The Captains Lady

Exercise for HSW

(and their men-folk too!)

 

 

Wouldn't it be great if we could lose weight and be in shape simply by thinking about it? If that were the case, most of us would find ourselves fit in no time! But, that's where it starts, in the mind. The key to being fit is to get moving.

The purpose for this web page is to give you tips on how you, as a Highly Sensitive Woman (person), can design your own moving program, work out and stay comfortable, during and after exercise, while regaining energy and muscle tone without terrible relapses of pain! So get ready to be the captain of your own ship, ladies!

 

The Situation

Highly Sensitive People need exercise just like everyone else does. The trouble is, when you have Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue, Tension Myositis or Myofascial Pain, or other stress syndromes that affect your muscles and skeletal system, it is hard to know what to do, for how long and when to do it. But, you have to do it!

Without exercise you cannot repair cartilage, restore lubrication to your joints or reduce inflammation or pain. You will continue to get worse, not to mention gaining weight, as muscles are what burn calories. Smooth cartilage covers your joint surfaces, reduces friction and acts like a shock absorber as well. This reduces pressure. Without exercise, pH imabalnces occur, our chakra energy centers and energy meridians become drained, inefficient, unable to carry energy where it needs to go in the body.

 

As We Age

As we age, if we are not physically active our muscles can deteriorate and begin to atrophy in as little as two weeks. Poor diet or digestion, dehydration, vitamin or mineral deficiencies, stress, and genetics can speed up this process. We begin to lose our cartilage and the protective sheathing over our nerves. Not good. This means that nerve impulses can't get to the brain as quickly, or as correctly, in order to make muscles respond.

Also, aging adults are less able to use protein (from foods eaten) to build muscle.

If you are a senior, your insulin no longer prevents yur muscles from breaking down between meals and while sleeping. Poor digestion and/or circulation may also prevent your muscles from getting the nutrients and hormones they need.

Two things the older adult must do for is avoid inflamation and tummy fat. If you avoid these two, your heart can remain healthy. There is a protein called C-Reactive Protein (CRP), which I like to think of as creative protein, linked to inflammation. Exercise reduces this creative protein. Another way to reduce inflammation is to avoid foods that cause inflammation.

Exercise, particularly strength training (see below), does much to reverse all of this, but doing too much too soon can create scar tissue in the muscles. Start exercising slowly and build up. One of the great things about exercise is that the more muscle you develop, the more calories you'll burn. that means you will lose baody fat, not valuable muscle! And, your chakras will be spinning like colorful, internal flashlights!

 

The Frustration of it All!

It is important that you understand that you have not lost your mind. I know in the past you have probably questioned yourself over and over again as to why you can't exercise anymore without ending up in pain or extremely fatigued, sometimes for days afterwards. I know you have tried to find a solution to your weakening muscles. And, I also understand what worked for you one week may not have the next!

It is also possible that your belly is beginning to get fatter and the rest of you flabbier. normal weight obesity occurs when your weight is normal, but your body fat is too high. This is a huge health concern for Americans.

Many Highly Sensitive Women end up over-doing exercise, or don't exercise at all in order to avoid discomfort. This makes things worse. We get in our own way, not on purpose, but by not knowing what else to do.

 

Exercise Facts for HSWs With Syndromes!

If you have Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FS) or Arthritis, exercise will help you to lose weight, feel more energetic and less depressed, but it will not take away your pain. It may even add to your pain if you are not choosing the correct exercises!

If you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), with or without Fibromyalgia, you may have a 'delayed pain' response after exercise. CFS sufferers commonly do not feel the 'negative' effects of exercise until 3-4 days later when they experience headache, back pain or other aches. They may not even associate the pain to the exercise performed days before since they felt fine at the time. Now they have fatigue and pain and don't understand why. This can become an ongoing cycle of frustration.

To distinguish between the two, CFS is mostly a 'fatigue' type syndrome, where FS is mostly a 'pain' syndrome. They often overlap with each other, with the deciding factor being whether you relate more to pain, or fatigue, interfering in your daily activities.

