Can anyone suggest a sport I could do?

[Janna123]

Hi

Basically I'm a little bit health obsessed in that I feel guilty for not eating healthily and for not doing enough exercise. Not in a madly obsessive way, I do eat junk but I prefer to be healthy (basically I keep my BMI below 19.5)

Anyway, since starting uni my asthma has become much worse, I changed inhalers on Friday and so far they've only helped a very small amount. I love dance, but I know that I'm incapable of dancing for 2 hours straight- walking up 2 flights of stairs gets me atm. All of the societies want commitment and when I explained the situation they basically said I shouldn't join incase I have an attack (I've never actually had one though). The nurse I saw also suggested that I avoid competitive and structured sport until I'm back to normal

I've joined the uni gym so at least I can go there and do bits if I'm not too bad but I'd really rather be part of a society and be involved in regular, competitive sport! Can anyone suggest anything to me that isn't too strenuous? I have thought about swimming since that avoids the need for a sports bra, but I'm not sure.

I know this is kind of a strange question but I'm not.liking spending my time in my room whilst my flatmates go off and play! (since I'm also a workaholic I am now working myself to the point where I struggle to stay away because I have nothing to do except listen to my Bulgarian flatmate make strange noises, he is currently impersonating the smoke alarm!)

Thanks

Rachel

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Hi

I have nothing to do except listen to my Bulgarian flatmate make strange noises, he is currently impersonating the smoke alarm!)

Thanks

Rachel

hahahaha sorry rachel that really did make me laugh

It's quite hard to suggest a sport as everyone is so different - swimming is supposed to be very good as the warm humid air is less likely to provoke an attack rather than cold dry air outside (but on the other hand the chlorine affects some people so that doesn't help)

I too like doing lots of exercise but it sounds like your asthma is a lot worse than mine - i go running / horse riding / dancing / swimming. The one guaranteed to set off my asthma is running but i can deal with the symptoms with a couple of puffs of reliever

you could possibly start with some walking, power-walking if you can cope with it or slower if necessary - as your fitness / asthma gets better you can up the pace and then maybe take up a different sport. I personally don't like competitive sport (except competitive with myself) so in that regard i'm not very helpful

Sorry for such a rambling / waffly reply - hope you can make SOME sense of it LOL

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That must be annoying! I have never been sporty but liked swimming - now I find warm humid air sets me off as well as cold dry air!

If you want to get out of your room, perhaps you could look for something new that's less energetic? I realise it must be frustrating when you like to be active but you might find something new you like...

Or if you want a sport, I read somewhere about a mother saying her son with fairly severe asthma could not only do trampolining but that it seemed to make his asthma better! So that might be worth a try? It knackers me but then apparently as well as having exercise as a trigger I also breathe wrong when I'm doing it which you might be ok with.

[Janna123]

Thanks for replying

At home my asthma isn't too bad, the symptoms I get I can usually ignore and just carry on. I can dance for up to an hour and a half without stopping. Here I can't manage stairs! I guess that comes from being in a city! I'll go and try swimming just as soon as I've bought myself a swimming costume! Accidentally left mine at home humidity does get to me though sometimes but maybe it'll just cause minor symptoms I can ignore.

The uni does have a trampoline society so I'll look into joining that. I'll ask the asthma nurse when I go on next week too.

Thanks (our noise simulator is.currently in a lecture so no strange impersonations to report :p)

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I'm starting to play golf, as swimming & tennis seems to set me off. A lot of courses now have pay & play scheme, without paying the earth for membership. You get a walk, a bit of weight lifting (the bag), stretching (sorry for the spelling).

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Gentle jogging, build it up slowly? I find cycling really good as it makes me less breathless than running. Or what about yoga? Yoga people can be really friendly and that might be a good way to feel like part of something. Some running clubs do short bursts of exercise giving you time to get your breath back.

I hope you don't mind, but I do wonder why you feel the need to keep your BMI in the technically underweight range?

x

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I do yoga. The leader knows I have asthma and she's very good at giving me alternatives if the lying down things are upsetting lungs. In fact, everyone at yoga knows I have asthma, as I frequently cough my way through the evening, and they're very understanding/sympathetic/friendly people.

I also run, although I have to be very careful. I only go when I'm feeling good and I warm up carefully. If I've been unwell then I'll go out for maybe 10/15 mins and walk, jog, walk jog etc. I've had to accept that I frequently have to give up and limp home though but I do really enjoy the successful runs.

I play hockey too, in goal most of the time and when i'm well in the deffence where it's not too strenuous on the old windbags. I've used to play badminton too (don't have anyone to play with anymore).

