Exercise advice for a newbie!

goodlad

Hey everyone,

Im just looking for some advice on what exercise to do.

Im 28 and have never really done any exercise.

I recently quit smoking,im off them about 2 months now.I can run up the stairs now without getting out of breath but still i do get out of breath quite easy, even walking at a moderate pace has me quite out of breath after maybe 10 minutes

I had considered doing some running but the problem there is i have awful problems with my legs. I injured the ligaments in my knees when i was young and as a result i have really bad shin splints and also, even after 5 minutes walking my calf muscles completely lock up like bricks which is really painful.

Then the skin splints kick in and i cant bend my foot at all without pretty bad pain.

So what can i do? its like a catch 22 for me I want to do some type of exercise because im pretty sick of feeling like i ran a mile when i only walk down the street.

Any advice for me would be much appreciated.

TommyKnocker

Hi Goodlad

I would really advise having a chat with either your GP or a good Physio who could a assess your medical issues and provide a rehab plan to get you started.

For your own well being I don't think you should look for advice on training routines from the internet while you have these issues.


Best Regards & Good Luck,

M

goodlad

Cheers for the reply.

I had got physio a few years back, it was working great.
I cant explain the joy when i walked to the shop with no pain, lol

The pain of the physio was absolutely insane, stupid knots in my muscles! :mad:

It all worked fine but literally, a week after i stopped getting the physio my legs were back in the same situation as before.

Maybe i should look into starting the physio again and this time get it for longer.

d'Oracle

goodlad wrote: »

Cheers for the reply.

I had got physio a few years back, it was working great.
I cant explain the joy when i walked to the shop with no pain, lol

The pain of the physio was absolutely insane, stupid knots in my muscles! :mad:

It all worked fine but literally, a week after i stopped getting the physio my legs were back in the same situation as before.

Maybe i should look into starting the physio again and this time get it for longer.

Maybe so.
But also you should discuss what you have tried to discuss here, with your physio. They may be able to advise you as to how to approach exercising.

Or they may know a trainer who can be sympathetic to your issues and work around them. Bottom line is here is the wrong place to start in your case.

discombobulate

Cycling and cross trainer work are also a lot easier on your shins. Running on a treadmill also involves a lot less impact and could help starting off. Don't push it though. I went for a run around 2 years ago and shins were that bad I did nothing again for nearly a year!

Ease yourself in and shins should strengthen. Theres also a couple of shin specific weight exercises you could try.

Khannie

Yeah, you should discuss it with your GP. If you're finding that walking at a pace has you out of breath after 10 minutes and isn't affecting your shins then I'd go with that for a while. As an ex-smoker myself I can tell you that it'll take a while to build your fitness levels back up. Try to be patient with it and try to aim for lifestyle changes (walking more generally instead of taking the car, that kind of thing).

Cross trainer's probably worth looking at too. Swimming might be worth a lash also.

On the medical advice question: I think the OP's just looking for ways to get started which wont affect his / her shins too much so I'll leave this open for now. If one of the other mods disagrees s/he may close this thread though.

goodlad

Swimming sounds like a good idea. I will take a look into the cross trainers in a few mins.

Thanks for the super fast replys

And your spot on Khannie, i wasnt looking for medical advice.
Maybe i just didnt word my post very well

Money for a physio isnt really an expense i can afford at the moment, thats why i was looking for some possible exercises i could do.

Cheers