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Old 01-14-18, 11:52 AM  
Footballnut
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Tennessee
Question - If you have fibromyalgia or CFS

I am at a point in my life where I have decided I need to "downsize" and that includes my workout videos. I was a workout-a-holic several years ago and own some things well over my pay grade now. I am tired of looking at them actually. I also have some things that I purchased on sale that I feel sure I wont ever be able to do. I have fibromyalgia and I have been dealing with chronic fatigue for a while now and I have pretty much lost hope that I will ever be recovered (from the fatigue) to a point where I just have to let some of these things go. For those of you who have dealt with this, how much of your fitness were you able to recover? I can't even handle 30-minute Jessica Smith workouts right now. I feel I can work up to them, but for now, I know I cannot do them. I would really appreciate some insight into this. I need to make some decisions and just downsize already. Thanks.
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Old 01-14-18, 02:41 PM  
JackieB
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I'm sorry you're not feeling well.

I have Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroid disease and a lot of side effects mimic CFS/Fibro. I've downsized my workouts significantly...and I only do feel good stuff. Obviously Essentrics is my passion...I also like to do Ellen, yoga, Lee Holden, a few other odds and ends. I ski and walk. That's a bout it.

So I've lost all my postpartum baby weight and this is probably the best shape I've been in since having kids. I don't feel I've lost strength or stamina fitness wise, and I am much more comfortable in my body.

I turned 50 last summer....and it's encouraging to still be able to be active and keep up with my family.

Oh...I did mess with my diet a bit....working on reducing inflammation, etc.

Good luck...and think about how you want to feel rather than what you want to look like. Such a good change of thinking.
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Old 01-14-18, 03:46 PM  
Footballnut
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackieB View Post
I'm sorry you're not feeling well.

I have Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroid disease and a lot of side effects mimic CFS/Fibro. I've downsized my workouts significantly...and I only do feel good stuff. Obviously Essentrics is my passion...I also like to do Ellen, yoga, Lee Holden, a few other odds and ends. I ski and walk. That's a bout it.

So I've lost all my postpartum baby weight and this is probably the best shape I've been in since having kids. I don't feel I've lost strength or stamina fitness wise, and I am much more comfortable in my body.

I turned 50 last summer....and it's encouraging to still be able to be active and keep up with my family.

Oh...I did mess with my diet a bit....working on reducing inflammation, etc.

Good luck...and think about how you want to feel rather than what you want to look like. Such a good change of thinking.
Jackie, I so agree. I was looking through my stuff just a few minutes ago and saw so many workouts I have held onto because I enjoyed them and loved them so much, but then asked myself "do you REALLY have any business doing Turbo Fire, even on the days you feel good?" The answer is a resounding NO! The price I would pay for it would be too high and I am tired of the clutter.
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Old 01-14-18, 04:59 PM  
SuzieC
 
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Ginger, I can so relate to how you feel. I'm so sorry you are not feeling well. I also know how hard it is to get rid of these workouts that once made us feel so good!

Like Jackie, I have Hashimoto's, and at times the fatigue was absolutely crushing. I also deal with pain. In fact, I just had to take hydromorphone a few hours ago because the pain from my 2 herniated discs was just too much. I also have arthrosis in my hip. I'm 46, and have been exercising regularly since my mid-twenties.

Most people think that someone like me would not even consider exercise. There are times when I do need a few days break, or even a week when I'm immobile because of the herniated disc issue.

But I firmly believe that my exercise does keep me to reduce some of my pain. As soon as I take a few days off, my hands start to feel stiff. For me, hand, foot and knee pain goes away just by moving my body and getting my circulation going.

I also just cleaned out my collection, because I had no business with "Turbo Fire", some Cathe's, even Ballet Beautiful in my collection. They are all too much. Only 2 years ago, I was doing Tracy Anderson 6 days a week, with high-impact aerobics 6 days a week as well.

There are options!

- I'm currently exploring all the wonderful Essentrics and Classical Stretch workouts. Miranda's Back Pain Relief has helped me prevent a full-on recurrence of back pain several times (just not this time, unfortunately!), and the Aging Backwards DVDs help relieve arthritis pain. Some of the Essentrics DVDs are TOUGH, but I just don't feel like they break down my body.

- Callanetics is deceptively difficult, yet gentle on the body. This felt SO good.