If you have Chronic Pain, with a doctor's determination of no physical cause, then you are most likely dealing with Tension Myositis Syndrome (emotional pain manifested physically) or Myofascial Pain Syndrome (tension knots in muscles). Exercise may make things worse if you are not also incorporating Trigger Point Therapy to your exercise plan. Trigger Point Therapy helps to get rid of those knots in your muscles that refer pain to other parts of your body. Without working on Trigger Points, you may actually make them worse by exercising too much, too soon. Without dealing with emotional pain (TMS), you will not be able to keep the Trigger Points from coming back.

 

About Those 'Noodle-like' Muscles!

Without muscle, we lose energy and strength. Without muscle, our joints are not held in place. Without muscle, we gain weight (muscle burns calories). Without muscle, our hearts shrink. Without muscle, we lose our youth and our health. We lose our energy and vitality! 

There are stretches and exercises you can do to increase the flexibility and tone of your muscles even if you have chronic conditions. I will share these with you below, as well as relating each exercise to a specific chakra, but first I'd like to share a couple of things with you.

 

Nutritional Deficiencies Prevent Repair and Cause Pain!

If your diet lacks of whole foods, lean protein, vitamins and minerals, or you have digestive problems, which make it impossible for your body to absorb nutrients, your body will not be able to repair itself. You will become acidic, meaning toxins (acid wastes) will build up in your body tissues and your cells will be depleted of life sustaining oxygen. If this is ongoing, you will develop pain because your cells are 'tired'. You won't be able to recover quickly, if at all!

Energy Wellness Tip!

Within 15 minutes after your cool down, have a highly absorbable form of protein. I like to make a smoothie and add liguid amino acids (protein). A bottle of liquid aminos can be purchased at any health food store.

 

Aerobic Exercise 

There are two forms of exercise you need.

The first is aerobic (breathing and fat burning) and the second is resistance (controlled movements for increasing muscle tone). Aerobic exercise increases blood and oxygen to every area of your body. This is just what you need to make pain go away, as pain is caused from too little oxygen and blood flow!

However, I know, For some, it can be a major challenge just to do the warm up exercises that are supposed to precede these two! With Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue, IBS or any other Stress Syndrome, the only aerobic activities I suggest from the start are light walking or gentle swimming. If you have no knee problems, you might also use an exercise bike. Stick with exercises that offer minimal risk of falling. Even if you do not have osteoporosis (arthritis), this general rule will help you not to overly jar your muscles.

Yoga and Pilates are excellent for creating strong, toned and limber muscles. Start out slow, with beginner exercsies and work up. Mermaid Pilates is wonderful for core muscles that hold us upright. If you are going to work out like a Mermaid you should probably be on The Mermaid Diet as well!

 

If You Are Able, Start Out With a Simple Walking Plan

Week 1 & 2: 5 minutes per day x 2-3 days

Week 3 & 4: 5 minutes x 3-5 days

Week 5 & 6: 5 minutes x 6-7 days

Weeks 7: 10 minutes x 5-7 days

Weeks 8: 15 minutes x 5-7 days

Weeks 9: 20 minutes x 5-7 days

Weeks 10: 25 minutes x 5-7 days

Weeks 11: 30 minutes x 7 days!

You may keep increasing your time until you are walking an hour each day. If you ever experience problems, rest for a couple of days and then begin again at an easier level than that which you stopped at.

 

To Calculate Your Target Heart Rate

Subtract your age from 220

To find the lower end of your THR multiply your answer x .6

To find the upper end of your THR multiply your answer by .8

Example:

220 - 60 (years of age) = 160

160 x  .6 = 96

160 x  .8 = 128

This individual does not want to drop below 96, or rise above 128, while exercising.

 

When exercising, stay between your two numbers! To determine your heart beat per minute, take your pulse by counting how many heart beats you feel in your wrist (using the tips of your middle three fingers below the base of your thumb) in 15 seconds and multiply by 4. This will show you your 'number'. If it is lower than your lowest THR, pick things up a bit, if higher than your THR, slow down, your are hurting yourself.

 

Resistance Exercise

Once again, if you have a stress syndrome that affects you physically (Fibromyalgia, Osteoporosis, Sjogren's, Chronic Fatigue, etc.), you'll need to take baby steps. If you don't, you may set yourself back a month or so! Resistance exercises should not be considered until you are able to safely perform a stretching routine first. That means gradually developing strength and endurance, over a period of a few weeks, by walking, swimming, or stretching before going on to resistance/strength training exercises.

