Thread: I really have LOW stamina :( Help!!

I lead a fairly sedentary life and always have and I don't know why this is just now becoming important to me( it should have always been) but I have very low stamina during practice :( It's very upsetting to me because I know its because I'm out of condition. I am not overweight nor do I suffer from any health problems (that I know about at least) but I just get exhausted fast... Can anyone recommend some exercises to try to up my level of stamina. I'm thinking aerobics maybe? I can't jump rope because I'm on the second floor..l;,, I DESPISE the treadmill because I feel as though I'll fall off and I live in a neighborhood where it wouldn't be wise to go jogging....I'm even considering getting an aerobics DVD like the 80s..l;,... HELP!!

Why not get some Bellydance DVDs?

Stamina comes with practice, no fast way to get it.

Plus it varies depending on what you might be doing - 60 minutes of slow-moderate pace is way different from 60 minutes of fast stuff!

My stamina used to be pretty much nonexistent. I think working more often and with DVDs at home outside of class has helped. I like the workout at the beginning of Michelle Joyce’s Drills! Drills! Drills!

stamina comes with practice and drills. Try pushing yourself a little longer each time. exercises like swimming, yoga and pilates can help you too.

What about some dance-based workout classes at the gym. Zumba, belly-robics, something else? If you like to dance, it might make it more palatable. Is there sort of track or park you can go for a vigorous walk? Somewhere that you can build up from one lap, to two and so on.

Or what about swimming? You can get quite a workout if you are capable enough to swim lots of laps. I like to swim one lap breastroke (which increases my heart rate) then one lap back stroke (which I can sustain for longer). This way, I keep the heart rate up, but can keep going long enough to get a sustained workout.

Aziza's practice companion has a challenging shimmy drill, which is long enough to get you working hard.

Circuit training, alternating low impact cardio with weights has been very beneficial to me. I know people that do their impact cardio on an urban rebounder to reduce noise and impact. Go over to totalfitnessdvds or collagevide.com and check out some clips.

What kind of exercise would you stick with? To build stamina, you have to find something that you will do regularly.

Going out running wouldn't be enough for me; I don't enjoy, and I wouldn't do it because I don't feel like it engages my mind enough. However, some people love that. I do use DVDs occasionally, but I ultimately benefit the most with live instruction when it comes to exercise. I enjoy the atmosphere and I have a nagging feeling about not attending, be it because I'm wasting money or because I think my teacher will notice.

Is there a "Drills" class in your area? Because I cross train in dance, I find Bharatanatyam will frequently kick my butt for stamina.

Doing cardio in the mornings in addition to my regular practice routine helps me. Stamina is an issue for me because I have Crohn's disease and sometimes have to lay low. Because of that my stamina goes out the window sometimes. So while I'm feeling good I make sure to get my cardio in.

I like this DVD for a variety of reason. You can pick & choose which drills you do. Repetition on a regular basis will build up stamina.Here's a reply I made last month Re: ISO BD workout that really burns calories
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Jehan's Ultimate Fitness Bellydance Workout $13.49 Amazon.
The pros: price, professional filming quality; different dancers doing different type workouts (don't get bored with same person, fun to see different types, sizes, ages);inc. warmup, cooldown, fast cardio stuff is shimmy, traveling, drops, twists, jumps & hops,etc; very peppy combination type workout; pleasant voiced-over;interesting music. The dancers all all beautiful, energetic, and engaged; popular NYC dancers [same crew as WorldDanceNewYork folk], very cool.
The cons: some of instructors have technique a tad sloppy, product logo always appears (faintly) on side of screen, touch of "Goddess-y" content (depending on your viewpoint).
If I do the whole dvd, I get a great workout & am sweating and a bit short of breath (well not after the cooldown).
The varying factors of backdrop (plain white), music (by Jehan), workout gear worn (some jeans, some decorated lingerie-ish bras), voiceover (yes), to me are very personal preference qualities; all of the above of ok with me, but perhaps not to others.
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Ok, I had this same problem and kept thinking that I was seriously out of shape. I kept thinking that if I just practiced more and pushed myself a litle harder I would eventually get back in shape. WRONG. I was severely anemic. Very low blood count. I didnt look sick but that was the problem, none of the doctors I went to for the fatigue even did a simple blood work up. Instead, they said "oh its stress, or depression, o excersise more" When you have anemia, the LAST thing you want to do is over do physical activities as your blood will not have enough good blood cells to properly oxegynate your heart and lungs. Consider having a blood test.

