<p>Bryce Canyon is on my to do list, but not the narrow ledges! One stretch of those during my Kauai hike was more than enough 
Sounds like you had a fantastic trip, fireandrain! </p>
<p>C3Baker, welcome! </p>
<p>Welcome C3Baker!</p>
<p>teri:</p>
<p>After everything you’ve been through, it sounds like you are doing fantastic with your exercise! I bet that you see pretty rapid progress, but the early stages of rebuilding from what you’ve been through are probably maddenly frustrating. The fact that you are diving right in is pretty impressive, no matter whether it feels like it or not!</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts:</p>
<p>a) That kind of high tempo short rest circuit exercise is VERY demanding. It sounds easy enough on paper, but things like squats and lunges drive the heart rate through the roof because they use big oxygen-gulping muscles. To start stringing sets of exercises like that back to back is really tough. That’s why it’s so fantastic for cardio conditioning and for fat loss. The shock would be if you COULD do sets of multiple 10-rep exercise without resting in between exercises. Starting out, you might need to go to 30 seconds rest between exercises and 2 or 3 minutes between sets. The other possibility is to cut back to 6 rep sets. I would not want to be seeing heart rates above 154 (90% of my max) very often during these kinds of workouts – maybe at the very end of the last set or two. Above 90% heart rate, you aren’t going to be able to do the exercises very well as your form will fall apart. The Cosgroves, who use these kinds of circuits in their group classes (with a real time big screen monitor display of everyone’s heart rate on the wall!) aim for people to get up to or above 85% of their max heart rates. I agree with your trainer in wanting to see your heart rate fall back to the 130 range. You can always go quicker later on, but you’ve got to walk before you run, so to speak!</p>
<p>I think an hour of this kind of circuit training is a LOT. I have found that 20 to 30 minutes is gracious plenty for me – perhaps with 10 minutes of warmup, and 10 minutes of core exercises beforehand. I wonder if you are just trying to do too much too soon? Perhaps it would make sense to mix shorter sessions of conditioning circuits with slower paced weight lifting to increase strength? I think there’s good reason to do both: high rep lighter weight (or body weight) for conditioning and slower paced higher rep with longer rests for strength. You might even have to scale back to 30 minute workouts and augment that with some super low intensity exercise like walking around the neighborhood.</p>
<p>b) Chances are that the dizziness is simply a function of over-exertion (see above), perhaps combined with the dizziness many people experience when standing up from a sitting or kneeling position. However, just to rule out one other possibility: I have occasional bouts of BPPS (Benign Positional Vertigo) about once a year. This is caused by little crystals in the inner ear getting out of position. It’s totally harmless, but it makes the room spin violently when I sit up or look up the ceiling. It’s totally harmless, but completely debilitating as I have to grab something to keep from falling and the room spinning is so violent that it’s close to nausea-inducing. Needless to say, my exercises are pretty limited during the week or so it takes for one of these bouts to go away.</p>
<p>You could test for this kind of dizziness by doing the Eppley Maneuver. It’s a simple sequence of movements done on your bed. It repositions the crystals to “cure” the benign vertigo, But, if you have it, the exercises done for one and/or both sides will probably trigger violent room spinning. If you don’t get the violent room spinning, then you can probably rule out this kind of vertigo dizziness.</p>
<p>fireandrain:</p>
<p>I just finished looking that the pictures of the hiking trails you did. Wow! Incredible scenery. 90 miles of that kind of stuff over multiple days would definitely kick my butt. I would be whipped and sore! What a workout. </p>
<p>iDad- Your post to Teri is just excellent. I completely agree. Proud of you, Teri! BUT- that IS a lot and the dizziness could be just from that. </p>
<p>Also want to say that I had good company for the Toronto weekend. MaineLonghorn (our very own moderator) was a great supporter and paced someone in the 5K! </p>
<p>I have no place posting with you incredible folks, but at least got myself out and walked in our hilly neighborhood for an hour an a half with a neighbor. Its a start.</p>
<p>Jym626, anyone who is sincerely trying is welcome!!! We all had a starting place - some strive for more, some are consistent, some like one form of exercise, some many - all good!!! </p>
<p>Color me dumb - what does it mean that Maine “paced” someone??? (how cool if you got to see each other!)</p>
<p>jym, you are always welcome here. I walked with our two nutty dogs today. That’s all so far. Trying to convince myself to go to the gym and I really don’t want to. </p>
<p>I exercised the checkbook big time today. It got a major workout. </p>
<p>I, on the other hand, have plans for a relatively light home workout. My fitness routine is in place, and I’m content with it. The only person I need to please is me. </p>
<p>Thanks, sabaray. I need motivation to get moving!</p>
<p>Well, we have fabulous 5 pound parties every time someone loses 5 pounds. We’ll even get you a fantastic light up accessory to show off! Virtual cocktails and snacks included. Motivation enough? </p>
<p>woo hoo! Its a start!</p>
<p>Jym, you’ve been well on your way a while now. 
And I don’t think anyone needs to have to ask permission to join in when other threads get folded into this one if they’re exercise related.</p>
<p>I’ve been stopping and starting a lot. </p>
<p>And there is halloween candy in the house :(</p>
<p>Went out of town for the weekend for DH’s alma mater football game. Lots of get togethers with friends. Ate HORRIBLY and drank some wine.</p>
<p>Went for a one hour bike ride today. Felt good, though no illusions that it “erased” the weekend. But what can you do?</p>
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<p>I’ve been dreading stocking the Halloween bowl. Last year, I even put it in the trunk of the car. All that did was send me scurrying outside in my pajamas three or four times a night. :)</p>
<p>I wonder if the little muchkins would go for a glass of psyllium husk fiber and some Vitamin D gelcaps? Spoonfuls of lard? I’ve got to come up with a new plan to keep from eating a couple bags of Halloween candy.</p>
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<p>You can be glad that the temperature in Dallas was moderate enough that you got out on your bike for an hour!</p>
<p>Cherish the memories? </p>
<p>“Fitness is not about being better than someone else. It is about being better than you used to be.” Thank you for posting that sabaray!</p>
<p>Teri, you’ve had such a journey and I’m glad you’re on the track to wellness. I too recovered from an extended illness once and couldn’t believe how fatiguing even the simplest tasks were–like going out for coffee! It took months to get my stamina back. I hope you can consult your doc about the dizziness and build up your workout time again…</p>
<p>Beautiful, fireandrain!</p>
<p>Welcome C3B and let me say that your record of the past two years is something! Congrats on the running and weight loss.</p>
<p>Had my yearly physical today. Doc says my numbers on paper could be those of a healthy teen. So tactful! And that’s some consolation since I have been checking out the wrinkle cream thread, especially after turning 39 for the umpteenth time. The HDL cholesterol was 86, higher than the LDL and triglycerides. </p>
<p>Ran a bit this morning and took a walk with H tonight.</p>
<p>"The Cosgroves, who use these kinds of circuits in their group classes (with a real time big screen monitor display of everyone’s heart rate on the wall!) aim for people to get up to or above 85% of their max heart rates. "</p>
<p>idad- this strikes me as akin to what Orangetheory Fitness does (post the % of your max heart rate on a monitor).</p>