When you are ready, perform resistance exercises only twice per week. I suggest using exercise bands, or very light weights (2-5 lbs.), but only after you can manage basic stretches in the same body positions without discomfort. Seek out a book on strength training from your library or bookstore. Then, choose the exercises you are interested in. Perform at least two exercises for each muscle group. Just remember to start with very light weights, regardless of what the book may suggest. 

 

Calisthenics - 'Muscle Against Muscle' Resistance

Bedridden or Incapacitated? When using muscle against muscle, start out slowly. You want to focus on tensing and then releasing a particular muscle group for a certain amount of time. Then you'll move on to the next group and repeat.

Grab a book on Calisthenics and study the exercises. For example, let's say you want stronger biceps. Sit straight up in a perfect posture position, bend your elbows at your sides, like you are holding a rolled up rug, palms up. Now curl your fingers closed (make a loose fist). Keep your elbows at waist level. Now slowly pull yourfist towards your chest. Tighten up your upper arms and give a squeeze that lasts 10 seconds and relax. Lower your arms. You shouldn't be feeling it in your shoulder. Focus on the biceps, your upper arm muscles. Start with no more than 10 seconds of muscle tensing in each muscle group that you exercise. You can perform this kind of exercise with every muscle group (arms, legs, abdomen, etc.). Add 5 more seconds each week until you can hold the muscle group tense for 25 seconds before relaxing. If you experience any pain, stop.

 

Energy Wellness Tips!

Go to your favorite bookstore and browse books on Stretching, Ballet (they show great exercises) or Pilates. Look for books where some of the exercises are shown twice in order to reveal an easier technique, or start and finish positions. When you find a book you like, with reasonable exercises for your condition, take it home with you or make copies of the exercises you might actually do. This is going to be your manual for the next few weeks!

For those of you looking for work-out DVDs, I recommend Joel Harper (as seen on Oprah). Joel has workouts for everyone at every age and circumstance, including a Chair Workout! I think you will find that his Firming After 50 DVD, fits Highly Sensitive Women perfectly, with simple moves and wonderful stretches to keep you toned and fit.

Realize you may not be able to perform complete exercises or routines in the beginning. You might have to begin by just going through the body motions by flexing and relaxing your body parts without using too much energy at all. It's OK. It is up to you to decide what you can and cannot do. Start with a gentle stretch routine first or turn on some music and dance, even if it's in your chair.

Your exercises are to be used as a starting point for coping with whatever stress syndromes you may have. Therefore, stick with beginner exercises at first, which will serve to increase the energy of the associated muscle groups involved. As you get stronger, your 'beginner' stretching exercises will make wonderful warm up and cool down exercises for before and after exercising.

Don't stress yourself! Don't worry about sets and reps at first. Highly Sensitive Women do better with just going through each exercise once and moving onto the next exercise, rather than to wear themselves out with repeating sets, at least in the beginning. 

Try not to be too much of a coward either. Easy to do when you fear more pain!

Don't let others tell you that you are not doing enough. Don't be self-critical either. Only you know what you are and are not capable of. You are the only one that lives inside of you, unless you are pregnant and you have the right to start where you choose according to your fitness (or unfitness) level. 

The purpose for your exercising is to move your body toward relaxing. Don't focus on trying to build muscle or losing/gaining weight. Exercise, at least for now, is simply meant to help you to loosen up, help your body to relax and to ease pain.

Warm up the larger muscles of the body first. Legs are great to start with. They warm us up fast. Then, stretch out and work out from head to toe!

Learn Yoga, Tai Chi, or Qui Gong. Besides swimming, they are the most 'healing' of any exercises you can learn to perform.

Work out in the morning. By working out in the morning hours (or, if you work nights, after your normal sleep schedule), you loosen up tight muscles so you can relax better throughout the day, you raise your metabolism and will burn off more calories over the next 24 hours, you eliminating the worry that you may not have time to exercise later on in the day, and your self-esteem is increased because of your discipline and determination!

Go for Variety! Highly Sensitive People have to have variety. That goes for exercise too. Anything less is absolute drudgery. Variety makes exercise more like play. We thrive on play!

 

 

 

May Love & Energy Be Yours!

 

 

Email: Driftinggallion@yahoo.com

Web: www.thecaptainslady.com