Endometriosis and exercise

[wonderlander]

Hi everyone

I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on exercise routines or specific exercises that work for your symptoms? Do you find your cycle is reliable enough to plan exercises around this?

I love exercising and mostly enjoy it - yoga, pilates, weight work, and walking, mostly. When I'm into it and into a routine it's great, but sometimes this can only last a few days or a week before I'm feeling really unwell again. I used to think I was just lazy and it's taken me this long to realise that I'm not making up the severity of my symptoms and the impact they have on my life!

I've only recently started taking note of where I am in my cycle as I'm guessing this might have some relevance to my symptoms and how severe they are and therefore how able I am to exercise.

It might sound like a small thing but I love exercising and being in a routine with it. Obviously I've accepted that I can't exercise when I'm experiencing severe pain but I'd love to be able to plan around symptoms so I don't end up being frustrated with myself. I've looked into good exercises depending on stage of cycle but often I don't feel well enough to do it even if it suggests something like light yoga.

I don't know what I'm asking or expecting really! Just for any experiences maybe.

[Goiaba]

hello!

I haven’t had a period in over a year for various reasons however when I started my fitness journey I had long and painful cycles. I’d normally focus on weight lifting and the more constant I was outside of my period window, less painful the period was when it came.

My PT always pushed me through (gently and with my consent) my pain because in fact when I could work out whilst on my period, I always felt better at the end of a session. We’d usually lower weights and reps, sometimes do a stretch-only session. The most difficult part was leaving the bed and commit to the session. The workout itself was usually fine.

The problem is - there will be days that you won’t feel like moving at all. Sometimes breathing a bit deeper will cause the worst pain you ever felt, and this is real and relevant. Sometimes your body just needs to rest and heal, especially mid or just after a flare up. You will need to fine tune the balance between ‘it hurts but I’ll push through’ and ‘it hurts and if I push through I’ll feel worse’. It takes time you might feel defeated, but the fact you are willing to try is already a big step

Exercise changed my life and my relationship with my endo, even when my routine becomes a bit broken. I hope you can find a routine that works for you xxx

[wonderlander in reply to Goiaba]

Thanks so much for your reply! I pushed through some pilates this morning and went on an after work walk which I feel so good for. So glad you're doing well with it and it's working for you! X