I joined a YMCA (much cheaper than a gym), and when I went religiously three nights per week and Saturdays, I saw results. I was working out with weights, taking yoga, step aerobics and sometimes zumba, and I lost 14lbs.

Then I got lazy and slacked off, but just started going back. I also bought a bike, so I don't have to drive there. So that's double exercise!

Originally Posted by patrisha

Ok, I had this same problem and kept thinking that I was seriously out of shape. I kept thinking that if I just practiced more and pushed myself a litle harder I would eventually get back in shape. WRONG. I was severely anemic. Very low blood count. I didnt look sick but that was the problem, none of the doctors I went to for the fatigue even did a simple blood work up. Instead, they said "oh its stress, or depression, o excersise more" When you have anemia, the LAST thing you want to do is over due physical activities as your blood will not have enough good blood cells to properly oxegynate your heart and lungs. Consider having a blood test.

Good point! Since OP commented she was very sedentary, I thought of that first. But it's true that anemia is a common culprit that can contribute to stamina issues!

Originally Posted by patrisha

Ok, I had this same problem and kept thinking that I was seriously out of shape. I kept thinking that if I just practiced more and pushed myself a litle harder I would eventually get back in shape. WRONG. I was severely anemic. Very low blood count. I didnt look sick but that was the problem, none of the doctors I went to for the fatigue even did a simple blood work up. Instead, they said "oh its stress, or depression, o excersise more" When you have anemia, the LAST thing you want to do is over due physical activities as your blood will not have enough good blood cells to properly oxegynate your heart and lungs. Consider having a blood test.

I'm anemic too. The trouble for me is remembering to take my vitamins!

I actually had a condition known as A-plastic Anemia. The bone marow ceases to produce new blood cells. It was brought on by artifical radiation...sun tan booth. Yup. Thats an oncologists diagnosis. I looked great (very golden brown and all) but was dying. Treatment was long and I had to stop all activities to avoid the chance of a stroke. Get a blood test. I dont think you even need a prescribing doctor if you go to a lab at a hospital.

Well this is all relative...how low is your stamina exactly? you're probably just where a normal person is at. What helps me is practicing drum solo and/or pop routines. Jillina's new drum solo dvd is currently murdering me. ..l;,

Just keep the belly dance practice up, of course aerobics can't hurt either...

Originally Posted by sharifeh

Well this is all relative...how low is your stamina exactly? you're probably just where a normal person is at. What helps me is practicing drum solo and/or pop routines. Jillina's new drum solo dvd is currently murdering me. ..l;,

Just keep the belly dance practice up, of course aerobics can't hurt either...

"Low stamina" is definitely a relative statement. I went to see my doc a few years ago because I had been feeling incredibly poorly for many months, so "tired", in fact, that I began falling asleep driving to and from work.

Yep, I was severely anemic ("scored" a 23 on a test that should have been in the neighborhood of 100).

If you start off with plenty of energy and lose it halfway through class, that's more likely to be an aerobic-type stamina issue than a medical one, I would think.

I am working on building my own strength and energy levels right now, too. I use several DVDs alternating a couple of times a week with a sharply inclined treadmill walk/run (more affect in less time) and that, combined with my regular dance classes, seems to be an effective program for me.

Good luck! And let us know what you decide to do and how well it works! ..g.:

Thanks for all the great ideas and I do need to get checked out for things like anemia. I've wondered if I had iron deficiency anemia for a while but never got it checked out.. I guess my first move should be a general check up... I also get exhausted much faster when I'm stressed/anxious which I often am so I need to get that under control

Originally Posted by jewelbellydance

What about some dance-based workout classes at the gym. Zumba, belly-robics, something else? If you like to dance, it might make it more palatable. Is there sort of track or park you can go for a vigorous walk? Somewhere that you can build up from one lap, to two and so on.

Or what about swimming? You can get quite a workout if you are capable enough to swim lots of laps. I like to swim one lap breastroke (which increases my heart rate) then one lap back stroke (which I can sustain for longer). This way, I keep the heart rate up, but can keep going long enough to get a sustained workout.

Aziza's practice companion has a challenging shimmy drill, which is long enough to get you working hard.

Yep, I was doing that for a while but I usually can only go late and it isn't safe but I find that when I'm walking I can just keep going like the Energizer Bunny LOL so long as Im not stressed out. I remember doing 7 laps on a HUGE track at a college and still not being tired at all, felt like I could have done 7 more and at a very decently fast pace.. even my husband was tired lol, I should definitely start walking again I think anxiety is a big problem for me even during practice which is silly because no one else is there lol.

