Laina Laughing: Coping With Chronic Illness - Exercise Part 3

There are different levels of illness. Likewise, there are different levels of exercise.

There are high intensity activities – like jogging, swimming laps, sports, brisk walking, etc… I don’t know your illness – but for me these are all out.

Then there are low intensity activities – like gardening, gentle walking, housework, water exercises. Stretching is considered an exercise.

And then there is truly low intensity activity – like walking from your room to your kitchen and back, or doing some range of movement exercises from your bed, or doing deep breathing exercises. Or lifting your leg once. These feel very intense when they are all you can do.

Keep in mind

Yes, it’s true we need exercise (for a discussion of why, see the post Coping With Chronic Illness - Exercise Part 1 - Is it Good Or Bad?). But our goals, exercise sessions, and abilities will vary widely from one person to the next. And they will likely be very different than a healthy person’s.

There are chronic illnesses that are serious but do not cause constant, extreme weakness or fatigue. A higher intensity exercise may work for them. If your illness is not like that, do not compare.

Let’s remind ourselves one more time what our goal is. Our goal is to be able to participate in life. It is not to get ripped abs or a 18 inch waste. (We may have other goals too - but we need to start somewhere.) We have to be reasonable with ourselves.

What it means to be reasonable:
Start with a very small goal. If your goal turns out to be too big, adjust and make it even smaller. (Example: when I first started trying to build my strength again this year I thought ten minutes of walking should be doable. I quickly discovered that was far too much. After some trial and error I ended up starting at one minute of walking. That was all I could do without getting worse. A month later, I’m on three minutes. And I’m really proud of that.)

When you reach this goal - stay there for a little while and then set a new goal, one step above this one.

If you cannot exercise the day you had planned, don’t push yourself and do not guilt yourself. If you start and cannot continue, stop. Do not push through exhaustion. (see last weeks post on this topic – Exercise and chronic illness – 5 myths.)

Also, don't look at, read, or listen to the hyped up exercise articles, programs, posts, pins, Youtube video’s, etc… which we come across so frequently.   These are COUNTER PRODUCTIVE. They do NOT HELP. They either make you do too much and then suffer a relapse, or they make you give up before you try. These images and expectations make us hate our bodies. Look for more reasonable approaches.

Functional Capacity Scale: It may help to look at this functional capacity scale – (when you click on the link, scroll down until you find this list) it can help you decide which energy level you are at. It is designed for CFS/ME but I believe that many illnesses can benefit from a scale similar to this. You may have to keep a log for a while to discover where you are truly at. I was delusional when I started logging and didn’t have a good sense of my true energy level.

And now:

12 Ways to Build Strength with Chronic Illness

Illness level: Severely debilitated/mostly bed ridden/severely de-conditioned with an energy level of 2-4

1. Bed exercises:

Move your arms and legs in every direction you can (range of movement exercise).
While laying, lift legs (one at a time) about an inch or two off of the bed. Then set the leg back down.
Point your toes out in front of you for a moment, then draw your toes up and toward your body (flex your feet). Do both sides as many times as you can. This really helps me keep my circulation going and makes me feel less uncomfortable while I am laying in bed. (See this video)
Try to build strength in fingers and hands by clenching hand into a fist, then opening hand and spreading the fingers out wide and as far back as they will comfortably go.
This barely scratches the surface. For more exercising in bed ideas, See here.

2. Deep breathing exercises. See this post - Lose Weight by Breathing - Really! and See here for more breathing techniques. However, you should be aware that deep breathing can cause dizziness and fainting in some, or make you very tired. Use caution and start slow. (Also, I've never tried deep breathing as a weight loss technique. I use it mostly to gain strength.)

3. If you can walk to the bathroom, can you do it twice in a row without crashing? Or can you do this walking to the kitchen, living room, etc...?

4. Practice sitting up for a few minutes a day, if you can.

5. Very simple Pilates movements – laying (Start small – one to three minutes may be all you can do at first - maybe even less. Start with just one pilates movement - and only one or two repetitions. Work up slowly.) These can be wonderfully strengthening. Watch a video or get a book from the library. Or see this video of basic pilates. For more pilates videos see here.

6. Gentle stretching can act as both an exercise and a pain reliever. It also helps you move around better, i.e. gain flexibility and mobility, and can help improve sleep. See here.

7. Walk (slowly)the inside perimeter of your house (start very small – a minute or so – and work up). Depending on your level you may be able to do a little walking almost everyday.

8. You might be able to do one or two small housework activities. (No more than five minutes.) Examples: Put laundry in washing machine or move laundry from washer to dryer . Sit down while folding one (1) small load of laundry. Cook an egg. Do a handful of dishes. You get the idea - do something small. And do it slowly.

I know these don't seem like they will do much good - but they actually do a lot of good. Remember, start small - and as your health improves and the exercise becomes easy you can do a little more.

Illness level: Anywhere from sick but not quite as severe - all the way to a partial remission - with an energy level between 4-7.

9. Do some targeted strength building or calisthenics in your arms and/or legs (start with three reps, work up slowly). This can involve weight lifting or body resistance. This is where I started a few years after I got sick. See here for ideas. Again, be reasonable. Start small.

10. You may be able to walk for 10-30 minutes several days a week. Start small and work up to it. Don’t try to beat the speed record. Increase gradually as strength increases.

11. Pilates – anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week. You might be able to do sitting or standing moves as well as laying on a mat. Pilates is hands down my favorite exercise ever. See this pinterest page for ideas.

12. Gardening. I'm not a gardener. But many people are. It can be very good exercise. As with all things - be reasonable.

13. Light to moderate housework. (Bear in mind that vacuuming is an energy level 7 activity).

14. Gentle water exercises or swimming. See here for ideas.

Honestly, I tried to match the exercises with the energy level, but the best thing to do is listen to your body and do what it tells you. Every illness is different and every person is different. Some people will do better with a little higher intensity. Others will do better with lower intensity. It's good to research suggested exercises for your specific illness. And, as always, talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.

I haven't addressed this much in this series, but I know that many of us have issues with our appearance. I know that being reasonable and starting small doesn't always speak to our souls - because deep down we really want to look "better". And we want it now. But starting small and staying within limits can produce significant results. And it really does lead to bigger and better things.

Does exercise fix all our problems? No, it does not. Is it extremely beneficial? Yes! And it doesn't even have to be an hour long or high intensity to seriously benefit us.

And now it's your turn. What are your thoughts on this subject? What kind of exercise do you find beneficial for your health?

Stay tuned for the upcoming post: For Better Health - Laugh!.

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