mood, the other feels like two days after falling down a flight of stairs.

The only compensation I've had to make is when I'm in a nasty sleep-dep/insomnia cycle and dealing with crippling fatigue. If I work out, I will lowball my usual weights, or if I'm really in bad shape, forgo the workout in favor of medicating myself into a long, heavy sleep.

[sail_aweigh]

I would suspect that the heavier workout releases more endorphins than something like yoga (or anything considered "gentle"), so any possible flare-up is kinda dosed with your own natural painkillers. As long as your body allows the heavier work-outs, I'd so go with what works for you.

And the benefits of good, really good sleep should never be overlooked. I think good sleep sometimes can replace all the exercise in the world for fixing a persons ills.

Ooh, fic writing! That's something I'm definitely going to try to fit in this weekend. One of the reasons I bought the netbook. It's so much more compact and easy to take with me anywhere, so when the mood to write strikes I can maybe get to first base. :D And now that I don't feel held down by having the deadline of the big bang, I feel like I can actually write something. I've got h/c_bingo prompts to write and I'm having ideas for them, finally. Many happy words for you too, tomorrow!

[sophiap]

Sleep is absolutely a major cure-all for me. As for the endorphines, I think that's a large part of it. Blood flow to joints and muscles may be another. In any case, a hard workout will also help lift the brain fog which--for me, anyway--can be far more unpleasant than the muscle and joint pain.

There's part of me that is rather cynically wondering if the 'gentle' thing comes from the fact that most fibro sufferers seem to be women, and women are often steered towards the "low weight, many reps" style of working out as it is.