Handholders, come and join me. Going to start exercise when ill, with chronic condition there is no cure for!

[ExerciseWithChronicIllness]

Do you want to come and join me or give some support? I could sure as hell do with some.

I am going to start exercising again.

I am currently a little depressed at the state of my life/health and I am going to be brave and exercise despite it. I could do with a bit of support really, I feel I am going to climb a mountain.

I know if I exercise I may not feel any better physically as exercising will make me feel ill, over all it will help me if that makes sense so will probably end up cancelling each other out. I sure as hell am going to feel better mentally and improve my self esteem.

I can't do very much as it is each day, even washing is a struggle. It is going to wipe me out if I swim, I won't be able to do anything else the day I swim.

I have some things I need to do tomorrow so I am going to have the first swim on Friday, wish me luck.

[2kidsintow]

I think you'll feel better for it, just take it easy. Exercise releases endorphins, the feel-good hormone. :) And you'll have a sense of accomplishment too.

I usually exercise weekly but haven't since I've been diagnosed with something that I'm still getting used to. I miss it, but worry about going back. I'm going back on Wednesday.

[newestbridearound]

Good luck I wish I was still able to exercise, but even a small walk these days wipes me out for weeks afterwards (ME/CFS, oh the joys!). I miss swimming especially, so I hope you can enjoy it even if you are a bit wiped afterwards.

[flow4]

I'm doing this too, EWCI. I have hypermobility syndrome and early onset, multi-site osteoarthritis, and CFS and fibromyalgia have been suggested too. :( I am now on the waiting list for a total hip replacement, probably in May, and I know my recovery will be much better if I am fitter.

I can't exercise at all on dry land. I have a blue badge because walking at all hurts so much. If I really, really push myself I can walk up to about 1km in 2 hours, with rests, but then I am crippled for several days.

Instead, I am combining swimming with sauna/jacuzzi. I discovered that heat helps my pain and helps my muscles relax. I do a sort of 'heat sandwich' - i.e. A bit of sauna/jacuzzi, then swimming, then more heat.

I started in October, and without heat, I could only swim about 4 lengths. With heat, I could immediately double this to 8. At first I went twice a week, then 3 times, and I have now built up to 5 or even occasionally 6 times a week. I have also built up from 8 lengths to usually around 20, although I have 'bad days' where I only manage 14, and have had some 'good days' when I have managed 24, and once even 28! I swam over 2 miles last week, and have now set myself a 'one mile (64 lengths) per week' minimum. This feels like amazing progress - up from 8 lengths/week in 4 months. :) It is definitely easier to swim 4x per week than twice, I guess because your muscles get used to the unusual movements.

I swim an odd combination of strokes: normal breast-stroke is hard on my back and hip, so I alternate with lying on my back and kicking my legs, 'cycling' under water, and doing a sort of slow underwater crawl, where I punch through the water rather than lifting my arms above it.

I still hurt, but it is a different sort of pain and doesn't feel unmanageable. Amazingly, in the water and in the sauna, my pain drops so much that that is an incentive in itself: I now have an hour or two, most days each week, when I don't hurt much at all, which is amazing! :) My mental health has definitely improved, and I have lost a bit of weight, which will obviously help too.

Go for it! I'd recommend 'little and often', and I'd definitely recommend the heat method! :)

[CMOTDibbler]

I hope the swim goes well for you. I'm lucky in that my pain and disability is restricted to my left arm, but since I've really started exercising it all seems more manageable somehow - even though my arm swells and hurts more than if I just rested.

[BigPawsBrown]

I'll join! I have a CFS diagnosis but in remission, suffering with anxiety following return to high powered career after time off and started to exercise as need to safeguard my mental health. It's going well so far but is v worrying with CFS diagnosis. Hand hold here! I've worked up slowly but ran 1km on weds

[flow4]

How did it go on Friday, EWCP? Did you manage to swim? :)