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Quantifying your excercise

 
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jkolako796



Quit Date:
May 16, 2004

Posts: 222

PostPosted: August 1, 2004 11:30 PM    Post subject: Quantifying your excercise Reply with quote

Forgive me if this post runs a little (or a lot) long, but I really want to say this, and as far as I know, there is not a "per word" charge. (If I am wrong, just send me the bill Kevin.) I just want to stress to anyone and everyone who is quitting- any type of exercise is important, and quantifying that exercise is just as important. Let me explain:

If you go through and read the majority of the posts on this board (including mine) you will find quite a few comments about "feeling so much better" or "I notice lots of improvements" and the downside "I am having a hard time because I just am not feeling better" etc. The common link in all these posts is quite simple- they are based on feelings and perception, and are subject to so many other variables than your quit that you can see people go from great to horrible or horrible to great seemingly overnight. There are many factors that cause this, and while a lot of people acknowledge those factors, we still tend to blame it all on our quit.

By nature, emotions cannot be quantified. I suppose you could do a graph of how many minutes you feel happy during a given day, but I am not sure what that would tell you, except for measuring how many negative things happened that day. There were times before we quit that we were unhappy as well. (I am not sure that I am communicating this very well, but hopefully you can follow my meaning. If not, the last part will still make sense, I promise!)

Now- on to the whole point of this post: exercise, and your performance of a physical task, is easily measured. How fast you can run, how much weight you can lift, heart rate, blood pressure, body fat- and a myriad of other measurements. With targeted, regular exercise, your body will show improvement- I don't mean external improvement (although that certainly is a benefit it is hard to quantify) I mean improvement against a benchmark set when you begin the exercise routine. Now that you have quit smoking, you know your body is improving, but by how much? Here is where the importance of quantification comes in. Measure your performance and you can know exactly how much you are improving. This improvement will make your quit stronger. I present to you the following example (and a little bit of bragging!)

I have been quit for about 2 1/2 months. I smoked for 20 years. I have always been somewhat physically active- not necessarily a formal exercise program (although I did lift weights) but the regular activities- yard work, fixing the car, fixing the house, chasing the kids, whatever.

The one thing I have always hated is running. In gym class, I hated running. In the military, I hated running. After I got out of the Navy, I swore I would never run again. Why did I hate running? Because I smoked. That's it. My legs could probably have done it, but my lungs weren't up to the task.

When I quit, I decided that I was going to start running, no matter how bad I hated it. 6 days after I quit, I went for a jog. I ran about 3/4 mile (thought it was about a mile at the time), and did it in about 18 minutes. Then I damn near collapsed. I have kept running. I actually started enjoying running. Then I started looking forward to it. Now if I don't get to go out, I am kind of antsy.

Tonight I went out and ran 2 miles. I did it in 21 minutes 36 seconds. That is 3.5 minutes longer than it took me to run 3/4 miles just 10 weeks ago. To save you the math-if I had even been able to run that far, and done it at the same pace as the first 3/4 miles when I first went out running, it would have taken me around 48 minutes to run 2 miles.

22 minutes vs. 48. - In 2 1/2 months. HOW COOL IS THAT!

I have been getting a little bit down lately, not ready to start smoking, but I do have enormous amounts of stress in my life. I still have thoughts, and they have increased recently, of going and just having one cig to see what it tastes like.

Tonight, because of the dramatic improvement that I just told about, I once again am able to say that I absolutely 100% will never smoke another cigarette.

Quantifying the improvement in exercise may just have saved my quit. I would not have been able to do what I did, if I smoked. So far I have not found anything that I can't do that I could have done if I still smoked.

Joshua

I have been quit for 2 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days, 22 hours and 28 minutes (77 days). I have saved $350.71 by not smoking 2,338 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Week, 1 Day, 2 hours and 50 minutes of my life.
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ms_tapestry



Quit Date:
October 21, 2009

Posts: 2574
Location: Seminole, TX

PostPosted: August 2, 2004 4:58 AM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent post Joshua. Thanks for putting it all in perspective. You are right, when I exercise I do notice an improvement in strength. And congrats on your Quit!
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Tonya

You must do the very thing you think you cannot do.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
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Fightn4life



Quit Date:
October 23, 2003

Posts: 1573
Location: Loysburg, PA

PostPosted: August 2, 2004 5:26 AM    Post subject: This is great! Reply with quote

Joshua, excellent post! It came at the perfect time. When I first stopped smoking I was so into exercise. I got so I missed it terrible when I missed over a day. Like you I have always been active even through my smoking years.

Hiking, running, swinmming long distance, was slowing down because I smoked.

I got so much excitement into being active after my quit.

Some where down the line I again moved away for the feel good part of exercise and lost the desire. Don't know why. But it's has been on my mind lately.

After reading your post and remembering how much I loved the new breathing free me, I can't wait to pick back up on my exercise program.

Thank you so much for posting this motivation piece.

Sandyz
9 months breathing free...Not too long into a quit to learn new things. Or to be reminded of what helps make us feel good.
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Marvel



Quit Date:
-

Posts: 297
Location: Tennessee

PostPosted: August 2, 2004 9:24 AM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for a great post Joshua!

I´m going to start running again when I get home, and since I´ve always kept fitness records, I can compare how I do to how I used to do! I know it will be better. This trip has been the first one to high altitude (over 14,000 feet) since I quit smoking, and I have to say it´s been SOOOO much easier than before I quit. And when I do any kind of exercise I try to take note of how much and how I feel, because as you say, quantifying exercise (at least for some of us) is a great inspiration and/or motivator. I´m happy when I´ve improved and I´m challenged to do better if I fall behind.

I´m glad you posted this to get me off my butt again!
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Marvel
QD 10/21/2003

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kannprint



Quit Date:
April 10, 2004

Posts: 4988
Location: St. Louis, MO

PostPosted: August 2, 2004 12:24 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Joshua,

Fantastic post. You're doing a great job. I'm a little older than you and have a few health concerns so must take things just a bit slower but I'm gonna get there. I feel so much better now that I'm not smoking that sometimes I think I can do anything. However, the doc says to take it easy.

Keep up that program. You'll never regret it.
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Kerry



Quit Date:
May 4, 2004

Posts: 862
Location: Illinois

PostPosted: August 2, 2004 3:15 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Joshua, (cool name) that was great and so true. Last year and up until my quit I exercised like a fiend. Yes it was hard and I huffed and puffed but I did it. And I have to tell you, I was happy all the time. Yes, I still smoked but I knew that it was more than that. It was the endorphins. Better than any anti-depressant out there. Since I've quit, my stamina is greater and I can exercise much longer, but whenever I get down about smoking, I tell myself to get to the gym. Trust me, it is another way to gauge your success. If you exercise enough, those doldrums will definitely go away. Another thing I noticed and if there's any medical people out there, maybe you can help, is that my blood pressure has gone down. Only thing is, it was normal when I smoked, now it's low. Is that ok? Kerry
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