The gym does have a squat cage, but it’s at least 3′-4′ deep, so lots of room to maneuver. I’m not using it yet — right now I’m mostly just squatting to get at the coffee supplies in the break room, or to practice the movement.

Re: exercising at home, I got started again during knee rehab without resistance, then added stretchy resistance bands, then finally adding an adjustable ankle weight. We also have acquired a variety of dumbbells over the years – 5, 10, 15 and 20lbs. ;)

And it really gets your heart going.

Just be sure to get some sound instruction if you’ve never used one before.

The reason I didn’t call 911 was that a) I was in an asthma attack before my chest got painful – chest tightness, gasping for breath, etc and b) pain went away when I used the inhaler. Somehow I don’t think the inhaler would’ve affected a heart attack.

Glad you’ve got the acid reflux and asthma under control. I find anxiety is an asthma trigger for me too, but I’m dealing with it the meditation and avoiding anxiety ways ;)

Squats are fabulous! Well done on the workout!

I know there are trainers who say it’s safer, but it’s really not. It forces you to travel a straight line throughout the movement, creating shear force on the knee that a full free squat doesn’t. It’d be better to do a free squat with one of those heavy broomstick things some gyms have than use it. (Or an empty Olympic bar if you’re up to 45 lbs).

http://www.exrx.net/Questions/SmithSquat.html

I’m getting ready to start slow-burn style weight work. Since I am unemployed, I can’t afford to use a gym right now, so I collected adjustable ankle weights and I have some bars and plates, and a mat, and a weight bench…I just need my husband to help me, because I won’t do free weight work without a partner. Especially not work to failure.

I really like using a gym, and if money weren’t an issue, I’d sign right up for one right now. There are three in my area I really like. And I relish being the fat girl at the gym. If they give me dirty or disparaging looks, I smile at them. I have my ipod, I have my HRM (or at least the strap) I am in the zone. The last person who trained me didn’t know how to deal with a fat woman with a positive attitude about fitness, I’m not sure he knew what to do with a fat women client at all! — it was a real consciousness raiser for him, I am sure!

Having asthma makes me prone to anxiety attacks. When you think about it, losing the ability to breathe freely and sufficiently tends to make one anxious. When I explained this to my doctor, she convinced me to try Effexor and see if that helps control the anxiety. I tried it for four months at the lowest dose and hated the effect it had on me. For four months, I literally became obsessed with what it would feel like to be dead. I didn’t WANT to die and was not suicidal in the least, but I had dreams about coffins, burial, autopsies and preservation of my body that were so vivid I can recall them to this day. I also stopped caring about everything. EVERYTHING. Needless to say, I took myself off Effexor cold turkey when I couldn’t stand the person I had become. Not a good idea because then the “brain zaps” started. I literally had jolts of electricity zing through my brain at various times during the day that felt like what I imagine shock therapy does. This lasted 6 weeks and believe me, I will never, ever take anything like that again!

I am amazed that you take 20 puffs off your inhaler before exercise. If it’s albuterol, that amount is definitely going to cause your heart to race quite a bit. The most I’ve been told to inhale is 2 puffs at 30 minutes and 15 minutes prior to exercising. Could this be the cause of the chest pains during your walk?

Also, I am by far, no expert on heart attacks in women, but have done my own reseach for my own informational purposes and have found that chest pain is rarely the most common or only symptom of heart attacks in women. Since women’s heart attack symptoms differ greatly from men, I have found that neck pain, shoulder pain, and nausea/indigestion type pain are actually more commonly associated with heart attacks in women. (I am not a doctor so please take my words with a grain of salt and as my own individual experience). Knowing this info helps me to run through my own checklist whenever I have chest pain and keeps my anxiety in balance.

I hope the Singulair works well for you. I have been on it since my diagnosis of adult onset asthma over 4 years ago now. I get fewer allergic trigger responses (pollen, pollutants, etc) since I started taking it. I hope it works the same for you :)

It sounds like you have a great workout! Keep tabs on the chest pain….maybe give the doctor a call or email to discuss this? (concern is genuine)