Death by exercise????

[queencyrka]

I don't know why but I'm terrified of working out and weight training. I try to do it anyway but like when I try to do cardio my heart feels crazy and my toes start going numb and I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack or stop breathing because I start having to take really deep breaths which freaks me out and like the other day I had a session with a personal trainer and I got this shocky feeling in like 3 little spots in my right arm and I kept getting them and that arm seemed to be alot weaker. I started thinking that I was going numb everywhere (not tingly but numb) :scared15: Of corse, I think it was all in my head...... Plus, over the past few months I've been noticing that my right arm twitches a whole lot so, I started thinking crazy....I tried to keep my cool until I got out of the gym but as soon as I left I went into a panic attack! As soon as I got home I began to hyperventalate and I told my husband that I was going to have to go to the hospital....of course he told me no, lol. These are just a couple of examples...has anyone else ever felt like this????

[justbananas]

yes when i first started - but push through it and eventually the exercise will help. some things that helped me were:

-wearing a heart rate monitor watch. get a good one from the local sports shop or target or whatever .. when you start to see that although your heart feels like it's racing, it's just working within the cardio zone, you will feel in control and safe.

-bring an mp3 player to distract you from thinking crazy thoughts

-the weakness is just perceived, it's a big thing with anxiety. i have been doing strength training for awhile now and one of my arms is very clearly less capable of being as strong or as quick as the other - but it's not CLINICAL weakness, it's just that i never use that arm, or overuse it, or whatever. our bodies are way less symmetrical than we'd like to believe. if you had true weakness, your arm would be unable to do the motions. it's just anxiety, ignore it and keep lifting. tell your trainer one arm feels weaker and they'll often help you build both to the same level of strength, bc this is very normal.

the twinges and tingling and all that will go away once you repeat firmly 'it's my anxiety' .. and it might take weeks or months for them to disappear, but they will.

keep at it. being in control of your body and physical symptoms can be done, and going to the gym is a very big facilitator of that. GOOD FOR U keep it up.

[justbananas]

also - ask your trainer to walk you through a cardio session one day. like if you do an hour with him/her - ask to designate half of that time at least for one session to cardio. tell them that your heart is racing, you're taking deep breaths, etc.. and they are trained to tell you how much is too much, what you should be doing. i'm in good shape and 27 so i can push it very hard when working out. if you are much older, or overweight, it's good to have the trainer walk you through the motions so you aren't overdoing it. you're not going to have a heart attack, but you don't want to wreck your joints or knees or anything! if you're relatively young and in decent shape, just go for it and push yourself. either way work with the trainer so you can train hard and do it safely. ignore that poopy anxiety though. i have a rule that when i walk into the gym, it has to wait in the parking lot.

[NoPoet]

The thought of exercise brings me out in a cold sweat. But that's because it hurts, and I am allergic to pain! Listen to the "Rocky Training Montage" by Northern Kings. Every time I hear that I want to climb a mountain. :D

Your heart can hammer against your ribs when you're working hard. you could ask the trainer to start gently so you can get used to it. Your symptoms all sound like panic but you might be a bit unfit which will also cause some of those symptoms. Take it gradually. Start by going for walks round the block every day.