I recently completed a 7 week PR course and found it brilliant. It helped with my understanding of COPD and how to manage my lifestyle around it. As for the Gym side of the course,( which I now continue at the local Fitness Centre ), my fitness has improved considerably. I'm now able to do at least double what I was previously capable of ..................... until I get outside and try to face the simple daily tasks like walking to the shops or the pub. 10 minutes on the Treadmill is a lot, lot easier than a 5 minute walk to the the park, at the same speed and gradient. Don't fully understand why, but that's the way it is.
I agree with you , i seemed to do well on the PR but doing shopping and every day outside stuff is still not good get very sob , it feels like every where is up hill , hoping to start at the local gym soon but have a bad chest infection at the moment , so will wait till i am felling a bit better and can hopefully cope with it . Su
Thanks zaney - I certainly agree that everywhere seems uphill. On the positive side, that's a lot better than every journey seeming like a marathon, which is how it felt before the PR sessions.
I am the same, I have problems outside I think the temperature and the wind affect me more than anything. I am fine at my excercise club and at home on the treadmill I was up to 7 minutes which is brill for me but have had so much to do this week I havn't had time, must get back at it tomorrow.
Actually its not as daft as it seems for the most part Gyms at the hospital & leisure centres tend to be climate controlled, the ideal environment to exercise. When out in the big wide world climate is not controllable. I try avoid outdoor temperatures above 72 f.
Your point about temperatures above 72f is most interesting. As a treat, I went to Mallorca in October for a few days. Temperature was about 75f during daytime - undoubtedly, being on holiday with more places to see etc., I was doing more walking than normal and found breathing quite difficult. I felt this was down to both temerature and additional exerecise. On a lighter note, I had to keep stopping at bars for a rest.......... and perhaps a beer.
Apart from the wind and temperature, there are many other factors. Wearing many more layers of clothing, up and down curbs, hurrying across roads, dodging those shoppers on a mission with nary a thought for others. and of course that visit to the pub
Hi, just to add to the other replies you've had, I also think confidence could have something to do with it. In the gym you're safe and confined to a smallish area, out there it's an unknown quantity with the journey stretching out ahead of you. Don't let anything put you off - the more you do it the easier it will become! Libby x
Some very good points made above, and I agree with most:
Confidence and thinking you look silly being out on the street when out of breath is not the same as being out of breath in the gym where it's accepted. Definitely temperature, wind and gradient affect things too.
I am now trying at the gym to use the treadmill on a gradient, to get me better at it. Remember, in the street we are often carrying or wearing things we don't at the gym. That also affects us.
When you are the treadmill you are holding on to handles, I know it may sound silly but I can walk a lot further with my rollater, especially on the flat, than I can without it without getting sob, do you think that could have something to do with it. I think it is because you are not supporting all of your weight!
Very true; Supermarket trolleys certainly allow me to walk further than normal. Thanks for your useful comments.
Treadmill walking is easier because the mat comes towards you and you are not having to propel your bodyweight forwards as you would when walking outdoors. P.
I have had this chat with the PR team at my local hospital. I have done rehab and give talks about Breathe Easy at the end of courses now. I have had a couple of walk tests and when I mention that what I can do in a controlled flat area inside a hospital and the real world outside is very different. They seem to not understand this. I suppose unless someone suffers copd they know little. Outside and I sometimes can be forced to stop every few yards. In a controlled environment I can go much further even if very slow.
Following on from all the comments I thought I would add this, the one thing that really annoys me is when I am out shopping with the wife she will insist on talking to me, at this time of the year I am concentrating on breathing and walking, she thinks I have not heard her because I don't reply, but after the last stint of Xmas shopping she now understands that I cannot breath, walk and talk at the same time. D
Nice to know I'm not the only one who has this problem. I can either breathe and walk or breathe and talk........ but all three together ,,, impossible
With PR and now Gym+ Respiratory Exercise weekly + walking dog daily, + health walks, I am now more than twice as fit as I was last year and feeling good.
And yes I do agree that sometimes walking to shops etc, with gradients, full shopping bags etc is not quite the same. However, just imagine how it may be different in daily life without the level of fitness we have now. Being out of puff in the street is the same experience as being short of breath in PR, Gym etc so it is our choice. However much time I have left in this life I would like the quality of my life to be good rather than the feeling of being helpless and a victim of my own behaviour. As someone else in other posts has said 'rest is the 'enemy' , so chins up folks and keep going. Think of all those paraolympians-weren't they fantastic, their disability didnt stop them did it Care for yourself, and be happy.
Keep walking even at home, PR at home, sing, laugh. Seize the day ! and I wish you unbounded happiness in 2013.
A very posiive outlook on life and the problems we suffer from. Many thanks for your uplifting comments.
Spot on PollyP!
Sorry for the delay in acknowledging you response. Twenty or thirty years will suit me fine, so I guess I'll just keep up the excercises. Thanks a lot.
Sorry for the late reply, but could you ask the gym instructor for advice? Sometimes it's recommended to put a scarf over your mouth in the cold but it would be best to check this with a professional! Keep at it though, walking inside and outside the gym are both as beneficial and important as each other.
• in reply to
Thanks Katie. I'm starting back with the Gym excercises today, after the Christmas break, so I will talk to my Instructor about it. Will let you know his response. Many thanks - HNY/
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Newbie
hello- BRONCHIECTASIS
02 levels etc...
Had my new breathing test
Depression
