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Motivating myself to do exercise after injury
I was in an accident a few years ago which left my knees and ankles in a pretty bad condition. As a result, I didn't do anything much in the way of exercise for over a year, as it was just too painful. My joints are now feeling a lot better and I'm trying to get back to a better level of fitness, but after so long it's really hard to motivate myself. I've taken up jogging, but after such a long period of inactivity, my stamina is really bad. I'm also really bad at pacing myself, run too fast and then as soon as I'm out of breath (which is sadly not very far at all) just start walking. I don't want to push myself too hard and injure myself again, but I'm finding it hard to find a point between pushing myself too hard and risking hurting myself and not pushing myself enough and not improving. After a long period of inactivity, what's sensible to aim for? Should I be easing myself back into exercise more gently, or should I be pushing myself harder?
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Its good to hear that you are making the effort to help yourself out. What many don't know is that when a bone is broken and it heals, it actually becomes a lot stronger than it was before it was broken. Your joints are so incredibly important and I recommend supplementing with MSM/Glucosamine Chondroitin which you can pick up in any health food store. Learning how to pace yourself is very important and the trick to increasing stamina during running is to breathe very frequently and very deeply. More oxygen=greater output. In regards to your injury, as I've said your bones and joints should be good to go if you are fully rehabilitated, now you must take measures in regards to supplementation and the level of activity to prevent making it worse. Ease yourself into a plan which makes you comfortable that includes weights and cardio exercises, but also dont be too lax in your approach.
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You dont want to exercise to much so you will hurt yourself but you do need to exercise so walk about 10 minutes a day or even 5 and then slowly work up. It is a slow process but it will get you to where you need to be.
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You should definitely be easing yourself slowly back into exercise. If you try to do too much too fast, you run the risk of injuring yourself again. I would suggest speaking with your doctor about an exercise regimen. They are better advised as to the shape of your body and which exercises would be best. It might also be a good idea to start with just walking. It's great exercise and isn't as rough on joints. Then, as your stamina improves, you can work your way up to jogging for short periods. Just take things slow, rest when you need to, and work your way up.
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