Muscle weakness
in Health ·
I wasn't quite sure where this post belonged—should I have put it here or in the fitness section?
To give you some context, my line of work involves sitting down and working for most of the day; I run my own small business from home, so
my typical day starts around 8:00 AM, though how late I go depends entirely on my workload—some days I'm stuck at my desk until 8:00 PM or even later.
I manage to take an hour or two of breaks throughout the day, but honestly, I feel so utterly exhausted that my only real movement consists of walking to the corner store on my street or just moving between floors in my house.
Once I finally wrap up work, I head straight for a hot shower and then collapse into bed to let my backside recover from such an uncomfortable chair.
And of course, because of all this sitting, I’ve gained 10 pounds over the last two years... if only I had a massive sweet tooth, I could at least tell myself it was a self-inflicted penalty, but I eat like a bird—which I know isn't ideal—yet somehow it feels like I'm gaining weight out of thin air. But, I suppose that's beside the point.
I recently started an aerobics class led by an acquaintance of mine, and she suggested I try a specific workout routine. In hindsight, I think she might have overestimated my capabilities, because for me, it felt far too intense.
It’s one of those "fat-burning" sessions—the name says it all—where you are essentially jumping and hopping until you are completely spent.
The strange thing is, while I was actually doing the movements, it felt fine; I was jumping along, it didn't feel overly difficult, even quite pleasant... but the very second I stopped, everything went wrong. My vision went dark, my ears clogged up, my mouth went pale, and I was hit by a wave of cold sweat accompanied by these intense tremors running through my arms and legs. I ended up flat on my back on the floor, lying there for about 15 minutes with my hands over my head... I simply couldn't get up. I drank a ton of water, but even my clothes felt like they were constricting me. It happened this past Monday, and frankly, I still feel a bit lightheaded today.
I really want to stick with the aerobics classes—I'm only 23, and I hate that I've put on these 10 pounds; it makes me feel terrible.
However, I am genuinely afraid that this weakness will strike again, because everything seems perfectly fine right up until the moment I stop moving.
My instructor told me to slow down as much as necessary, but that is easier said than done when the exercises themselves felt manageable while I was performing them.
Does anyone have any advice? Could these symptoms be pointing toward an underlying health issue that I'm completely unaware of?
I should probably mention that I was one of the thinnest people in the room, considering it's a class specifically designed for fat loss... and everyone else seemed to handle it without a hitch except for me. It was a little depressing, if I'm being honest—to put it bluntly, the "heavier women" in the class didn't all collapse after the workout. I'm just worried that this is something more serious regarding my health rather than just a lack of stamina.
To give you some context, my line of work involves sitting down and working for most of the day; I run my own small business from home, so
my typical day starts around 8:00 AM, though how late I go depends entirely on my workload—some days I'm stuck at my desk until 8:00 PM or even later.
I manage to take an hour or two of breaks throughout the day, but honestly, I feel so utterly exhausted that my only real movement consists of walking to the corner store on my street or just moving between floors in my house.
Once I finally wrap up work, I head straight for a hot shower and then collapse into bed to let my backside recover from such an uncomfortable chair.
And of course, because of all this sitting, I’ve gained 10 pounds over the last two years... if only I had a massive sweet tooth, I could at least tell myself it was a self-inflicted penalty, but I eat like a bird—which I know isn't ideal—yet somehow it feels like I'm gaining weight out of thin air. But, I suppose that's beside the point.
I recently started an aerobics class led by an acquaintance of mine, and she suggested I try a specific workout routine. In hindsight, I think she might have overestimated my capabilities, because for me, it felt far too intense.
It’s one of those "fat-burning" sessions—the name says it all—where you are essentially jumping and hopping until you are completely spent.
The strange thing is, while I was actually doing the movements, it felt fine; I was jumping along, it didn't feel overly difficult, even quite pleasant... but the very second I stopped, everything went wrong. My vision went dark, my ears clogged up, my mouth went pale, and I was hit by a wave of cold sweat accompanied by these intense tremors running through my arms and legs. I ended up flat on my back on the floor, lying there for about 15 minutes with my hands over my head... I simply couldn't get up. I drank a ton of water, but even my clothes felt like they were constricting me. It happened this past Monday, and frankly, I still feel a bit lightheaded today.
I really want to stick with the aerobics classes—I'm only 23, and I hate that I've put on these 10 pounds; it makes me feel terrible.
However, I am genuinely afraid that this weakness will strike again, because everything seems perfectly fine right up until the moment I stop moving.
My instructor told me to slow down as much as necessary, but that is easier said than done when the exercises themselves felt manageable while I was performing them.
Does anyone have any advice? Could these symptoms be pointing toward an underlying health issue that I'm completely unaware of?
I should probably mention that I was one of the thinnest people in the room, considering it's a class specifically designed for fat loss... and everyone else seemed to handle it without a hitch except for me. It was a little depressing, if I'm being honest—to put it bluntly, the "heavier women" in the class didn't all collapse after the workout. I'm just worried that this is something more serious regarding my health rather than just a lack of stamina.