Low Hb sports and endurance

I am always fascinated because many people had more stamina than me when it comes to sports.  Lately I had a little argument with my husband on the topic of sports and endurance.  When I was in my teens I barely can run far, the furthest, 400m because I would feel so out of breath and tired, which forced me to walk in between of run on school's yearly marathon.  After schooling years, I don't run anymore.  I am more than happy to do brisk walk, rather than jog because I feel comfortable doing it at a slower pace. 

My husband, always believes where there is a will there is a way.  He said I must jog.  Doing it frequently will increase the stamina and distance.  I barely can tell him sometimes in between brisk walking, my hips and knee hurts, needless to say, how to jog?  Besides with Hb 8, I feel so tired and so out of breath needless to say climbing stairs is a problem, how to run? 

Can anyone shed some light on exercising with low hb?  I am trying to understand if you do have the same problem, or may I'm the one with problem?

Hi gwftan,

From my experience, running still remains the toughest thing to build endurance. I run 2 times a week and the fastest I've ever done 1 mile is 12mins. Even during that 12mins it's jogging for 3 mins then walking and then jogging again. I am very fast, but only for short distances. I can run more and more after walking and catching my breath for a few mins. Over the years I have seen my endurance increase, but not to that of a normal athelete. I am 6'3" and 175lbs and consider myself to be above average when it comes to sports, but I don't have much advice for increasing endurance while running.

My Hb is usually around 8-9.1 and after 3/4 of a mile my spleen starts to ache, but it goes away quickly after.

Keep trying though. I know that with frequent excercise I do feel better and it's a part of my daily routine.

Thanks a lot Bobby.  Yes, I agree running is the toughest for me too.  Never can outdo myself in this running business.  Short sprint is fine but long run is tiring.  I also hate feeling like asthmatic after the run!

Recent months my joints and muscle start to ache even though I do brisk walking or even walking up the stairs, dampen my spirit to go to the gym.  Looks like a wierdo on the treadmill so I keep the session short and choose a time when there are less people around.  I had been resting for a while, I need to start back the routine again or else the membership will just go to waste. 

Hi.

I can walk around at a normal pace even for an hour if needed (on my best hemoglobin days!), but I CANNOT run for more than few seconds. I tried spot jogging daily to try to increase endurance/stamina, but its no use. I can manage only for less than a minute, with great struggle. :-)

As a kid I could play basketball, but I could never run or even complete races. I also used to get that severe lower one-sided abdominal pain - but i'm not sure if its my spleen. That itself makes me stop right away.

Basic fitness exercises help me a little, but only if I am regular. If i take a break for few weeks, i'm back to square one!

My hemoglobin is usually 9. If i forcibly drain myself, I fall sick, so exercise is never forced.

Hi Pretty,

Thanks for sharing.  I used to be more fit when I was younger.  I'm not a sporty person but I do involve myself in a lot of charity work, being a volunteer member of St. John Ambulance till my 20s.  Sporting event is cool but having to run at someone who collapsed and carried them to the first aid point is so frustrating!  When I started working, I would play some badminton with colleagues.  After the marriage and childrens I seldom go for sports.  I think at that point my hb wasn't as bad as now that's why I feel much energetic then. 

Its quite hard to build up stamina especially now, I feel tired easily.  However, I am going to try my best, not that I want to to for a race, but just to sweat it out.  I also look for alternative ways to maintain the hb at a higher level.  It keeps more cool in me, than having to blow my cool at any small little things(like kid's yelling, homeworks, etc).   

Same here, I have worsened with age. No idea why.

Walking at an easy pace daily is a great stress buster, it activates our happy hormones and reduces mood swings. I'm trying to increase hemoglobin too, but no luck so far! :-)

Hi Pretty,

Recently I just started Qi Gong. I went for 3 sessions.  I have training 3 days a week.  I just came back actually though today I don't feel I'm following enough because my mind was wandering.  It actually feels good after the session although I had muscle ache and pain the next day in my 2nd session.  Although I am lost in the steps (because I joined the class awfully late) but I feel I'm more energetic every morning.  Its also good for relaxation because we need to relax ourselves in order to perform the Qi Gong routine.  I felt the calmness in the 2nd session, not today.  We're not supposed to be emotional when we go to class(I was angry with my son because he's just too lazy to do his homework, and wants me to tell him the answers before I went out, totally lost the effect of a good session).

The manipulation of the joints(whole body) do help me to reduce the current shoulder pain a little.  I've tried physiotheraphy exercises which doesn't help.  The TENS also doesn't help.  This really helps a lot.  I think its good for blood circulation so far, am looking forward to see if it helps to raise the hb to a much higher level.  Some of the practitioners are telling me that they have reduced some sort of pain, such as back pain with diligent practice and enhance the body's spirit and energy level.   Maybe if you're willing, you can try this out.