Have you ever thought to yourself:
“I think I’m literally allergic to exercise!”
I’m referring to those times when you decide enough is enough and start a new exercise plan, only to be rewarded by excruciating all over muscle pain or even a week or two of Flu-like symptoms.
Well, you’re not alone. In fact these are very common side-effects of starting out with exercise.
How can this be. I thought they said Exercise is a “Miracle Drug”
The Chef Medical Officer for the UK once wrote in a report, “If physical activity were a drug, we would refer to it as a miracle cure, due to the great many illnesses it can prevent and help treat.”
You might reply. “Really! So why does it trigger Flu when I do it?”
It turns out that exercise has a darker side, that kinda gets skimmed over all too often because, when you’re not used to it, exercise actually triggers your immune system to jump into action.
My Immune System?
Yep, you heard me right. Exercise can create so much muscle damage when you’re out of condition, that your immune system thinks you’re under attack and goes dramatically into self preservation mode.
Essentially, when our muscle proteins break down in large quantities from doing more exercise than your tissues can take, your immune system doesn’t really know what’s going on. It then treats the situation like you’re full of foreign invaders.
If you’re used to exercise this doesn’t happen, but if you’re not, the reaction can be pretty severe.
Think of the reaction, and the subsequent discomfort, in terms of Grades.
Stage 1…
If you just slightly overdo your exercise then you might be mildly achy the following day or so (we call this Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS for short). Mild DOMS can make you ache but severe DOMS can make every subtle movement painful for a week! You’ll want to sit down because it hurts to stand, but trying to sit down it agony and once you are down getting up is a whole world of torture!
That’s the extreme end of Stage 1. But the immune system can go even further than this. It has up its sleeve…
Stage 2…
If the immune system is particularly sensitive it might choose to react like you have a foreign invader in your body. Flu-like systems then ensue and you can get everything from a runny nose and achy joints to a full blown cold sweats and a week in bed.
Essentially your body doesn’t have any evolved ways to ideal with this excess protein breakdown issue. None of our ancestors had the option to be sedentary for years on end and they wouldn’t ever have chosen to take part in a HITT Class and waste their precious calories.
So we only have our immune system’s standard responses. So I want you to understand that this reaction is…
Totally normal, yet totally unnecessary!
Yep, it doesn’t have to be this way. The exercise world has a lot to answer for!
It sells the idea that results should happen in short amounts of time, like ‘8 week abs!’, and it says that to lose the weight you just need to do MORE exercise to burn MORE calorie (another myth).
But statements like these are completely untrue, yet most people have still been led to believe that anything less than an hour in the gym is a waste of time, no matter what condition you are in on day one.
So let’s talk about a better way.
Remember, getting fit and healthy in body and mind is a lifestyle, not a goal.
If you’re going to commit to getting the health you want then let’s start by agreeing that your pursuit of health only ends when you die. So let’s start slow. There’s no need to get your abs in 8 weeks (Actually, there’s no need to get them at all!)
You can completely avoid excessive DOMS or getting ill from exercise if you start really slowly and build up your efforts over time.
When you take it slow and easy, and build healthy habits, you WILL see improvements in fitness or health markers in less time than you think.
If you simply exceed your current activity levels by maybe 5-10%, your body will adapt to make you 5-10% stronger/fitter/healthier. Repeat that for a week or two and the body will be ready for you to go 5-10% more again.
It doesn’t matter what activity you choose to develop. It just needs to exceed your current average by 5-10% and you’ll likely never get sick or have all over muscle pain from your efforts.
Walking is a great way to start (Not running! Walking).
Remember the old saying “Don’t run before you can walk”, well at Stride we feel like this is wise advice. If you don’t run, or at least haven’t in a few years, then start with walking.
A plan over time should look a little like this:
Begin with short flat walks and build up the distance/time on your feet over 6-8 weeks. Once you can walk on the flat for 45 minutes to an hour then try to increase your speed a little. Then add in some gradual hills and over time make them steeper or longer. Once that’s easy you might start jogging the downhills and then the flats too. This whole process might take 9 months to a year but when you look back to day one from where you now are, you’ll be amazed at how fa you’ve come and how painless the journey was (you might even go so far as to say it was “Enjoyable”!)
You see how I’m gradually building up the efforts over an extended time. You might stay at each new level for 3-4 weeks before pushing on in the early months, then as you get fitter and stronger you could push up the levels every 2-3 weeks.
So it’s over to you now…
If you follow a plan like this I promise you’ll never get too sore or become ill from your efforts. You really aren’t allergic to exercise!
We can apply this methodology to any activity you might enjoy. It’s doesn’t have to be walking. If you want guidance then get involved in the discussion forums or book a One-to-One Coaching session to let us help you make a plan.