I hope you find something that suits you. Take things gently at first and slowly build up. xx

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Well have you thought of a less popular sport such as archery a friend has suggested this to me and im mulling it over. That and a 13 year old son mustard keen to do it...could be the one for me. I have been told i will get excercise walking for the arrows after they have been shot. Stretch my arms and chest drawing the bow giving me exercise in a different more gentle way. Im informed it can be a leisurely sport by shooting a few arrows per session or a major work out by shooting a lot.Can you not do it on the wii though ??????????

[yaf_user681_3908]

Heya

Well I know you have had quite a few suggestions but I thought I might throw in my ideas as i have been having the same kind of thoughts recently too, well I always worry about being able to help my body be as healthy as it possibly can in terms of what I have control over and what I can realistically do, if that makes sense. I took up ice skating a few months ago, which I know cold air is meant to be bad for asthma but I don't find the ice rink air effects me, anyway am really enjoying the ice skating lessons, it's a half hour session learning different moves then you are free to skate for the rest of the evening, I go when my asthma isn't too bad, I take my time in the lessons and don't rush through things, I have a practice afterwards and a few good skates around the rink when my breathing is good enough to do so. I've made nice friends at the rink and the lessons are in 6wk blocks so doesn't feel daunting and it's fun because I'm learning something new. It's great exercise AND I now own a pair of figure skating boots which I always wanted when I was little.

I've also started doing powerplate sessions when I am well enough, if your gym has one I highly recommend trying it out, it makes the absolute most of the little bit of exercise I am able to do, and it good for strengthening you body and bones.

Hope you find something soon, and that you don't feel isolated at uni, I know it can be hard dealing with uni when you have asthma, I just couldn't keep up it was either uni work or socialising I wasn't able to do allnighters like everyone else but I loved uni and keeping motivated to get out there and be socialising is great definitely keep it up.

[Janna123]

Thought I replied again last week, but I must have forgotten to press post. Grrrrr

So, I haven't got round to trying anything yet since I have a mountain of work to do I plan to try the pool on wednesday Unfortunately I can't afford to pay for ice skating lessons, which is a shame because the rink is about 2 mins from uni, and I don't have a tv, let alone a wii. I did archery a while ago and found it quite hard and not energetic enough, though I have a friend who does it so I may tag along if I can be up early enough on saturday! I've decided I'll just have to pick something like running and push myself to do it. In the meantime, I'm using shopping as my exercise

EmC- under 18.5 is the underweight group (which I kind of am in atm due to having not eaten much because of tonsillitis :() I usually try to keep at 19. Anything over 19.5 and I get comments made to me about me being fat

Thanks

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how about something light to start with, pilates and yoga are fab for asthmatics.

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I do Pilates, physio said it was good for breathing! Can be hard work sometimes if breathing not good but is something...and supposed to be good for toning.

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Hi Rachel

Apologies - I thought afterwards my question was a bit off topic. You can't be fat even at a bmi of 21-22. Just food for thought.

I'd second the suggestions about yoga and pilates. I did boxercise a few months ago, it's short bursts of moderate intensity activity with breaks to rest. Most gyms do classes and have discounts for students.

Good luck x

[Janna123]

Thanks everyone I kind of survived the gym today going to find out if they do yoga/Pilates since I still can't managed anything too intense! I think the new inhaler is working- I'm back to where I was before uni just a bit further to goand I'll be back to normal.

Had a couple of scary occasions though!

Thanks

[Carlmorfey]

I used to run but this is too strenuous now so cycle and swim, when cycling if im feeling good will hit a hill but can just poodle along when feeling bad, mentally it's brilliant as even when my asthma is really bad I can honestly say I've never had a bad ride, my mood is always lifted, I also ride with my friend and he has asthma as well and we ride at the pace of the slowest. As for swimming I will swim a couple of lengths breast stroke then a couple of front crawl, front crawl is harder for me so I do the breast stroke for a breather.

[Carriejen]

I recently (2016) moved from small town into a city for uni and that’s when I noticed my breathing was getting bad and that’s when I was diagnosed officially with asthma (feb 2017). I recently invested in a Fitbit to get myself gently into exercise as exercise is something that really triggers my asthma. I can’t trampoline, I can’t run, I can’t even jog or dance. I swim when I can but my Fitbit has been great. Any sort of tracker would work (even on your phone) to track your steps and see how much you walk. I’ve noticed it’s encouraged me to drive less places and walk more which in turn has seen me drop a whole dress size in 5 weeks. So walking is a good exercise even though people don’t really class it as such. Maybe something like walking would be helpful?