There are exercise videos that are based on walking, very simple "choreography" but more than just marching, and the segments correspond to mile segments. I would recommend these if you would like to walk for exercise, but can't because of bad weather or a sketchy neighborhood.

Indoor walking exercise videos and DVDs

Try walking - add in some stair climbing. Cheap and easy to do. If you don't have anywhere interesting to walk listen to music or and audio book or learn Arabic ..g.:

Tunisian dance can be done on the second floor :)

Just a thought - you might need more food before you seriously work out. My husband and a bunch of our friends teach group fittness classes at the gym and they are frequently talking about this. Just the other day a new instructor almost passed out and had to go sit out cause she didn't eat enough before hand.

Dear Zarafshan, there are 2 things that i didn't see anyone mention that are more important than exercise: eat well, sleep well. i know i'm probably preaching to the choir, but its so important to know what you put in your body and make sure you eat a balanced diet. if you don't, it will affect stamina for sure and also deteriorate your health in general. So eat lots of fruit and vegetables and protein and take care of yourself :) Sleep is the other most important component of having good stamina, if your body is tired and you're stressed and its interrupting your sleep pattern, you won't have energy in general. I'm sure you already know these things but just a friendly reminder, good luck!

Originally Posted by la_soraya

Dear Zarafshan, there are 2 things that i didn't see anyone mention that are more important than exercise: eat well, sleep well. i know i'm probably preaching to the choir, but its so important to know what you put in your body and make sure you eat a balanced diet. if you don't, it will affect stamina for sure and also deteriorate your health in general. So eat lots of fruit and vegetables and protein and take care of yourself :) Sleep is the other most important component of having good stamina, if your body is tired and you're stressed and its interrupting your sleep pattern, you won't have energy in general. I'm sure you already know these things but just a friendly reminder, good luck!

Yeah, that!!! ..g.:

I can relate, I have terrible stamina and always have. I used to think it was iron deficiency, but fairly recent tests show my levels in the normal range. I honestly have poor lung capacity, despite training regimens to improve that capacity (e.g. walking 5 3-minute miles daily for a year did nothing; swimming 3 times a week did nothing; dance practice an hour a day does little).

My husband has one of those devices that test your lung capacity by blowing out and reading the output. When I do it, even on a "good" day, I don't make it out of the red. Frustrating, but I've been that way nearly my entire life, which perhaps explains my poor performance at team sports, particularly those that require any running. I did noticed that my lung capacity got significantly worse after a year of recurring bronchial and tonsil infections in my early 20s (I had tonsilitis 13 times in 1 year). My tonsils are gone now, and no more tonsilitis, but I can't help but wonder if my lungs have permanent scarring from the chronic infections.

Right now I'm pregnant, and talk about low stamina!!! But now I have a better excuse ;-)

My current "training" (if you really want to call it that--I call it anti-anxiety medication, frankly), is 3x a week swimming for 20-30 minutes, and 1 hour of dance nightly. I throw occasional yoga sessions in there, and at least 30 minutes of walking split up throughout the day. You'd think I would be pretty fit, but I still get out of breath faster than most.

I just went for my blood tests today after a really horrendous bout of anxiety and severe nausea connected with PMS, my husband had to take me to the hospital.... The doc was especially set on getting my thyroid tested. I'm going to refrain from anything heavy till I get my results back. I have a suspicion about my iron levels and even potassium... This is the first time I've ever had anything this severe with PMS :(

Originally Posted by Zarafshan

I just went for my blood tests today after a really horrendous bout of anxiety and severe nausea connected with PMS, my husband had to take me to the hospital.... The doc was especially set on getting my thyroid tested. I'm going to refrain from anything heavy till I get my results back. I have a suspicion about my iron levels and even potassium... This is the first time I've ever had anything this severe with PMS :(

I hope you start feeling better!

I'd also look into getting help for your anxiety issues. Anxiety and depression issues can sometimes get ratcheted up due to eating and health problems...but I'm wondering if you've got some sort of vicious cycle going on.

And KUDOS for actually going to get these things looked at and not just going to Dr.Bhuz.

Thanks, and yep, I eat ALL the wrong food, its terrible,I need to change my life in a big way gradually... keep my fingers crossed every PMS won't be as severe as this one was :(

Practice !!! good healthy food !!! no smoking !!!! and day by day increase the time !