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Exercise and Adrenal Fatigue

Hey Gang

Seems like the AF group may have gotten its own fatigue, so maybe a new discussion can jump start things!

First, a great update -- a couple of Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of seeing Brendan speak here in Phoenix. It was a great talk -- reinforced much of what I already knew, but this time my WIFE came with me! It was fun also to chat with some of the folks afterward and share my experiences with Vega. Here's the cool part... they had made a BUNCH of samples -- shake n go (which I must confess I was never a big user of), WFHO, etc. BUT -- they made them taste way better than I ever have. I just mix up some fruit, water and WFHO and I am good to go... but they used Vanilla Rice Milk with the vanilla flavored products, apple juice with the tropical and berry flavors and coconut water with the chocolate flavors. DELICIOUS! The next day I placed a pretty large Vega order and my WHOLE FAMILY is consuming Vega almost daily! This is especially great for my youngest, who has Celiac and a tough time getting fiber in her diet. She loves the Chocolate Shake N Go Smoothie with coconut water and a little peanut butter.

So I finally got out last week and got 6 days of exercise under my belt -- much of it walking and hiking, but got out on my bike and even ran a little bit. I think that's where the wheels may have fallen off. I kind of let me HR float a little too high both on the bike (Saturday) and the run on Sunday. Felt pretty good and did an easy run Tuesday, then felt the dreaded OVER fatigue and actually picked up a stomach virus yesterday -- was in bed most of the day today...

SO, I guess a great topic of discussion would be -- how do you walk the fine line -- between working out TOO much and not working out enough to heal from Adrenal Fatigue?

I know that for me I will need to ratchet my heart rate down and keep it under 133 BPM (I am 47 years old. This goes along with Dr. Phil Maffetone's HR method of 180 minus age to get the top of the aerobic training range. This will most likely be a safe zone for me for a few months until I get some 'normalcy' built into my daily routine.

I have also been trying to take some 'quiet time' and meditate each night before bed, to encourage my Parasympathetic system to engage and take over for better sleep...

Thoughts?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by joanna on March 10, 2011 at 6:09am

Hi Ken-

oh the familiar - 'i feel great! i think i will stay out longer!' and then be pooped for 3 days after. i know that is what i had when i had my AE (Adrenal Exhaustion - fatigue wasn't enuf...i had to go to exhaustion) in 2000. it would be a nice saturday and i woudl head out on my bike on my own cause with freinds meant i for sure would push the pace. then i woudl go for 2 hours cause i felt great. then too tired to much of anything for the next 3 days. so after a few weeks like that, i realized - ok, you want consecutive days of feeling good. so keep the exercise at 70-75% effort and keep sessions to 45 minutes. maybe 90 for a bike since it was flat in chicago. but once i was able to do just short sessions regardless of weather, etc and did that for a couple of weeks, i was able to get consecutive days feeling good and got a week of feeling good....then 10 days....then 2 weeks. and until i got to that 2 week mark, i still didn't increase the intensity or duration. just kept it to 30-45 minutes. for another 2 weeks, then if i stayed feeling good, then i started to increase durations minimally. just like usual - by 10% each week.

but the nutrition had to be right which i was a lab rat it seemed at the time trying all sorts of things - juicing, detox, no wheat, etc but trying to change the eating to more healthy and balanced and definitely nutrient rich.

but with AF, you have to curb all the stress. so exercise was a stress and a stress releif depending on what i did. running - hell, that was the one thing that came back teh slowest as i also used the HRM and at teh beginning, even a regular walk would shoot my HR up to 147 bpm (my max is over 200) but that is waht i was at one time able to run 9 minute pace for an entire marathon. so really elevated. so i would walk along the lakefront rather than run. and with you having hikes as an option, i would do that more. forget the running for awhile until you can keep the heart rate low. i think that is why i also was able to swim but not wiht masters. could keep the heart rate low and not be pushed with others to go faster. it was a month or two before i returned to masters but again, i had to make sure i was in a slower lane than i needed to be. actually i swam in a totally separate lane - that way i could do their workouts but do my pace, and rest as i needed to in between sets. or modified the sets so i got more rest and swam less and be able to start the next set with them.

so i could go on. but won't. it is a process. and i started Bikram Yoga at the time, too which was a HUGE help when i relapsed in the fall. did 3 sprint tris in a month which put my HR way over that 75% effort level and drained what i had spent 6 months building. yet i did 2 x 1/2 IM races that summer and was perfectly ok. so that is proof that it is all about HR training when recovering. and find things that will keep your HR lower than usual that will still be able to give you the endorphin high :)

joanna

Permalink Reply by Ken Wilkens on March 10, 2011 at 6:28am

Hey Joanna!

Thanks so much -- was hoping you would jump in here and give your great wisdom to the group!

We need to catch up one of these days... :-)

As an FYI -- Joanna helped me TREMENDOUSLY when I totally bonked out and hit my first round of Adrenal Fatigue (and/or exhaustion, not sure exactly where I was)... she is an outstanding nutritionist, great athlete and great friend!

Thanks again so much for your insight, Joanna -- and keeping us reminded that we walk a FINE LINE once we have had issues with our adrenals, and that stress (over exercising, emotional/mental stress, nutrition stress) can push us back over the edge at any point, so we must always be vigilant!

Ken

Permalink Reply by joanna on March 10, 2011 at 7:30am

Thanks Ken! loved working with you to help get ou out of the ravine and back onto the cliff.....and far away from the cliff! cause we really never want to fall in again. and you don't always realize how all stresses add up even unknowingly. so you have to eat the best you can with real food and greens, greens and more greens and all things alkalizing, not acidic. Eventhough i had my severe bout wow, 11 years ago, i still have to keep it all in check. now i do yoga more often than i did before and use this awesome site online. and that helps to calm my brain, too although energize me and on those days i feel like i need to do something, it helps alot. never thought i would be a yogi! ha ha.

but i can now do all the training without worrying about relapsing, cuase i know how to recognize stress, i know how to eat to counteract it, and know that sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity. so i focus on making sure i get into that deep sleep and meditate 5-10 minutes before bed to get that brain to shut down. i stop drinking liquids after 6 Pm otherwise i am up 2 time per night. so better sleep, better rested, body responds better to everything!

so at almost 45, i eat better and feel and look better than i did 10 years ago. go figure.