Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I'm 23. I'm skinny. I eat healthy, and walk occasionally. I don't work out much. I tried doing push ups, and it was somewhat hard to get 20. That sounds weak to me. :P I could probably do more, but I would feel like I'm over exerting my arms.

Arms tend to feel week if I've had them raised for awhile or if lifting something. Maybe I'm over exaggerating, and/or maybe I need to work out more. :P

Is this normal? Should my arms be in better shape, or is this correlated to something else?

My initial thinking is it could be from anxiety. I know weakness in arms is a symptom of anxiety.

edited Oct 27 2011 at 21:25

asked Oct 27 2011 at 19:18

Ben Nash
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"over exerting" is the only environmental cue your body has to make more muscle. I would be concerned if the weakness was accompanied by numbness, tingling, or pain though. – JayJay Oct 27 2011 at 19:39

Twenty pushups doesn't really seem all that bad to me. But the thing about feeling weakness in your arms after raising them does seem a little odd. I don't think I'm qualified to say much however, other than that I just raised my arms over my head for a while and they feel fine. I'm going to give this one the "see a doctor" tag but leave it open in case anyone has anything interesting to say. Other PH community members please feel free to change. – Paul Oct 27 2011 at 20:00

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20 pushups wouldn't be excessive if you've been doing 15, but if you weren't doing any you'd really feel them if you're like me. – Nance Oct 27 2011 at 20:14

Rolled it back. – Paul Oct 27 2011 at 20:45

Rent an orchestra and conduct Mahler's Ninth. That does the trick every time. – Huey Oct 27 2011 at 21:37

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e.istre91 · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-06 19:09:00Z UTC

20 pushups isn't actually all that bad for someone who doesn't work out consistently, especially if you were doing a proper pushup. (Though part of this depends on your weight.) People don't often realize how difficult a proper pushup can be.

You say its the same kind of weakness whether you've been lifting something or have your arms raised? Sounds like your muscles aren't used to doing a lot of work. If you have no symptoms other presented, I would be prone to saying you just need to workout. Only then could you tell whether there might be something wrong, e.g. you experience: gains are really slow, you still fatigue quickly after working out for 4-6 weeks. But going from not working out to doing 20 pushups, sounds more than fine. Maybe its an issue of replenishing ATP and your muscles not often worked, don't have many mitochondria to do the workload.

If you are really concerned, get it checked out. But do you feel anxious? Does your heart race? Are thoughts constantly running through your head about whether you are anxious? Do you relax at all? Have trouble sleeping? I would say one symptom is more than likely in your head, rather than a real concern. (Though if it is all in your head, that may be anxiety too.)

If you want some help getting into working out, I would be more than happy helping you develop a quick routine (bodyweight or weighted), pointing you in the direction of one, or I am sure the multitude of people on here would be happy to lend their knowledge.

affine · Answer 2 · 2011-10-27 20:26:49Z UTC

I think it is. If your blood flow is somewhat restricted from stimulant abuse or Raynaud's (like mine) then obviously lifting them above your heart for an extended period of time will probably make them weak. ATP will be unable to get to your arms as easily and you will simply not be able to move them as well. You can deal with restricted oxygen to your arms. Anywhere that has no adipose tissue tends to do better in a low-oxygen situation when compared to an internal organ.

burgerpocket · Answer 3 · 2011-10-28 15:17:00Z UTC

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Okay Ben. Check it: Remember everything you just said in your post? Good. Now go tell all of that to your doctor.

answered Oct 28 2011 at 15:17

burgerpocket
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anon · Answer 4 · 2011-10-27 19:23:32Z UTC

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Um, no. Get your blood type & genotype and start following a specific protocol. Maybe also read the Warrior Diet and start intermittent fasting and doing some harder exercise a few days a week. Toughen up.

answered Oct 27 2011 at 19:23

anon
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What's genotype? And how would getting those things checked help? – Ben Nash Oct 27 2011 at 21:26

Genotype is what you are genetically. How it's expressed due to your environment is called your phenotype. This is anon telling you to follow a blood type duet as far as I can see... – Efaitch Oct 27 2011 at 22:38

Duet = diet (phone!!!) – Efaitch Oct 27 2011 at 22:39

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Seems like a lot of effort and faith in hooey for a fairly common problem. Doing 20 push ups is not as easy as you think for someone who "(doesn't) work out much" or for someone who may have a yet to be diagnosed medical issue. Let's rule out all the reasonable possibilities first before we recommend fasting to someone who is already complaining of weakness. – burgerpocket Oct 28 2011 at 15:37

Scott · Answer 5 · 2011-10-28 15:02:19Z UTC

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I think if you preload on cheetos, beets and slimjims it could help.

answered Oct 28 2011 at 15:02

Scott
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Is it normal to feel weakness in arms after a while when they’ve been raised above your head?

5 Answers