Today I wanted to talk a little bit about my exercise routine. For me, exercise is really important but it's also really difficult. I have a chronic health problem, which you can read more about in my post P.O.T.S: My Story over on my Messy Little Moments blog.
I see a consultant for this problem and he, along with all the research I've done on my own, says that exercise is an important part of managing the illness. But, how do you exercise, when one of the symptoms of my illness, is exercise intolerance?
I do find it hard and I've tried so many different things before, but it's not impossible. The problems I face are exhaustion, muscle weakness, dizziness and collapses. Those are the main factors which make exercise hard.
In the past, I've had a gym membership, which I cancelled because I wasn't making enough use of it with the amount of time I was too unwell to go, and how little I could handle while there. My family and I bought a treadmill and exercise bike so I could workout at home, but in the end it just took up too much space so we sold it.
So, what does work for me?
The first thing I rely on is walking. I can't always do this, on days when I'm unwell I can't leave the house and when I am having a good day, I'm not able to leave alone incase I collapse while I'm out, which happens a lot. This means I'm constantly dragging my younger sister out for walks along the beach and surrounding countryside. I'm not able to walk far and I have to rely on my dad being around to come and pick us up if I get too tired or unwell, but it is a form of exercise that I tolerate well.
The next thing I do is trying to fit in some more intense cardio. I can only handle this in very short bursts. No longer than fifteen minutes is usually the time frame I stick to. Or, I just judge it by how I'm feeling. I tend to do all of this cardio in the safety of my home with my mom or sister around. I have some fitness dvds or I'll put something on YouTube and follow along to as much of it as possible.
Finally there's my go-go workout. Pilates. I like to do Blogilates videos on YouTube, which is a great exercise programme. There are more intense standing workouts for my healthy days, but there are also a lot of slower, floor based routines that I can do if I'm feeling a little dizzier.
Of course, on my really bad days I don't do any exercise, but I try and fit in at least two workouts a week and one walk.
So, that's what I do for exercise as a P.O.T.S patient.
What do you do for your exercise routine? Comment below and let me know and please share and subscribe if you like this post.
Until next time,
Hannah.
No comments:
Post a Comment