Experimenting with Exercise

The last time a felt really well was back in March 2008, over two years ago. Ever since then, I’ve had these damn cold/flu-like symptoms. But about a year before that, I had similar symptoms for about 4 months. At the time, my psychologist suggested I join a local gym and start doing some muscle-building exercise to strengthen my immune system. It worked a treat: within about two weeks of starting regular exercise, I was back to 100% health. I kept it up for about a year, and only stopped going when I nearly passed out during a personal training session due to this fatigue illness.

For the last couple of years, every time I’ve exercised, I’ve had the dreaded post-exertional malaise; which is a fancy way of saying I’ve felt really dreadful the next day. I tried going dancing one night a week, but found I’d spend the whole next day (and sometimes more) in bed recovering; so although I loved dancing, eventually I gave it up. I decided that any exercise was bad news really; it seemed to do more harm than good.

But I can’t help remembering that last time I was frantically trying to get my health back, exercise did work. So I’ve decided to try an experiment. I’ve bought some dumbells, and started doing some bicep and tricep curls. I’m not going to do anything aerobic; just muscle-building work. I’ve gone back on the protein powder I used to use while I was at the gym too. If nothing else, having stronger arm muscles should give me a psychological boost since I’ll feel less weak. And who knows, maybe it’ll work some immune system magic.

I’m also trying a range of supplements, including ProBoost recommended on the Chronic Sore Throat blog comment thread. Aside from that, I’m focusing my efforts on developing my dream story-telling/speaking/comedy career, which I find sufficiently engaging that I don’t worry about my symptoms… I worry about my being successful at my career instead! I live in interesting times.