Kenneth Gardner
DONNETTE AND Sandy have been provided with an exercise prescription that will give them a total body workout. They have been progressing as well as experiencing some of the initial difficulties associated with a change in lifestyle. Some of the initial difficulties of the exercises were muscle soreness, fatigue and pain. When your body is not accustomed to a certain level of physical activity your muscles, joints, ligaments and so on respond poorly by making you aware of the stress they are experiencing.
By starting the programme moderately, we are able to minimise the discomfort and prevent any serious orthopaedic injuries. The experiences some persons have had initially have been a deterrent to continue the exercise programme. The safety of our participants is the number one item in putting an exercise prescription together. Some adjustments were made by reducing the intensity of some of the activities and reducing their workload.
SANDY'S PAIN
Knee injuries are very common when the knee is subjected to sudden changes in mileage or increase in the intensity of the exercise. This could be due to the discomfort of the footwear and the surface on which the walking or jogging is being done. Non-resilient surfaces such as paved roads unfortunately are the main culprit, grassed surfaces are ideal. Sandy complained about pain in her knees when she jogged, she really should not start jogging until she can walk a mile in 15 minutes. So she resorted to adjusting her walking pace between fast and medium. Pay attention to warning signs of discomfort such as pain, abnormal heart beat, nausea, breathlessness and fatigue so that precautions can be taken to make your experience a positive one.
Acute soreness occurs during and immediately following an exercise routine. Delayed soreness can occur between one to five days following unaccustomed or severe exercise. Soreness is best treated by mild physical exercise following the R.I.C.E. treatment principle (Rest the injury, Apply ice to the injured area, compress or apply pressure to the injured area, then elevate the injured area). This will control swelling, ease the pain and bring back more rapid and complete healing in the shortest possible time.
The efforts of Sandy and Donnette have been paying off. They have been enjoying some success with the programme in terms of weight loss and some of the exercises are now becoming easy. It is a significant achievement to lose the first 10 pounds in any prudent weight loss programme where diet and exercise are the main factors of application. The true test comes after the loss of those first 10 pounds which is where the real battle begins. However with the gains that have been achieved our participants are now able to work a little harder to achieve that goal.
Many of the changes that are being experienced now are quite subtle. However, these minute changes will determine where the participants will go from here. The exercises will feel easier because of improvements in their heart function, both at rest and during the exercise. Their breathing should be somewhat easier during the exercise. They are also using more fats to provide them with energy which is good especially when you are trying to lose weight. These will all result in improving the efficiency of how their bodies function to make additional improvements possible.
Exercise is not totally risk free but the risks can be minimised, and exercise and diet are the safest and healthiest way to fight the bulge.
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G. C. Foster College of Physical Education; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
