Elliptical machines - helpful after all

“Exercise is a healthy and beneficial treatment for treating fibromyalgia. Using an elliptical machine for exercise helps improve muscle tone, increase blood flow to muscles and decreases pain.” Livestrong.com

 

 An elliptical machine simulates running, gets your heart rate up, but eliminates the pounding pavement making it a low impact exercise.  I must admit I haven’t really liked the elliptical much.  We got one a few years ago for our little home gym and I would use it occasionally.  I much prefer running outside.  I found I got bored quickly inside and didn’t get as much of a workout.  For me, there is just NOTHING like running.  However, lately I have come to enjoy it more and see the practicality of it, both for convenience and my health.  I’ve not been very good about getting out to run the past couple of weeks.  I wanted to keep up with exercise though so if I missed a run, I would hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes.  It keeps me moving, keeps my endurance up, and doesn't cause any joint damage! While it may not be my favorite thing to do, it is a great tool to have to help me stay active.  So if weather is a problem, or kid’s schedules, I can still get a workout in.

 

If you don’t have one at home, think about getting one!  The prices range from under $100 to thousands of dollars depending on durability, features, and brand.  We picked ours up at Walmart for under $400.  It’s a Gold’s Gym elliptical.  Nice because it has a training program built in, cup holder & fan!

This is the newer version of what I have:  walmart.com 

You can often find them used in your area as well.

Here is a review of the best ellipticals for 2012 in different price ranges:  bestellipticalmachines 

 

Here is a good article about starting an exercise routine with fibro from Arthritis Today:  fibromyalgia-exercise

If you have a gym membership, Hop on the elliptical next time you are there and see how you like it!

2 Victories - a 3 year old and a 5K

I have a couple major victories I would like to share with you.  If you have read my blog, you have probably seen my post, Running – It’s What I Love.  I have been slowly trying to work up to running 5K again.  When I quit running a year ago this month I didn’t know if I would ever get back to that place again.  I started a 10 day cleanse and put my training running/walking 2 days a week on hold.  BUT I had scheduled a Virtual 5K with a mom’s group that I am a part of.  (If you’ve never heard of a virtual 5K, we all ran 3.1 miles in our own cities and posted our times in our online group.)  It had been my goal to run the entire thing.  After the cleanse, I felt great, but hadn’t done any running, just walking and Yin Yoga once a week.  I am currently in a Bible study called Believing God by Beth Moore, and in it we are challenged to believe that God will do big things in our life.  This was a big thing for me.  I set out Saturday morning believing that I could run the whole course.  I prayed that God would give me the strength and that he would let me know when/if I needed to stop and walk.  And boy did God show up!

As a mom's group, we were celebrating our kids all turning 3 this month.  I spent my 48:32 praying for my son, thanking God for him and asking for help to be the mother he needs.  I have struggled to be his mama.  I am not the same parent this time around.  I had very little energy in his early months and that was before I knew I had fibro so I was very confused and felt very guilty.  Not only that but I have held onto bitterness having to care for him being in pain and with so much fatigue, even though I love him with all of my heart.  God has healed me of that bitterness over time but on this particular run I asked him to take it all away, completely heal me from it all.   And do you know how he pried the rest out of me?  As I ran I held up my fist to the sky and recited the 5 statements of faith from our Bible study.

     1.  God is who he says he is.

     2.  God can do what he says he can do.

     3.  I am who God says I am.

     4.  I can do all things through Christ.

     5.  God’s Word is alive and active in me.

And there I was, open hand, clean heart.  Tears streaming.

Before I knew it I was getting close to where I thought my route ended, I couldn’t quite remember from the year before.  By this time my body was giving me clues to stop and walk.  Felt a little dizzy and was thirsty.  So I listened and began to walk the rest of the way home.  I ended up doing the total 3.1 miles, 10 minutes was walking and 38:32 was running.

Those of us in the Bible study use sign language for “I Believe God” when we need to remind ourselves to believe in those 5 truths.  I threw up one for the victory of running a 5K and another for healing my heart of bitterness (something I hadn’t even set out to tackle that day.

A cooling wind blew across my face the last few minutes as I was approaching my finish line, but the leaves in the trees were barely moving above my head.

Running – It’s What I Love

I quit running back in September 2011 because of the horrible pain I was experiencing at the time.  This was before I went to see my Dr. and learned I have fibromyalgia.  I was never a great runner, but I loved it.  I had only started a few years before and worked my way up to running a few 5K races with an ultimate goal of doing a ½ marathon someday.  The Tinkerbell ½ Marathon at Disneyland to be exact.  A lot of my pain in the beginning was joint pain, in my feet, knees and hips.  I was stiff in the mornings and so very sore in the evenings I could barely walk.  When I did see my Dr. in November, he confirmed that I should not be running.  Walking instead would be best.  But when I went to see a Rheumatologist for a 2^nd opinion she suggested that I continue to do what I loved, just start slow, build up very slow, pace myself, and listen to my body so I don’t overdo it.  It turned out a lot of my foot/leg pain was Plantar Fasciitis, and I was able to get that under control by learning some stretches and wearing good supportive shoes all the time (very hard for this flip-flop or barefoot girl!  Thanks to my sister-in-law who also deals with this, I was able to find some pretty cute supportive flip-flops by Orthaheel) It took me a few months to try running again.  I wanted to focus on healing my body a bit.

When I first began running I followed the Couch 2 5K Running Plan from coolrunning.  It is a very mild approach of walking/running and building up slowly to avoid injury over 9 weeks.  I loved the program, so I figured I would try it again.  It turned out that trying to run 3 days a week was too much, so I dropped it down to 2.  I have learned a lot about energy management, and for me, this is what I can handle.  I also believe the supplements I have been taking have helped with my energy and opened up more of my day to be able to exercise.  I have to run on days when I don’t have anything else going on, to give myself plenty of time to rest and recover.  Sometimes I have overdone it and suffered for a couple of days after with pain and fatigue.

This was one thing that was worth it to me to try and get back from my life before fibro.  I missed the quiet prayer time with just me and God (and usually my little one ridding in the stroller).  Getting out in nature (well, suburban nature) and feeling the sun on my skin.  It’s always been a great stress reliever for me, and given me a goal to work towards.  So once again I have set that goal of running the Tinkerbell ½ marathon someday.  Currently I am on week 7 of the C25K program although I have been running for 10 weeks now.  I feel great over all.  It has helped with energy, motivation, stress relief and more!

I want to point out that I am NOT telling you to go out and run.  This may not be right for you.  I also understand that I may not be able to do this forever.  You should seek advice from your Dr. about what type of exercise is best for you.  Start slow and build up slowly.  The normal recommendations for people with fibro are
low impact; walking, yoga and aqua therapy.  Even with those
you must build up slowly.

It takes time! 

What do you do for exercise?