I was wondering if you could give me advice/experiences with the following:
I have recently joined by at the gym. Not yet a 100% remission from the RA but gaining lots of weight and losing lots of muscle on the steroids. So I went yesterday to the gym - I didnt do much and I was sore like hell. With the RA i dont know if its the RA or just sore muscles because its been so long so here are the following questions:
1. Do you have a gym regime you suggest when starting up - looking to strengthen my muscles and loose some weight
2. Is there ways to mitigate the muscle soreness the next day - some ppl say green tea
3. Do you prefer a certain brand of running show (thats wide) that you would recommend?
Thanks
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Avi2013
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I second Boxerlady's suggestion of swimming, it's good for building up your muscles but is also much lower impact on joints than running. Apart from straight afterwards I don't really get any lingering soreness when I've been
Have you thought about getting a personal trainer? I go to the gym twice a week, one session I do cardio using the cross trainer and one session I do with my PT. She’s really good and did research after I explained about the RA and my hip replacements. She has helped me build up my muscles using weights, squats etc. in terms of muscle pain make sure you have plenty of protein and stretch after your workout. A massage once a month will stop the tightness buildup. I use Salomon ortholite trainers, they have good arch support. Good luck
Great that you’ve started training, sure it will help in the long term. Had you thought of getting some advice from a personal trainer to get you started? With regard to muscle soreness - make sure you cool down and stretch after your workout.
Great advice to include some swimming and aqua fit, I also enjoy Nordic walking.
I find walking is very good. If you just gradually increase you distance, it is a lot kinder on your joints. I also have a Ebike and can manage just over 20 miles. My consultant did tell me swimming was the best form of exercise ,it is much easier on the joints.If you feel the Gym is the best place for you I would definitely get a personal trainer. I would try some Brooks trainers they come in different widths. Nike running are also very good.
Re day after muscle aches, I saw a documentary a few years ago. They put some men through a very hard exercise class and then gave half of them the usual orange juice to drink straight after they’d finished and the other half a pint of milk. The ones who had the milk had hardly any muscle pain the next day but the orange juice group had the usual bad aches and pains. Very interesting.
To prevent soreness, be sure to do the stretching exercises before and after. Very important. Any good gym will have someone to help or a routine with pictures on a wall somewhere. You could google it now though. Warm up and cool down. There’s bound to be some thing on YouTube.
Don't know your age, but Dr. Michael Moseley's advice is to eat more protein as one gets older as it's harder to retain muscle mass. He also suggests eat less carbs to lose weight. I watched his TV programme and bought the cook book that he and his wife (also a Dr.) wrote and really enjoy some of the recipes. They're really easy (don't like anything too complicated) and whilst none of us needed to lose weight, we did lose pounds eating more healthily.
I don't do gym anymore (since 3 THR's) and only use 1/2 Kg weights for arms and Dynobands (given by physios) wrapped around door handle! My muscle mass is poor but shoulders and elbows damaged.
Daughter has bought lots of Nike Freerun trainers. She has wide feet and finds it difficult to find any type of trainer/shoes. New Balance might be another brand doing wider fit.
First I will say well done for joining a gym.I couldn’t do anything like that but I do walk in the countryside with a walking club.One club is just a walking for health and extremely short walk whereas the other club is longer walks.Walking with someone and chatting you find you have walked longer than you thought you had.It’s a social thing too.I hope you achieve your goal but go slowly and do gentle exercises before
You should only exercise every other day swimming is best protein added to food. I’ve lost muscle mass but gradually building PT’s are too expensive but have good directions from the physio they are best placed to know your condition.
Our hospital physio unit runs one hour gym sessions a number of times a week. I had been seeing the RA physio for a while - largely to support knees and shoulders although I need to see her again now . . . and had made progress. She suggested a six week course of the gym sessions to allow me to try different machines, have tips on what would be helpful with RA, checking posture as I exercised and looking at what I might be able to do once physio finished.It may be worth seeing if you could get the support of your team and see the RA physio, even if it's just a session to try and hammer out what would help you most whilst also being safe.
Are you in the UK? I asked to be referred to the Exercise Referral Scheme - you get group gym sessions with an exercise referral specialist who is basically a personal trainer who specialises in helping people with health issues. It’s really good! Ask your GP.
Unfortunately, from my experience they don’t all seem to have knowledge required. My referral came from my physio post op, and thankfully I ran the PTs suggestions past her first 😳
My gym do a good range of pool sessions. Aqua Therapy, Aqua Balance and Function, Aqua Aerobics and Aqua HIIT. I try to do a mix each week with a few cardio short sessions . As above advice, start with low impact and low weights and slowly build up. Its tempting to go all out at first looking for quick results but you might get an injury etc. that can set you back weeks or even months.
Ok. What I can tell you is do not go to the gym every day as you need a recovery period. If you really want to exercise on the day off from the gym take a long walk, or go for a lovely bike ride. Apparently, you build muscle more efficiently too IF you take it as your body tells you to...I know having RA I personally have a longer recovery time after a day at the gym as it seems just more of everything hurts. Most recommend the gym every other day but I have to go two on and two off (except swimming). Swimming never gives me that "need recovery day" pain probably because of the weightlessness? Maybe do the "gym" one day and swim the next. I would also recommend a good "protein" powder mix with a smoothie...wonderful flavors out there and they really work!
Depending on my physical state I’ve tried several options. At the gym find a PT who will listen and research your needs. Make sure you have rest days and listen to your body. I had a brilliant PT but relocated and can’t find another who gets me and my body. Trainers - for me it was Brooks. Try to find somewhere with a running machine to try out on. I found the independent shops seemed to have more in depth knowledge on best trainers and fit.
Walking, build up distance. I do Nordic walking which is also great for strengthening core. I’m lucky, I found a great instructor who gets to know you, your limitations and researches.
Swimming is great. As others have said less impact. This is my other go to now. I swim 1 km twice a week and aqua aerobics once a week.
It might be worth finding a personal trainer and having a session to show you warm up and cooling down exercises, also to get you started with the best exercises and the best posture when you are using equipment. That would help rather than going straight into things when your body isn’t used to doing that sort of thing.I went to council run exercise classes years ago but I’m not sure if they still run that sort of thing with financial cuts - the people who used to take those classes just still be around though.
Aquafit is a good idea too as your body is supported.
I love Pilates but we have a very experienced physiotherapist teacher and we’re in a group that specialises in people like me who are one step up from falling to bits - we start of every session with everyone listing their latest aches and pains, then some of us have osteoporosis etc.
If my muscles ache I love to soak in a hot bath with some magnesium flakes and a bit of lavender oil but just the nice soak is good. If you don’t have a bath you could always try a muscle rub or use one of those massage guns on the achey parts. Watch what you buy - the first one I got from Amazon was beautiful but it was really fierce and I couldn’t use it but the one I’ve got now is good less powerful, has a longer handle so that I can reach most parts of my body and is a pleasant experience.
I have found ASICS trainers to be very comfortable and supportive and I’ve got wide feet.
You could do some resistance work with stretch bands to strengthen your muscles or use hand weights - you won’t end up looking like a weight lifter., I’ve just discovered this person and the exercises she shows are all things I feel comfortable doing and fit in with my Pilates exercises - they all seem very sound plus you could do them at home
Morning. I am not up to going to a gym but have started exercising more gradually to try and get my fitness levels up… which will hopefully result in increased muscle and decreased weight. I am doing a day of ‘exercise’ in my case walking and lifting followed by a day in bed. Slowly slowly is the best option for me. Good luck.
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