Weakness when climbing stairs/jumping. I have no idea where to put this

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #1

So. Hi there, first time in the exercise forum.
:muscle:

Short history:
I am low carb for the last 5 or 6 years, solid 3 years keto.
I do intermittent fasting and extended fasting in between things. I am highly insulin resistant and therefore have a hard time loosing weight, which is why I love a lot of exercise to get my estrogen/testosterone levels more balanced (not sure if that plays too much of a role for this issue)
I used to have a lot of calve cramps but I figured the magnesium part out, mostly.

My exercise routine:
Monday: zumba (with an tough instructor) followed by body pump every second Monday.
Tuesday: Functional Toning
Wednesday: rest, walking
Thursday: body combat
Friday: body pump (in case I am still able to move :joy::wink:
Saturday: zumba
Sunday: zumba

NOW MY ISSUE:
I have loads of energy to do all those things, but my legs struggle to go up stairs, to jump, that stuff. They donā€™t hurt or anything, it just feels like deflating a balloon if that makes senseā€¦ At the same time squats are a piece of keto cakeā€¦
Anyone an idea how that could possibly be mended?

(Carl Keller) #2

Are we talking a few dozen stairs or hundreds? In high exertion activities, our bodies prefer glucose and even lactate when our glycogen is spent. If you are running steps for exercise, you can try a little carbing up to make sure your body has the right fuel. Dr. Peter Attia has done some experiments with exercise and energy and has eaten nuts in the middle of high intensity work outs to increase glucose availability.

https://peterattiamd.com/the-interplay-of-exercise-and-ketosis-part-i/

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #3

I get this sometimes too, I can walk all day long but the stairs at the subway station killing me. Then as soon as Iā€™m out no problem. Other times I pass my own apartment because I was thinking and went up too many flights without even noticing. ā€˜Tis a mystery.

(Murphy Kismet) #4

I can take my stairs two at a time and be fine, but try and do it individually, and itā€™s like the smaller movements require more energy expenditure?

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #5

We are talking 2-3 floors, so not that many, I work at the 5th floor so I gave up the stairs a while ago :sweat_smile::sweat_smile:

Hmmm carbing up might be an option, but it sort of freaks me out

The two at once might be an idea, too

#6

OK, thatā€™s a bit strange. Are you doing the stairs within a day or so of the squats? Maybe the squats have depleted the muscle glycogen and you havenā€™t quite recovered?

Other theory: the fat adaptation of the quads etc is not quite up to par, so youā€™re seeing a zone where you canā€™t quite get non-glycolytic energy into the muscles. High insulin will affect how well the cells can make energy from fat. If itā€™s only a couple of flights of steps, possibly itā€™s not long enough to signal your body to reduce insulin during exertion?

Try doing some leg work in a fasted state to get those pathways humming along better in fat-burning mode.
Or, maybe try a little MCT oil to see if it makes a difference by using ketones for energy directly?

#7

Do you wear heels often? I have heard it can shorten a tendon or something in your calf muscles and has a similar effectā€¦

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #8

Once in a hear and those 3 inches were not too high eighterā€¦

(charlie3) #9

My experience similar to yours. Itā€™s routine for me to walk 50 miles a week or 2 hours a day on an airdyne or a combination. I also lift. Squats and leg press are as normal. In the mean time climbing stairs is a pain. In my case the reason is an issue with my left hip joint in the load bearing area. Exercise corrected discomfort walking. Squats and leg press arenā€™t affected because Iā€™m spending only a moment in the load bearing area. An xray confirmed the joint issue. Another possibility that can confuse things is lack of capillarization in muscle which might be cured by a couple years of consistant low heart rate training, walking, cycling, etc. I may have been born with the hip issue and didnā€™t notice until later in life. It ended my inline skate road racing hobby back in the 90ā€™s.

#10

If you have read body by science the answer is explained. To summarize it, if you want to be good at climbing stairs you have to climb stairs. Exercise can not exactly reproduce everything required to complete the task. ā€œOut of breathā€ is probably just a sign that you are exerting more energy to complete the task (climbing stairs). Walking is not going to make you better at climbing stairs.

The book talks about a stationary bike fitness test performed by a slightly overweight Airman that trained for the test by believe it or not riding a stationary bike for three weeks The test subjects included quite a few airman that had ā€œfitā€ builds and who ran marathons on a regular basis. Anyway, the overweight guy that trained on the bike was much better at the test than the marathon guys who were huffing and puffing to complete the test. The guy that trained on the bike had developed muscles for riding a bike which in return allowed him to exert less energy to do it .

The book also talks about running on a treadmills versus running outdoors. The same miles theoretically on the tread mill, but after a winter of running inside, the move to outside wears you out much faster. The reason is the stride is somewhat different and the treadmill has not built up a kick muscle to run outside. Greater amount of energy required to move = faster exhaustion.

I know thatā€™s a lengthy explanation, but I encountered the same thing when we moved to a home with an upstairs bedroom. Struggled for a couple of weeks until it became easy.