So below I will add the pictures of the torture device my husband insisted I needed. We have not been walking like we used to. There seems to always be a reason why but my husband worries about how thin my legs have gotten and that I have started to have swollen ankles and feet sitting at my desk so much. So
we got this device.
Now comes the punishment part. The first time I tried it I did 3 sets of 5 minutes of stepping, rested 10 minutes between sets. Two or three hours later as I was doing the dishes my legs started to really hurt and get stiff. I couldn’t bend my legs. My thighs were swollen. I was in agony so bad I couldn’t finish the dishes. I have not used it since. Can anyone tell me the proper amount of time to use it and how many minutes to rest between and how many sets to do. Thanks. I do want to get healthy and build back up my legs that have atrophied but I don’t want to die doing it. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 
if it does that to you, it’s not the right thing to be using. You could be doing damage instead. Try just walking slowly, but longer distances. NOT the 5 minute gallop to the Mall. =) Or just get used to wobbling your feet under the desk, like a duck paddle without the duck. It’s use, not abuse, that you need.
another suggestion: talk to a doctor, see what he thinks. It could be something other than just inactivity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Judy. I just saw my kidney doctor and all the tests show my kidneys are fine. But as for the device it has little resistance at the setting I used it in. Unlike walking or wobbling the feet it builds up the calfs and the thighs. So it has a place in my exercise programs I just need to start slower and understand my legs have atrophied badly over the years of nonphysical activity. Thanks for caring. It means a lot. Hugs
LikeLike
I can’t improve on Judy’s answer.
I will say that any exercise you choose will need to be adjusted to suit your needs.
The delay between using the device and the reaction seems like a long time. When you talk to your doctor, remember to recount that. It might be a significant sign. It seems like a long time between action and effect. But I’m not a doctor, so what do I know.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi MDavis. I think I over did the first time. It was the same when I bought my small arm weights collection. It did not hurt the first time I struggled to use them until much later and I was struggling to use too heavy a weight. I posted about it and Ten Bears and several others who work out, pointed out my mistakes. See my back muscles, spine, bones, and shoulders are very damaged. So bad that trying to mop the floors of our small house would cause a lot of pain. My doctors simply wanted me to just sit and stay at the computers. When I was in a wheelchair off and on over the years I couldn’t even walk.
My arms and legs got very thin. Then things changed and my pain doctor has over the last few years has been suggesting things I can do to get strength back in my limbs. They upped my medications and added far more epidurals to the spine and trigger point injections into the back muscles. Walking was top of her list. She said if I don’t push myself to walk I will be back in that wheelchair again. I do not want that. Ron and I got up to 2 miles a day 6 days a week. But then it got cold and even bundled up I couldn’t do our walk as it made my bones ache too much and we stopped. Now that it is warm again Ron doesn’t want to walk anymore. I am stuck walking alone and the best I can do is 20 minutes or less than a mile. But again Ron was worried about how thin my legs were getting and the now increasing ankle / food swelling. I put a stool under my desk and by lowering my chair I can use it to keep my feet up, and I get up doing far more household chores as much as I could.
I try to do the dishes. If there are too many or my back gives out, Ron often takes over. I have started sweeping and mopping one room at a time. I do endurance workouts with low weight to build up my arms with one day a week set aside for doing shorter sets with heavier weights. With the stepper I did not understand what it was doing. I thought it was just walking, which it is not. Even though the resistance is slight, the stepper makes your feet rise much higher than just walking does. I just need to go slower and do less at one time. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it. I did screw up trying to do so much before I understood the device and what it did. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Didn’t we have a little a talk about diving right in and overdoing it the first day? Start low and slow and work your way into it. One set at five minutes a day, or maybe two six or eight hours apart, and in a couple weeks push it our to seven minutes; couple more weeks ten. When you’re comfortable at ten minutes slowly work up to three or four times a day, or to fifteen minutes
Slow and steady git’s it done, that’s what the Old Timers tell me …
LikeLiked by 4 people
Hi Ten Bears. Oh yes we did and I took your advice to heart. My mistake was thinking the stepper was just like walking. It did not have much resistance and was easy to do. I did not realize it raised my feet much higher than walking did so worked out my calf and thigh muscles a lot more. I was in shock at what it did to those muscles and they ached so badly I had to take extra morphine. I will do it your way. It is working great with my arm and shoulder workouts. I am up to 14 repetitions with 4 sets on the shoulders and 10 reps with 4 sets on the arms using low weight. Once a week I use heavier weights but do much fewer repetitions and only 3 sets. I appreciate the advice, it has helped. I do not want to end back up in the wheelchair nor lose the ability to use my shoulders. I forgot to tell MDavis I am taking steroid shots in them along with in my spine and back muscles that let me do so much more. I will put what I wrote to him below. Hugs
——————————————————————————————————-
Hi MDavis. I think I over did the first time. It was the same when I bought my small arm weights collection. It did not hurt the first time I struggled to use them until much later and I was struggling to use too heavy a weight. I posted about it and Ten Bears and several others who work out, pointed out my mistakes. See my back muscles, spine, bones, and shoulders are very damaged. So bad that trying to mop the floors of our small house would cause a lot of pain. My doctors simply wanted me to just sit and stay at the computers. When I was in a wheelchair off and on over the years I couldn’t even walk.
