mdlbear | On the treadmill (Reply)

[Meant to cross-post this from healthy_fen yesterday. Update below.]

My treadmill test was this morning. The good news is that there's nothing at all wrong with my heart. (The pain in my left shoulder immediately went away, and has not been back. Right.) The bad news is that 3mph on a 15% grade was hard -- harder than it should have been. And the way my pulse shot up as they ramped up to it says that I'm not getting enough exercise.

Walking 2.5 miles at lunchtime is all very well, but I can apparently walk all day on the flat at that pace without breaking a sweat, so it's doing my cardiovascular system very little good. To get a proper workout I'd have to push the pace a lot, and I'm not sure I can do it without injuring myself. May have to look into the gym (there's one in the building where I work, and it's free for everyone who works there (a personal trainer is $50/hour or so) -- I've been working there for over 15 years and haven't been inside once).

Another option is ankle and wrist weights; I'm definitely going to try those, because even if I do use the gym occasionally I'll want to keep walking. And a treadmill at home is a definite possibility.

I did go out for a walk at lunchtime; a little faster than usual, and I went over the hill on the way out. Not on the way back, though; I felt the whole time as though I was on the edge of shin splints, which I don't need. Been there.

Sleep apnea ~~test tomorrow~~ class today.

Wednesday: The questionaire I filled out at the snoring/sleep apnea class pegs me at 14 or so on the sleepiness scale. 7 or higher is abnormal. There may be other explanations, but it's pretty clear that a sleep study is at least indicated.

Managed a 2-mile walk today at a brisker than usual pace; not clear that I can keep that up without shin splints, and it probably wasn't long enough to be a good workout. Grump. Taking shorter and faster steps seems to help, but I may need a consultation in the gym to figure out what the real problem is.