Exercise

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LouLou

New member
What do you do for exercise?

I was very athletic from age 3 - high school. I played tennis and soccer for my h.s. Then I went off to a Univ. Illinois U-C and played intermural soccer but couldn't keep up very well. I played anyway then at age 25 stopped regular soccer playing and picked up tennis again as I was living in Austin, TX where they had a great round robin league that was challenging if I pushed myself and not if I didn't - either way it was 2 hrs. of high impact (great for fighting osteoporosis onset) and a good work out (aerobically and muscularly) each Monday evening. I guess I've always done better with organized workouts. Recently I moved to a big city where tennis is very expensive so I looked at other options and joined a gym. I am enjoying the classes. I enjoy a class that focuses on the muscle groups but goes at a pace that it becomes a bit aerobic. More so for me than most in the class probably. I also enjoy a class taught on mini trampolines. This one is a bit more work for the lungs as you can imagine.

Has anyone ever worked their lungs out so much that your whole ribcage is sore? I used to have this problem with soccer that is one of the reasons I don't play any more.

Can anyone recommend a heart rate monitor? I think I should probably have one since I would think my heart is a bit more stressed since my lungs don't keep up as well as a normal set of lungs.

My personal goal is to get my pft's in the 80's. They have been in the low 70% for a while and over the past 3 mo. FEV1 has been in 60's. My blood oxygen level is still 98 though so I feel if I just worked out more I could inflate those #'s. Call it a pre-pregnancy workout if you will.

What are the biggest improvements you've seen from regular exercise? (increase in pfts, added energy...)
 
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LouLou

New member
What do you do for exercise?

I was very athletic from age 3 - high school. I played tennis and soccer for my h.s. Then I went off to a Univ. Illinois U-C and played intermural soccer but couldn't keep up very well. I played anyway then at age 25 stopped regular soccer playing and picked up tennis again as I was living in Austin, TX where they had a great round robin league that was challenging if I pushed myself and not if I didn't - either way it was 2 hrs. of high impact (great for fighting osteoporosis onset) and a good work out (aerobically and muscularly) each Monday evening. I guess I've always done better with organized workouts. Recently I moved to a big city where tennis is very expensive so I looked at other options and joined a gym. I am enjoying the classes. I enjoy a class that focuses on the muscle groups but goes at a pace that it becomes a bit aerobic. More so for me than most in the class probably. I also enjoy a class taught on mini trampolines. This one is a bit more work for the lungs as you can imagine.

Has anyone ever worked their lungs out so much that your whole ribcage is sore? I used to have this problem with soccer that is one of the reasons I don't play any more.

Can anyone recommend a heart rate monitor? I think I should probably have one since I would think my heart is a bit more stressed since my lungs don't keep up as well as a normal set of lungs.

My personal goal is to get my pft's in the 80's. They have been in the low 70% for a while and over the past 3 mo. FEV1 has been in 60's. My blood oxygen level is still 98 though so I feel if I just worked out more I could inflate those #'s. Call it a pre-pregnancy workout if you will.

What are the biggest improvements you've seen from regular exercise? (increase in pfts, added energy...)
 
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EB24

New member
I started lifting weight, light weights LOL, and did that every other day for about 2 months and I noticed the energy and weight I gained the most.
 
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EB24

New member
I started lifting weight, light weights LOL, and did that every other day for about 2 months and I noticed the energy and weight I gained the most.
 
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Faust

New member
Lifting weights is great to overall increase your CF health. As far as cardio based exercise goes, rollerblading, biking, swimming, and jogging are all awesome, but the kicker is you need to do it for atleast 30 mins each time to get real benefit out of it (elevating the heart rate for a period of time).
 
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Faust

New member
Lifting weights is great to overall increase your CF health. As far as cardio based exercise goes, rollerblading, biking, swimming, and jogging are all awesome, but the kicker is you need to do it for atleast 30 mins each time to get real benefit out of it (elevating the heart rate for a period of time).
 
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CowTown

New member
Growing up I was always active too. I played in paddle tennis tournaments and soccer for 8 years (club soccer even). I ended up getting tired of soccer in high school though so I stopped. Then I went for jogs, weekend ski trips, anything that interested me. About 5 years ago I moved to the mountains (I'm in California) and got a ski pass so I went during lunch, and started rock climbing. Now, skiing has become a bit of a burden for me and just sounds like more effort then it's worth. I grew up skiing on family trips and now I get half way down a run and am trying to catch my breath. It's pretty brutal for me now. I never realized how cardio skiing was before now. And yes, my whole rib cage will ache and feel horribly bruised. Rock climbing at this point is one activity that I still love and it works out every muscle in your body within 10 minutes! It's awesome. You could go to an indoor rock climbing gym if there's one in your area. Oddly enough, it's the hikes up to where the climbs are that kick my butt, not always the climbing. Strange since you're climbing vertically or overhang, you'd think that would put you over the edge breathing wise (and sometimes it does) but it's much more the hiking that does it. These are just some more ideas to ponder if they're possible where you live.

