Hi, my name is Desiree Winkel, owner and founder of Fitness Coaching. Fitness Coaching is a studio/gym where you can work out with professional trainers. Among the workout programs we offer are boot camps, cardio boxing, weight loss training, group training and personal training.
In personal training, I do train a couple of people who suffer from fibromyalgia disease –a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas. Exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing if you have fibromyalgia, but it’s also one of the best things you can do to decrease pain.
Like many people, when a 66-year-old client of mine was diagnosed with this widespread pain disorder several years ago, she was unwilling to even think about getting up and moving because of the pain. However, she decided to follow her doctor’s advice and start fitness training. I have been training her twice a week for six years and she is now pain-free for more than a year.
In the beginning, we built up her training slowly towards her comfort zone and it’s now amazing how she trains like anybody else. “I just love it!” she says. “It’s such an enjoyable thing, and I am so much limber and stronger now.”
Because of a multifaceted treatment approach that involves medications and lifestyle strategies, the prognosis for people with fibromyalgia is better than ever before. But first, a doctor needs to make an accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Are you wondering how that's done? Unfortunately, fibromyalgia is regularly misunderstood, in spite of all the latest information about fibromyalgia with its severe muscle pain, unrelenting fatigue and sleep problems, and feelings of anxiety and depression.
Fibromyalgia and exercise: Slow and steady
“Exercise improves a person’s overall sense of well-being and reduces pain and tenderness over time.” The first step is typically an assessment of the person’s current fitness level. I like to start my clients on a program that is a level or two below their current level, improve their stamina, and build them up to 20 to 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity on most days of the week. I really encourage them to pace things and set reasonable goals!
Low impact aerobics soothe and strengthen. For people with fibromyalgia, low-impact aerobics is the way to go. I really like the hydraulic machines in my business; they are low impact and work great.
Strength training and low-impact exercise
Walking, biking, and other forms of low-impact aerobic activity also provide benefits.
Don’t rule out strength training. Although doctors once believed that strength training could worsen pain in people with fibromyalgia, new research suggests that this is not the case. In fact, the latest research – presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists in Orlando – suggests that strength training can have the same ameliorating effect on pain as aerobic exercise.
If you have fibromyalgia, you have this amplified pain signal telling you that something is wrong. It’s a natural instinct to want to protect your body by going to bed, but that actually makes the pain worse. Try these two tips to get your mind on board:
- Give yourself a pep talk. Tell yourself that this is going to be beneficial. Say “Today I will do just this amount because I know this will help me feel better.”
- Set realistic goals. I often prescribe five minutes of walking to start. “People may think that won’t be too difficult, but it can be if you have fibromyalgia. We start very slow and build up from there, and emphasize that there is no hurry.
If you have questions or need more information about Fitness Training, call 524-7700. We are located on Welfare Road, next to North Eastern Insurance, on the first level of the building. Like Fitness Coaching on Facebook or Instagram.
