talk to me about HIV and physical fitness

[ademas]

What do  you do for exercise?

How often?

How long?

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since your diagnosis?

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since you started meds?

How old are you?

[joemutt]

Tai Chi, yoga, massage

Every day if I can

1 hour

Took up exercise recently again, got out of shape in the years following my diagnosis (97)

Date of diagnosis and of starting meds was same

45 

[wellington]

I loathe pumping iron in the gym. Watching paint dry would be more interesting. Therefore, I tend to enjoy outdoor sports like cycling, rowing, skiing, skating/blading, and sometimes jogging. I've always been pretty lean as a result of these cardio-centric regimes. The legs and butt tend not to suffer either.

When diagnosed earlier this year, I came down with PCP shortly thereafter. I could barely walk let alone consider sports. Since then, I've managed to recover, bit by bit - taking it slowly at first. It's hard to fight fatigue sometimes, at least it was during those early months following PCP.

Now, I feel back to my normal self, and maybe even then some. The intensity of daily workouts has fully resumed. The meds I'm on - Sustiva, 3TC, Zerit - don't affect to any noticeable degree the exercise in which I wish to partake.

I'm 41.591780821917... (give or take) years old.

[aztecan]

Actually, I slacked off during the summer. There was too much yard work, etc., to do.

But I am getting back into my routine, which is:

10 minutes stationary cycling (to get my heart rate up) I increase this when I have trouble elevating my heart rate, but since I slacked off . . .

Nautilus routine (you know, those funny machines that enable you to do curls, crunches, etc., without the bother of free weights.)

20 to 30 minutes of lap swimming (depends on how tired I feel, or how hungry!)

Total time is about 90 minutes, more or less depending on whether I have to wait for some of the nautilus machines. I do this three times a week.

The intensity/type of exercise was not affected one way or the other because I m positive. I do feel better and sleep better when I get my regular exercise.

The meds (AZT, Epivir, Crixivan) also haven't made a difference and have not caused me to alter my exercise routine.

How old am I? Baited question if ever I heard one. I'm 49.

I have found that exercise does help offset the effects of lipoatrophy. It doesn't lessen the fat loss, but it does make me look trim and in shape, so the loss of fat isn't quite as noticeable. Some have even commented on my "cuts," meaning my muscle definition visible through my skin that some body builders seek.

No, I am not a body builder, I just like having the energy and vim that exercise provides.

HUGS,

Mark

[Iggy]

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[aztecan]

Hey Iggy,

Funny you should mention weight. My weight rarely varies as long as I eat regularly. I usually don't change more than a pound or two either way and weigh the same as I did 20 years ago.

I can drop weight easily, in fact, too easily. Takes an act of congress to gain it back, and you know how slow congress is.

Weird, because I eat like there's no tomorrow. I never was able to bulk up or build up a strong-looking physique.

I guess I'm lucky because I never have had to diet to lose weight. At least, that's what people tell me.

HUGS,

Mark

[Iggy]

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[ademas]

I lifted weights for years, and put on quite a bit of muscle, and LOATHED cardio.

A few years ago I took up running, and totally lost interest in the weights.

Now I'm trying to incorporate the two...but damn, it's hard!  I just can't seem to find the right balance.

I don't belong to a gym, but I have free weights (dumbells, no bench) and a good treadmill at home.  I'm trying to do 30 minutes of circuit work at least 4 days per week, followed by 45 minutes on the treadmill, but it still doesn't feel quite right--almost like I'm not getting enough of either.

I've noticed that I'm unable to lift the amount of weight I used to be able to handle, and I seem to need more recovery time.  It also seems that the workouts wear me out more than they used to.  Rather than feeling energized (like my metabolism is ramped up...), I feel completely spent, and need more nap time, which I hate.  (I don't know if this is related to HIV or just the fact that I'm 48.)

As far as weight goes...I would like to drop (or shift?) about 15 lbs.  Actually, I'd like to lose it...but I find when I drop below 190 people start asking if I'm sick.  My face gets the hollow look that I don't normally have when I carry a few extra pounds.  So...I'm either unhappy with the body because of the few pounds (lipodystrophy lbs, they are, in all the wrong places), or I work to lose the lbs. and my face looks gaunt.  It bugs me to no end.

Oh well...maybe I should go jump on that "Body Image Research" thread...

On the upside...my arthritis med is helping a lot.  I jogged six miles yesterday in under an hour...it's been a long time since I was able to do that! 

[David_CA]

What do  you do for exercise?   Stair-step machine (plus lots of general physical activity)

How often?   Daily

How long?   30 minutes

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since your diagnosis?    I've upped it from 20 minutes and increased the intensity of the workout

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since you started meds?    No meds yet

How old are you?  40

If, for some reason, I get up late and don't have time to exercise, I feel tired all day.  After abut 17 minutes of stepping, the adrenaline starts flowing and I feel really good.  It's that 'runner's high' I guess.

David

[MSPspud]

What do  you do for exercise?

Resistance Training
Yoga
Cardio

How often?

Resistance Training = 3 to 4 x/wk
Yoga = 1 to 2 x/wk
Cardio = Whenever I'm feeling fat (average less than 1x/wk)

How long?

About an hour to an hour and a half for each activity w/ exception to cardio which is about 30 minutes.

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since your diagnosis?

Prior to diagnosis I used to do cardio only.  After diagnosis I joined a gym and started resistance.  I found the resistance was making me tight, so I threw in yoga.  I found with doing yoga and resistance, I really didn't need cardio as it became overkill.  My oxygen utilization numbers remain off the charts with no cardio, so it's not necessary.

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since you started meds?

Not at all.

How old are you?

32

[GSOgymrat]

What do  you do for exercise?
Weight train, trail jog, bike, volleyball

How often?
I lift or do something cardio 5 days a week.

How long?
About 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on what I am doing.

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since your diagnosis?
I do less cardio because I'm afraid of losing weight.

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since you started meds?
No.

How old are you?
40

[Robert]

What do  you do for exercise?  Rowing machine.  Walking 3 miles/day

How often?  minimum of 5 days/wk.  Sometimes 7

How long?  1 hour

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since your diagnosis? yes.  Prior to diagnosis I walked 3 miles/day.

Has your level of intensity, or the type of exercise you do, changed since you started meds?  I started the rowing after the meds because of depression.  Every morning I wake up and the earth feels like it is sucking me in.  The rowing takes away the depression and I can get on with my day.  My rowing is very intense and by the time I've finished I'm sweating my balls off.

AFter recovery from PCP I gained the 40 lbs I had lost.  Rowing helps to maintain that weight at 147.  So rowing also helps me keep off unnecessary weight and allieviates the clinical depression which just takes a deep bite out of me every day. 

Personally, I think depression is the worst possible OI contracted from the HIV virus.  If I die from any OI due to HIV it will be from depression and not any of the more clinical diseases.  But I digress.

How old are you? 56