Different Breathing/Feeling Run Down/Exercise

[telltheking]

Hi all.

A few months ago I tried to start exercising regularly again. I have, for about the last 2 months, been doing an hour of quite intense weights in the gym followed by 20 minutes of high intensity cardio. I have also changed my routine so I am waking up at 7am to go to the gym and workout. Last week was probably the most intense week.

I then had quite a heavy weekend, with drinking and not sleeping a huge amount. On the Saturday, I felt as though my breathing was different. I wasn't short of breath as such, but I had just become concious of the fact that I couldn't breathe fully in, almost a shallow feeling. At one point, I had a fluttering in my chest and really thought I was going to have a panic attack.

I relaxed on the Sunday and tried to go for a run today. I was again concious of my breathing and struggled during the run. To be honest it just felt that I am run down. But surely this couldn't happen after intense exercise just three times per week?

I do think something which helped is that I have changed my diet to less carbs and more protein. Perhaps I am not getting the energy I need.

Anyway I am a bit worried about it as it is an unusual feeling for me. I hope its just a question of having a few days rest and getting back to it. I am so stressed out about so many things; my PhD, my relationships, money the fact that I am going to Italy on the weekend and am terrified of flying! I just wish everything would be ok.

Thanks for listening - sorry if I bored anyone!

[Mindknot]

Conciousness of your breathing is definately anxiety, I have that too.

However I would say that your sudden increase in exercise is not necessarily helping things, remember that your body needs a chance to recover and repair whenever you do strenuous exercise, and to go from a break to 3 times intense per week PLUS a change in diet causes a bunch more physical stresses for your body on top of any mental anxieties you already have.

It happened to me too, so to avoid burnout, you need to get rid of some of those stresses first - I went back to eating massive bowls of pasta for a bit and cut down the exercise to just a couple of times a week... then you build it back up again SLOWLY.

Take your weekend in Italy to just chill out and do what you like and what you need for yourself, then perhaps on the plane back (to take your mind off it) make a plan for everything else - ease back in.

Hope that helps a bit, I'm back on the breathing problems at the mo as well, so I probably need to do much the same thing

[Fishmanpa]

I then had quite a heavy weekend, with drinking and not sleeping a huge amount.

There's the reason.... You threw a wrench in to the good habit gears.

Positive thoughts