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Running with autism

CedStowe

Does anyone else find autism impacts their ability to run and is able to identify how it does and maybe even manage it? For me it seems to impact on my ability to cope with the conditions, actually getting started, getting over feeling tired and heavy steps. 

  • CedStowe said:
    For me it seems to impact on my ability to cope with the conditions, actually getting started, getting over feeling tired and heavy steps. 

    I find setting a schedule and getting ready in advance helps break the resistance and gets me out and into the exercise - just enough to make it into a routine then my autism helps me keep following it once it is routine.

    Having set days, routes, times and knowing what is ahead is a bit plus, as is recording it to show that I'm making progress in the early days.

    As for feeling tired, this can be mitigated by extending the routine so you have a work-out friendly meal x hours before working out - lots of protein and some carbs at the least plus few processed sugars gives the best balance for a simple diet.

    I tend to avoid suppliments as the texture and taste don't really suit me, but I'm none the worse for it I feel.

    As for having heavy steps - getting a smart watch that tracks your heart rate is a great idea here so you can try to keep yourself within sensible limits when starting to avoid pushing too hard. Setting a steady paceand keeping the load on your heart sensible is really helpful to ease you into the workout routine.

    A smart place to start could be the gym - the treadmill with the help of a personal trainer to plan out your sessions is a smart way to get things planned out then you can extend this to external running. This will help you build familiarity with your stamina and heart rate and with a proper diet backing it up so you have the energy to draw upon - you will be in a great place to sustain the effort.

    Are you planning this for weight loss, general fitness or for a particular goal?

  • Are you dyspraxic? Dyspraxia often goes with autism and affects things like ability to run, do up buttons, balance and stuff like that.

    People with ASC often have problems with tiredness, you could look up spoon theory and work out how much energy you've got and how many things you need to do and use whats left over to run.

    I don't run, (unless I'm being chased), but I do walk a lot, I'm sure there are people here who could advise you better on running.