Fibro - swimming or gym (or both)?

Anoneemoose

Hi all,

Some of you may remember I was diagnosed with CFS/Fibro last yr and found it difficult to exercise. Also, I wasn't in the right place mentally.

I have done a lot of work on myself with the help of a therapist and feel more positive. I have lost a small amount of weight but the thing that gets me more than the weight is the looseness and wobbliness of my body.

I always got told not to tone until you lost weight because if you toned, the muscle would make the fat over it look more noticeable (???)!!

Anyway, my aim is to build strength and a small increase in fitness at first. The fibro prevents anything too exciting!! When I say strength, I mean like having the ability to dry my hair without pain in my arms/shoulders and to be able to walk up the stairs at work without them (my legs, not the stairs!) nearly giving way at the top. Oh and getting rid of my bingo wings would be good!

I used to love swimming but does it really help? We get a really good discount on a local gym through work but I wouldn't know where to start with that. Would it be best for them to be knowledgeable of fibro because I worry that if the staff weren't too knowledgeable, I would end up doing more harm than good.

Any tips or advice will be mose welcome.


Thanks. Anon.

heartbreak_star

Swimming is good. Bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, and weights work would be even better!

Obviously don't overexert yourself. Would it be useful to print off some sort of "fact sheet" about fibro for the staff? Or maybe book a session with a personal trainer?

HBS x

Anoneemoose

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Swimming is good. Bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, and weights work would be even better!

HBS x

Thanks HBS!

I wouldn't know where to start with weights and would be wary of doing it wrong and causing more harm! Would it be worth joining the gym just for this?

theoretica

Rather than joining the gym on spec I would give them a good grilling! And see if they would offer a trial period with no tie in.

That said, I am far more likely to stick to things I enjoy, and if you still like swimming going there regularly would be more use than rarely dragging yourself to the gym.

heartbreak_star

Definitely agree with theoretica - ask the gym if they have someone that can show you what to do etc. and if you can try them for a session or two.

But definitely go with what you enjoy I'm partially so enthusiastic about weights because I love them!

HBS x

117pauline

I too have fibro and find that swimming actually is the only time that I feel almost normal so I would recommend it. But with a few provisos -

- don't do too much because it feels good at the time. I mistakenly did regularly until someone suggested something so simple - only go at a time when you get 20 mins for example

- a little exercise really works for me. I found the gym simply too much because I couldn't it properly

- gradually work up your times slowly.

I also found that recording it all helped too - what I was doing, how I felt and other variables. So I can see any patterns

Good luck

Chimpofdoom

My fiancee has fibro (diagnosed 2 years ago) and one thing we've found is you'll never find 2 fibro sufferers with exactly the same symptoms.

I always got told not to tone until you lost weight because if you toned, the muscle would make the fat over it look more noticeable (???)!!

Basically what happens is, that you while you can build muscle at any time, the fat sits on top of it. So you won't see that nice lean muscle until the fat is worked off.

Anyway, my aim is to build strength and a small increase in fitness at first. The fibro prevents anything too exciting!! When I say strength, I mean like having the ability to dry my hair without pain in my arms/shoulders and to be able to walk up the stairs at work without them (my legs, not the stairs!) nearly giving way at the top. Oh and getting rid of my bingo wings would be good!

In terms of pain in arms/shoulders and walking up stairs, it's all about baby steps, I wouldn't go rushing into working with weights, especially if your struggling to dry your hair. I'd start with swimming and think of it as a marathon, not a race, take, your time, stretch etc.

The main key is to take your time, dont over exert yourself, and if your not sure prob best not to do it. It will be frustrating as you'll want to do more, but slowly you'll be able to increase the intensity.

Might also be worth to start looking into either a massage therapist (deep tissue) to help alleviate some of your muscle pains, maybe even a chiropractor/osteopath. My OH goes twice a month to a massage therapist and Chiropractor and these help her out.

Edit:

She also goes to a 1 to 1 lesson on gyrotonic, which is like pilates but uses light resistance. The instructor who teaches it in Edinburgh also suffers from a chronic condition so knows when to maybe take things from a different angle.

cherryblossomzel

Anoneemoose wrote: »

I always got told not to tone until you lost weight because if you toned, the muscle would make the fat over it look more noticeable (???)!!

This is commonly said, and partly true, but misleading. What people mean when they say "tone" is generally that they would like to look firmer, i.e. less with the wobbly bits.

What it means in practice is that you have to lose fat, but (at the very least) maintain and probably even build muscle as muscle is nice and firm and fat is wobbly. It is true that if you build muscle without losing any fat, you might end up lookin bigger.

Most people will lose both fat and muscle when losing weight (thus not necessarily losing the wobbly), unless they're doing adequate strength training to maintain the muscle. For most people the best way to "tone" is to do strength training, be it with bodyweight exercises or weight lifting etc. The beauty of this is that if you build muscle it'll also help you burn more fat. Fat loss itself is mostly about diet.

I don't know much about fibro, but have heard that strength training can help. Could you maybe afford a couple of sessions with a personal trainer who has experience with fibro patients?

Anoneemoose

Thank you for all of the responses. I have been checking out my local council run leisure centre and they have an ice rink where they do lessons so I think I might sign up for a course of them. I always loved skating and I believe it is low impact. I might also look at swimming there too - as it has all been done up and offers free parking which is a bonus.

I can only mainly do breast stroke so hope that might help strengthen my top half. If not, I should find someone who can show me some weight exercises.

sweaty_betty

Anoneemoose wrote: »

Thank you for all of the responses. I have been checking out my local council run leisure centre and they have an ice rink where they do lessons so I think I might sign up for a course of them. I always loved skating and I believe it is low impact. I might also look at swimming there too - as it has all been done up and offers free parking which is a bonus.

I can only mainly do breast stroke so hope that might help strengthen my top half. If not, I should find someone who can show me some weight exercises.

I second swimming definitely - whenever I've not exercised for ages, I find swimming the best way to ease into exercise without over-doing it. I also mainly do breaststroke, but alternate lengths by just using my arms on one, then just my legs (might need to borrow a float!) on the next. I also do a few lengths just lying on my back and kicking my legs.