Asthma To The Rescue

The sessions I've had with my personal trainer have been torture!

After nearly dying every single time I've gone into the gym, I was complaining to my mom and wondering if I should quit.

Me: I just don't get it. It's been over two weeks and it's still just as hard! I thought it'd get better, but my legs are so sore I feel like they're going to buckle with every step I take. And forget about putting my bra on- my arms won't cooperate.

Mom: It'll get easier, just stick with it.

Me: I will, but during my workouts, I just can't catch my breath. It's a horrible feeling! And I've almost passed out so many times. I get lightheaded and I can see a black cloud squeezing my vision in. I feel like such a wimp.

Mom: Hmmm. And you're taking your inhaler?

Me: My inhaler? Wow, no.

Mom: You have exercise induced asthma and need to take your inhaler before every work out! What were you thinking?

Me: I forgot!

Mom: You forgot that you have ASTHMA?

Me: Yeah! I can't believe it, but I did! And now everything makes so much more sense!

Like, how after 10 minutes of strength training I'd already be a red faced, sweaty mess, gasping for breath as I stumbled for the balance bar after each rep to keep myself from falling to the ground. And how no matter how deeply I breathed, I never really felt like I was getting enough oxygen. Silly me, I WASN'T.

I wonder how many brain cells I killed in the last two weeks. At my age, I don't have any to spare. Obviously.

I bought an inhaler and took it before my next session, and oh my word, what a world of difference it made! My trainer was shocked at how much better I was doing. And it felt so good to be able to say, "See! I'm not just an intolerable complainer! I really WAS going to pass out dead."

The inhaler has also made a huge difference for my cardio workouts. I used to climb on the elliptical and it would feel like I was dredging through a swamp with weights on my ankles. When I was done I'd be so worn out I could barely get off the thing. Not anymore! Still a little swampy, but without the dredging or weighted ankles.

And the way I see things, more oxygen = better results = more leeway in how many Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies I can consume. Have you had one? They are DIVINE.