What kind of Exercise?

[Regular Joe]

I'm an older guy with a healthy heart and I just started an exercise regimen when this flare lit up. I have a mountain bike and some free weights. But it seems that almost every time I want to excercise again, I get pounded with pain, then fatigue, then I don't have the energy to do very much. Sometimes I force myself to be active even while I'm fatigued. I guess it's because I can only deal with so much laying down or resting.

What kind of excercises do you do when you have a constant pain say maybe 3 or 4 on a 10 pt scale every day - then a flare-up once a week that is anywhere from 6 - 8 on a 10 pt scale. When the flare up is more painful, then fatigue and joint swelling and aching kick in, so I obviously shouldn't do anything on those days.

On the lower pain days, what do you all do for excercise? Hell I gotta live with this disease, but I think there must be a way to keep up some degree of health. It's hard though even with the lower pain levels. My girl fell asleep lying her head on my stomach and one of her joints or bones dug into my lower gut right where the pain originates, and it definietly gets worse with pressure on top of it (I know - I must have passed the rocket science course to figure that one out). Will the pain get worse if I excercise?


Also, I have a bad knee that requires a brace, and I can't do anything "high-impact" like treadmill or stair-climbing. I think I can still ride the bike with the brace.

Any ideas about how to work out in a reasonable way with the pain would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[shazamataz]

That's a tough one in your circumstances but manageable i am sure.

With regard to the fatigue part, I have found that forcing myself to do light exercise, even when I really don;t feel like it, definately gives an improvement in my energy levels.

Like yesterday I was REALLY tired and just felt like lazing about. But, I know exercise is important so I made myself go for a 40 minute walk. The first few minutes felt like torture because of the low energy but as i kept going I could feel my body picking up and actually ended up adding an extra ten minutes to my planned route. I don;t walk super fast or anything, but enough to get a little puff going on and for the rest of the evening I felt so much better than I had all day.

All I do at present is go walking, but I would recommend it of you can with your knee issue. I think the fresh air also helps with mood as opposed to doing weights or something at home - I expect a lot of us already spend far to much time at home!

 

[seaofdreams]

The only exercise I do is light walking, but I've never been an overly active person. When I try to push myself to do more physical things (such as working in the garden or vacuuming) on bad days I find it intensifies my pain by quite a lot.

 

[Jonhenry]

I walk every day (usually to buy cigs, go figure....) but try one of those girly rubber blow up balls. You can sit on them for 1/2 an hour while you type on the computer and feel like it works your back and lower abs. They usually come with a dvd with dozens of different exercises. It sounds pretty gay but it actually keeps your muscle tone up and helps you keep in shape. Also get some freeweights, esp. 5, 7.5, 10, 15 pound. They are great to train with and you can find hundreds of different exercises to do on youtube.

I do most of these things in my bedroom and/or bathroom, easy access since I need the toilet more often when I exercise hard. They won't get you ripped like a body builder but they can help keep your metabolism/energy levels up and keep you in better shape.

I just got one of the px90 things off of craigslist for $10....it seems decent for pullups and upper body workouts if you get beyond your freeweights.
I don't know if exercise really helps but at least it distracts me....

 

[crohnsproof]

I walk outdoors, 2mi in the morning and 2 mi in the evening. However, the colder weather is to hit tomorrow and I don't know if I'm brave enough to face the winter months with that schedule. Guess I'll have to hit the boring treadmill. Happy Fall Ya'll.

 

[seaofdreams]

I do most of these things in my bedroom and/or bathroom, easy access since I need the toilet more often when I exercise hard. They won't get you ripped like a body builder but they can help keep your metabolism/energy levels up and keep you in better shape.

That is a great idea, weights in the bathroom since most of us spend hours in there already, haha.

 

[kjhngisd]

my thought is yoga or tai chi.
My wife does mild yoga and it helps. Some of that stuff is hard to do, some is easy, but the good part is that you can tailor it to fit your limitations.

Be careful though -- make sure you do "gentle yoga". Some of those guys turn into pretzels and you can seriously hurt.

 

[GI Joe]

I am lucky because I am able to workout 4-5 times per week. My best advice is do what you can and enjoy. You will be apt to stick with something if you enjoy it. Exercise should not feel like punishment. Start slow and build yourself up. Have you ever considered water type aerobics. The water gives Resistance, gets your heart rate up but is easy on the joints. The gym I go to has Aqua-fit classes. It's a good, low impact, full body aerobic workout and is a pleasant experience. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[dustydshook]

Yoga works very well for me. So well in fact that I am thinking of becoming a certified instructor. It also calms the nerves and decreases stress that causes so much of our pain. Start with a very gentle yoga. I recomend Iyengar Hatha yoga. You can buy a tape do it in the privacy of your home rain or shine. It actually decreases my pain. I recomend a tape by an Instructor named Rodney Yee called a.m. yoga for your week. You can find it at www.yeeyoga.com or www.gaiam.com or at Borders book stores. Do it only to your limitations slowly you will be able to do more and more. I found after about two weeks my pain had decreased and I was going to the bathroom normal. It is amazing stuff!

 

[Regular Joe]

Wow thanks for all the great ideas. I never looked into the aquatic stuff, but that does make pretty good sense. I'll see what is available around here. I'm also interested in the Yoga suggestions. It's funny that I knew about these things, but it's a different story now that I'm not able to do what I used to do.

Just plain walking might be workable too. I usually ignore that obvious idea because it doesn't seem exciting. It's like I need to be stimulated and walking just isn't stimulating - I know I have the digestive disorder, but sometimes the problem appears to be my brain!

Thanks again for these ideas. I'll just start off by walking, then I'll look into Yoga and water aerobics. Maybe I should start off walking in a blighted neighborhood (ghetto), then I won't have to worry about not being excited?

 

[shazamataz]

Walking can be stimulating!

I try to go on various routes to keep it interesting. I also am lucky to live in a place where we have a lot of areas close by where I can walk in the bush or on the beach and so being around nature is always uplifting to me. So instead of just leaving from my house and walking round the neighbourhood all the time I hope in my car and find somewhere different.

 

[GI Joe]

Another way to keep walking interesting is to walk with someone you enjoy spending time with. You can motivate one another, look after one another in the event of an accident or for safety concerns and engage in conversation.