- I used to do Barre3 for a while

- I plan to explore Suzanne Bowen's workouts too at some point

I'm a cardio junkie. I just completed Walk Strong 2 *BUT*, I did it during a time when I was on hydrocortisone . I do not think I would be able to complete that had I not been on something that was masking my inflammation. At times, it felt like too much. Towards the end of the 6 weeks, I was really struggling.

There are some gentler Jessica workouts such as Walking for Weight Loss, Wellness and Energy. Also, some of her Walk On series are much less intense that Walk Strong. I did the Walk On: Walk off the Weight 30 day program and that one is down a notch from the Walk Strong ones.

Some days, I, too, feel like Jessica Smith is too much, and on those days I do Leslie Sansone. Her Miracle Miles system is a lot of fun, has great music and gives complete different workouts for 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, 4 mile and 5 miles workouts. It also includes light sculpting. I also like her Walk to the Hits options. About 10 years ago I got a bunch of Leslie DVDs on liquidation and when I played them, I just thought I would never use them.

Some other good options:

- Petra Kolber Liquid Grooves and Elegant Strength
- Nathalie Spadaccino Joyful Movement Cardio and Joyful Movement Sculpt
- Weight Watchers DVDs.
- Ellen Barrett (though some of her stuff is still too much for me)

Lastly, check out Cocolime Fitness on youtube. She now has 2 rotation schedules for a small fee on her web site, but all the workouts are free on youtube. She is a personal trainer, who was later diagnosed with fibromyalgia and had to drastically change her workouts. Here is her story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUvSlZR2Ks

Hope this helps!
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Old 01-14-18, 06:21 PM  
Footballnut
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Suzie, thank you so much for those suggestions. I have a lot of Classical Stretch, so I think I am going to do those for a while and maybe some shorter Leslie Sansone workouts mixed in from time to time. I do love Jessica. I just need to work up to her. I am not there right now. I'm so happy there are some good options, though. My doctor is always on me to exercise. I just haven't been smart about it the times I have attempted it. Well, it's time to wise up. LOL
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Old 01-16-18, 01:25 PM  
neatski
 
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I count my blessings for not suffering with these conditions, but I wanted to hop in and agree with Suzie’s suggestion for barre3. I did those pretty much exclusively for my pregnancies and post partum. I was quite ill, exhausted and uncomfortable in my pregnancies (though they were normal), and barre3 was incredible. It kept me in good shape and lean, but feeling good and strong, and I was able to do them until I went into labor. They helped my recovery too. I love the positive messaging and lack of focus on weight loss, though they can be quite challenging. Not all of them are created equal, though. Their weekly 30 minute ones are generally fantastic. The newer 30 and 40 minute ones in their library are generally good as well.
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Old 01-16-18, 02:03 PM  
yogapam
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Hi Ginger, sorry you are struggling with CFS & fibro. At 60, I've had to scale back my workouts due to some chronic issues, have some arthritis and degenerative spine stuff. I've learned that it's always there & I will always need to "manage" it to stay active.

Essentrics, yin yoga, barre, and low impact cardio are where I'm at. I did Essentrics level 1 training last year & am working on level 2. Jessica Smith has a nice selection of short workouts, 20 min or less, on YouTube. One set I've always kept for when I need to go back to the basics is PowerFit & PowerFit Harmony. They are fun, short at only 20 min, & low key.
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Old 01-16-18, 08:25 PM  
bjones
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
I'm 60 with fibro and fatigue. I've found that I needed to cut back my workouts to 4 days a week. The other 3 days I just do a leisurely outdoor walk or gentle yoga. Daily exercise (heart rate up or strength) is out of the question from the pain and fatigue standpoint. I found cross-training to be very beneficial. Which is why CS didn't work for me-you are working the same muscles exactly the same way every day.
so my 4 days are: upper body weights, exercise bike (gentle on joints for sure), lower body weights, and HIT cardio. Yes I can do one day of HIT cardio with mostly low impact (Cathe or modified Cathe) but also some football runs and plyo jumps. Very critical for maintaining fast twitch fibers for quick reaction time as I age (think recovering quickly from tripping on a rug.)
I also found that time of day is important. If I work out in the am I have no energy for my day. So I now work out at 3pm. After that I have dinner and then can relax for the evening. Made a huge difference for me. Even though I am tired by 3pm and don't feel like working out, it actually rejuvenates me a bit.
Hope this helps! Don't give up!
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