Other than outdoor activities, I have a treadmill at my house that is nice to be able to use whenever I want. I live in snow country, so during the winter we have to get creative or not. I'm always interested in hearing what other CFers do for exercise. Especially hearing what keeps them inspired to actually get up and do it too!
 
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CowTown

New member
Growing up I was always active too. I played in paddle tennis tournaments and soccer for 8 years (club soccer even). I ended up getting tired of soccer in high school though so I stopped. Then I went for jogs, weekend ski trips, anything that interested me. About 5 years ago I moved to the mountains (I'm in California) and got a ski pass so I went during lunch, and started rock climbing. Now, skiing has become a bit of a burden for me and just sounds like more effort then it's worth. I grew up skiing on family trips and now I get half way down a run and am trying to catch my breath. It's pretty brutal for me now. I never realized how cardio skiing was before now. And yes, my whole rib cage will ache and feel horribly bruised. Rock climbing at this point is one activity that I still love and it works out every muscle in your body within 10 minutes! It's awesome. You could go to an indoor rock climbing gym if there's one in your area. Oddly enough, it's the hikes up to where the climbs are that kick my butt, not always the climbing. Strange since you're climbing vertically or overhang, you'd think that would put you over the edge breathing wise (and sometimes it does) but it's much more the hiking that does it. These are just some more ideas to ponder if they're possible where you live.

Other than outdoor activities, I have a treadmill at my house that is nice to be able to use whenever I want. I live in snow country, so during the winter we have to get creative or not. I'm always interested in hearing what other CFers do for exercise. Especially hearing what keeps them inspired to actually get up and do it too!
 
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CowTown

New member
One more thing, the best my PFTs have ever been was about 4 years ago when I did the rock climbing thing 3 days a week. I think it was the hiking on a regular basis that really did it, and the fact that I was living in a very high altitude of 8,500 feet. Just walking to the kitchen sometimes felt like a workout, let alone climbing stairs everyday. I was fascinated by my improvment and felt really good.

Unfortunately, we are terribly out of shape now, mushy legs and all. It's been a while since we've been that active. I really really need to get back into it!
 
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CowTown

New member
One more thing, the best my PFTs have ever been was about 4 years ago when I did the rock climbing thing 3 days a week. I think it was the hiking on a regular basis that really did it, and the fact that I was living in a very high altitude of 8,500 feet. Just walking to the kitchen sometimes felt like a workout, let alone climbing stairs everyday. I was fascinated by my improvment and felt really good.

Unfortunately, we are terribly out of shape now, mushy legs and all. It's been a while since we've been that active. I really really need to get back into it!
 
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DebbieC

New member
I lift weights at my gym four days a week and do 30 mins of cardio there if I don't get out for a walk or hike. I ski and play with my dog. I bought a great little pulseox used for mountianeering. It's about the size of a shot glass and works great. It's called a SportStat and is by Nonin Medical. I got it at REI (do you have those where you live?) It cost about $400, but since I am an REI co-op member I can always exchange it for another if it breaks.

Maybe look on e-bay if this is out of your price range.
 
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DebbieC

New member
I lift weights at my gym four days a week and do 30 mins of cardio there if I don't get out for a walk or hike. I ski and play with my dog. I bought a great little pulseox used for mountianeering. It's about the size of a shot glass and works great. It's called a SportStat and is by Nonin Medical. I got it at REI (do you have those where you live?) It cost about $400, but since I am an REI co-op member I can always exchange it for another if it breaks.

Maybe look on e-bay if this is out of your price range.
 
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smoothdave

New member
for exercise i go to the gym monday-fridays and give mty self a little rest at the week ends, i try and do about 20 mins hard work on the bike and then go for weights to work on my whole body. for the total amount spent in the gym about an hour, i used to go to the steam room after but not any more...! haha
 
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smoothdave

New member
for exercise i go to the gym monday-fridays and give mty self a little rest at the week ends, i try and do about 20 mins hard work on the bike and then go for weights to work on my whole body. for the total amount spent in the gym about an hour, i used to go to the steam room after but not any more...! haha
 
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anonymous

New member
I would love to hear what others have done to bring their pft's up. Exercise ect. I have in the last while had a big drop and am desperate to improve somehow!
Please help!
 
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anonymous

New member
I would love to hear what others have done to bring their pft's up. Exercise ect. I have in the last while had a big drop and am desperate to improve somehow!
Please help!
 
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