Hello FB Family!

Have you tried my new Pilates Workout yet? Gentle workouts like this one are near and dear to my heart because they helped me along when I was living with chronic pain, and still serve as a baseline that I can return to if/when I don't feel well for one reason or another, when I need mobility focused workouts to keep my foundation strong, or as recovery workouts, etc.  

Pain, injury and illness are all a normal part of the human experience & it matters how we treat & talk to ourselves in those times. Ultimately, exercise and movement is for everyone, not just healthy, pain free people. We all know that finding the motivation to workout on the best of days, even when you’re feeling good, can sometimes be difficult. It can be even harder if you’re starting with the disadvantage of varying pain and energy levels, and longer recovery times. I’m a very active person myself, but I've also lived with intermittent, chronic pain for years. It can be tricky and a bit intimidating to navigate, but I fully believe that a flexible, self-compassionate approach to exercise can improve both pain levels and quality of life. I wanted to share one of my best tips for staying active and working out when you live with chronic pain.

The thing that helped me the most when I was working to get my mobility and abilities back, and my pain level down, was to figure out what level of physical activity I could engage in without causing an uptick in symptoms or pain. And then, doing what I was capable of doing safely - showing up for myself in whatever way my body would allow but being very careful to stay under that threshold. The trick is really tuning in to listen to your body’s messages, maintaining a judgment free zone for yourself, and finding out what your pain threshold is. 

Here’s what you need to figure out, the question you should aim to answer for yourself if you want to stay active with chronic pain:
What amount, type and intensity of training can I do without seeing an uptick in symptoms?

It takes trial and error to answer this question, which means you need to proceed slowly, cautiously, and pay close attention during — and in the days or maybe even weeks after — your workouts. It's really important that this question is applied not only during your workout, but in those days that follow as well.

Factors to consider:

• Intensity level of the workout
• Length of the workout
• Rest/recovery days between workouts
• How much baseline experience or familiarity you have in this particular type of training (ex: you might need to be even more careful if the type of training is entirely new to your brain & body)
• Training type (ex: something that requires recovery afterwards, like heavy lifting or HIIT, will likely cause more inflammation than something like Pilates or a low impact routine)
• Most importantly, your body’s response in the days following your workout(s)

Once you answer this question for yourself, you’ll have a better idea of what you must not push through, and what intensities you shouldn’t surpass (for now). Heads up — this can be discouraging at first. You might be able to walk one mile, or to your mailbox, manage some seated stretches, or stand long enough to make your own meals. Whatever the answer is, no matter how “small” or “not enough” the answer might feel to you, you need to respect it in order to teach your body and mind that movement and workouts are safe for you; they pose no threat.

I know these things vary from day to day, and I don't mean to imply that something so complex as pain has a simple workaround. But, doing your best to stay under the threshold that increases symptoms will help your body realize it doesn’t need to protect itself from you, and will help minimize the chance of going into fight or flight (or the sympathetic nervous system). Spending more time in the parasympathetic nervous system, where we “rest and digest” helps us heal and manage pain better. Support yourself along the way by keeping your self talk at least neutral, but it's even better if you can pat yourself on the back. Whatever you are capable of, it's good enough, and it's an amazing thing to gift your body the respect it deserves by prioritizing what it actually needs during challenging times.

It's so important to note that physical rest is important, and there are lots of times when rest is the smarter choice over a workout or exercise. Taking a break because you are ill or injured is not lazy and it's not something you should allow yourself to feel any guilt over whatsoever. We have to listen to our bodies. But when you don't feel very well or are living with pain or fatigue for an extended period of time (months or years), it can help to make a long term plan to be able to do some type of movement to keep your body as healthy as you can, to make life as easy on yourself as possible in that regard.

The good news is that approaching exercise with patience and care, over time, can help increase your pain-free activity threshold, in the same way that a fitness level changes if you stay consistent with your workouts. Just keep in mind that creating that feeling of safety in your body related to exercise means that you need to increase the intensity of your workouts slowly and deliberately, giving yourself plenty of time for recovery in between. Pay attention to the level of demand on your body and mind from other sources too; if you're experiencing a high amount of stress, sleeping poorly, etc, you should be ready to proactively dial it back a bit in the intensity of your workouts, as your body may already be under a bit of strain. 

Related: In this situation and feeling panicked? Work to get your mindset right and it will help with the stress and frustration that can come along with these challenges: Injury, illness & LIFE happens. How we handle these things makes all the difference.

If you’re looking for workouts for people with chronic pain, I’ve included a few links to our workout library below (please note some of these workouts will vary in intensity). We also work with Doctors of Physical Therapy, who are a fantastic resource for people who need gentle workouts that build smart foundational strength. Keep in mind we have over 1500 workouts (over 700 of them are free!) and as long as you’re willing to modify, you might find gems across all of the different categories of training. *Always* be willing to modify a workout to make it meet your needs! 

• Lighter Workouts: Difficulty Level 1/5 and 2/5 Workouts (280+ workouts)
• Workouts led by Physical Therapists (180 workouts) 
• Mobility specific workouts (135 workouts) 
• Pilates & stretching (240+ workouts) 
• Yoga workouts (88 workouts) 
• Low impact cardio & walking workouts (520+ workouts) 
• Honorable mention for pain management: Meditations (85+ options)

I have thankfully managed to gain back all of the mobility and strength that I had before I lost it, maybe even plus some. It took a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of ups and downs - none of this happens in a linear fashion. Forgive me for the vagueness about what I actually went through, but I think my own health specifics are less important than how I got through the ordeal. I still need to be mindful of how I'm moving and eating and stressing in life, etc. and take care of myself so I stay feeling well. But these same workouts that helped me so much when I was struggling, are still a huge, foundational part of my exercise routine. As active recovery, as better-than-nothing workouts when I don't feel up to it but I've skipped for too long, when I have cramps, when I'm sore from a previous workout, when I want to warm up for a tough workout, etc. All this to say, don't think that you need to be injured or ill to be able to benefit from these types of workouts.

I filmed and then wrote this on a whim, but I'd love to know if this is helpful or interesting to you. This is one tip of many that can make workouts a little more approachable, so let me know if you would like to see more content like this. If you have had success with your own methods of working out with health issues or chronic pain, please share below - as always, something a little different might work for each of us, and we can all learn from each other's experiences. 

I hope you're all doing well and taking great care of yourselves. Thanks for reading my ramble!

Kelli