My arms and legs got very thin. Then things changed and my pain doctor has over the last few years has been suggesting things I can do to get strength back in my limbs. They upped my medications and added far more epidurals to the spine and trigger point injections into the back muscles. Walking was top of her list. She said if I don’t push myself to walk I will be back in that wheelchair again. I do not want that. Ron and I got up to 2 miles a day 6 days a week. But then it got cold and even bundled up I couldn’t do our walk as it made my bones ache too much and we stopped. Now that it is warm again Ron doesn’t want to walk anymore. I am stuck walking alone and the best I can do is 20 minutes or less than a mile. But again Ron was worried about how thin my legs were getting and the now increasing ankle / food swelling. I put a stool under my desk and by lowering my chair I can use it to keep my feet up, and I get up doing far more household chores as much as I could.
I try to do the dishes. If there are too many or my back gives out, Ron often takes over. I have started sweeping and mopping one room at a time. I do endurance workouts with low weight to build up my arms with one day a week set aside for doing shorter sets with heavier weights. With the stepper I did not understand what it was doing. I thought it was just walking, which it is not. Even though the resistance is slight, the stepper makes your feet rise much higher than just walking does. I just need to go slower and do less at one time. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it. I did screw up trying to do so much before I understood the device and what it did. Hugs
LikeLike
What everybody else said.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ali. You are a great person and a grand friend. I did go too hard too fast and hurt myself. I am learning to moderate the workouts. Hugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you didn’t get yourself an injury! That would upset everything. I’ve been told that, after 55, a person can’t just walk off an exercise mistake, and we have to be careful.
It probably felt pretty good while you were doing it, at least. And you got a start. Now to moderate for a few weeks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Ali. You wrote, “It probably felt pretty good while you were doing it”. Yes it did. That is why I was shocked at the pain and muscle swelling later that day. And like any muscle exercised more than normal the next day I can feel it in my calves and thighs. It is a great exerciser for its size and cost. It cost less than the weight set I bought. And with months of training following Ten Bears’ suggestions to make a program that works for me while not hurting myself and giving up, Ron claims he can see huge results. Remember I have been without much movement and exercise as that was what my doctors wanted, then about five years ago their advice changed, up the medications and try to get the muscles working again. I like the new strength and stamina I have. It is nowhere near what a normal person has. For example today I started the dishes at 12:20 pm. Ron kept telling me that when I needed a break or wanted his help to let him know as he was working on the new small bathroom floor. But Ali, we did not have a lot, one drainer and half the silverware holder plus the fryer. But it took me until 3:30 Pm to finish and I so much needed to sit down. My back was starting to hurt bad and my legs were giving out. Most people could have done them in 40 minutes or so I guess. I am resting while Ron is napping so I can cook or help cook supper. But as I said Ron told me this morning as we got ready to walk all the trying and weight loss has made a big difference in how I look and what I can do. So I have to keep trying … just I need to be smart about it. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Can anyone tell me the proper amount of time to use it and how many minutes to rest between and how many sets to do.” Whatever doesn’t cause harm. Clearly you did too much too soon. Start off small. perhaps one minute and if you’re fine half a day later, do another minute. Then if there’s still no side effects go to 2 minutes per session twice a day. When you get to five minutes per session you can reduce the time between sessions slowly until there’s room to do three sessions per day. There are other routines you could use to eventually get to your target. Just be patient and take it one step at a time (yeah I realise that’s a pun).
Three years ago my wife could barely walk 50 metres without pain forcing her to take a rest. I carried a collapsible golf stool whenever we went out as a matter of course Her overall health was in rapid decline and she had little desire to continue living. She started on an exercise regime (in her case swimming). Progress was very slow to start with. It took a year for her to manage 100 metres. But two years later she can manage 1 to 2 kilometres on a relatively level surface. What’s more for someone who couldn’t swim three years ago, she can now manage 30 lengths of our municipal indoor pool in one session (990 metres or approximately 1080 yards). She swims 3 times per week, and her outlook on life receives a positive boost each time. She’s 77 years old, takes medication for high blood pressure and diabetes, so there’s hope for you yet 💪💖👥🤝🌈✨
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hi Barry. I am so happy your wife got better, stronger, and healthier. I was like her about four years ago. I couldn’t walk to the community mailbox at the end of our street, about 7 or so small car lengths to the box and another 7 or so back. My doctor had been training in how to help patients like me and she wanted me to try to slowly advance to things like walking because she said I would soon be back in a wheelchair again. So they gave me more pain pills, epidurals in my spine, shots in my shoulders, and trigger points in my back muscles. They rotate through them as I see them every two months.
I started slow, Ron and walking to the mailbox and back. Some days I needed my walker. Slowly we went down one street in the development and back the next street up. In about a year and half I could walk for about .91 miles in 40 minutes. Over the years Ron and I got up to 2 miles in less than an hour. However something happened this winter. The cold was so bad I couldn’t do our walks even bundled up, my bones would ache too much. But when warm weather returned now Ron doesn’t want to walk. We talked about it today and I guess I will have to go walk alone. He feels the construction work he is doing building the rooms in the house are all he feels he can do. When we do walk we can at most do the .91
Also I have been trying to do more housework and chores. I do the dishes most of the time. If my back gives out even with more medication then I leave the rest for Ron. With my shoulders I couldn’t use the lightweight Dyson stick vacuum, the dry sweeper, and the wet pad stick mops. Now I am up to a room every morning. I also cook some of the meals that are easy for me to do and Ron got me a high rolling stool to sit on while cooking or doing dishes.
You are correct I went too hard too fast. I do not have much muscle strength left from decades of my muscles atrophying. I have to work to build them up and not be impatient. Thanks for sharing your advice and the information about the gains your wife made. I really appreciate it. Best wishes always.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think i’d opt for just walking in place, without this thing. That looks uncomfortable at best and dangerous, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Judy. Walking is great and I am trying to do more of it. But the stepper lifts the feet / legs higher and so works to build up the calves and the thighs. So I will be doing both. I just have to go slower on the stepper than I did. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person