Disclaimer: I am not in any way involved with any of the programs mentioned nor do I sell them, benefit financially or in any other way from talking about my experience with them.
So, yes, I am an MS patient and I went through an extreme workout program with amazing results. So can you, no matter what your fitness level is.
I strongly believe that a fitness program that works on all aspects of your fitness (such as strength, balance, flexibility, co-ordination, breathing and cardio) can only be beneficial for you. No matter if you are someone with an impairment or if you are very fit to start with. The added help with nutrition and explanations about it to make it a really complete program is just the sugar on top. Specially since it directly works against the most frustrating aspects an MS patient has to deal with.
Who told MS patients they are not supposed to work out anyway? Who says you can’t do an extreme program? There are 70 year old people doing P90X, people that were over 300 pounds. Obviously people come in all shapes and sizes and with all different kind of conditions. So what makes it hard for an MS patient to try to exercise?
- lack of Energy and MS fatigue
- general muscle weakness
- stress levels can trigger a relapse
- specific impairments in movements
- balance problems
- overheating
Guess what, all of those I was struggling with myself. The worst being balance, weakness in my arms and legs and MS fatigue and chronic pain in my bladder. Now lets take a look at the average guy interested in fitness:
- they are quite often complaining about low energy and lack thereof
- a lot of people ask for help with specific problems such as knee and back issues, having to recover from an accident or operation, have conditions such as IBS or other hard to cure illnesses.
- Lots of people have to stick to specific diets or are allergic to certain foods
- People are notoriously inflexible and even quite fit people hardly ever focus on flexibility or do Yoga
Now lets compare:
Both groups will have to modify and be careful about their workouts and nutrition. An MS patient has to be specifically careful to not overdo any kind of exercise to not trigger a relapse due to stress. That is the most important difference between the two groups and both are facing the task to adjust any kind of program accordingly.
People with herniated discs, general back problems, knee problems, shoulder problems, all of them have to modify their exercise routine accordingly, much like MS patients.
Which brings me back to my initial point: You can use any program even something extreme and adjust it to your level and needs. Specially with a program which is very complete and incorporates every single aspect that is helpful for an MS patient. Moderation and listening to your body is the key. If you are in doubt ask your specialist for help and modifications.
Start slow and very carefully. I started with 1kg and 1.5kg weights. Start where you have to and rather too light then too extreme. You can take all the time in the world to work up from there. No one is pushing you and you know what’s comfortable for you and what feels ok. Forget about goals other’s have or what you think the goal of a specific program is. You set your own goals, for yourself.
Now lets talk about these specific issues again and how I tried to tackle them.
Lack of Energy and MS fatigue
I had a huge struggle with these. I felt exhausted, tired, depressed and unmotivated. On top it felt likemy head was stuffed with cotton. My eating habits were really bad and most probably directly linked to the things mentioned before. I didn’t feel like getting up a few minutes earlier to fix breakfast, specially not since I wasn’t hungry. I ate lunch and maybe something for dinner, that was pretty much it. No wonder that on top of my fatigue I also was lacking the base energy to do the simplest tasks because my eating was severely lacking and thus my whole system was slowed down. Not only did I not eat enough I was also lacking a lot of the important nutrients. I wasn’t aware of all of this until I read the nutrition guide that came with one of the programs I bought.
Changing my eating habits and switching to eating 5 times per day was the most important factor to improve my Energy.
General muscle weakness
I had to ask my boyfriend more often then not to open bottles and cans for me. Walking up stairs was very taxing and the thought of playing tennis was demotivating because I didn’t want to risk of feeling how much I lost control over my body.Yet, I started to do muscle training according to the plan. Working all muscles groups alternating throughout the week. First with very light weights but it didn’t take long until we had to go buy some new dumbbells. And I will have to do it again once I am done with my current cardio program.
Stress levels can trigger a relapse
This is a tough one and specially for MS patients the most important one. Moderate yourself and start really, really slow – rather do too little then too much.
I didn’t know how far I could go or if I could do it at all when I started. You know your body best – listen to it, carefully.
Additionally, try to reduces all additional stress as much as you can. A relaxed environment is really helpful. Make your workouts and health the most important part in your life (next to your family of course). Don’t plan your workouts around your everyday life and try to squeeze it in somewhere. Organize your day around your workouts and look at them as “me time”.
Specific impairments in movements
Modify, modify, modify. There is no real difference to someone who has knee issues or someone who has an impairment because of MS. Even if you are in a wheel-chair. You can still work on your upper body strength as Cammie very nicely demonstrates in her youtube videos.
For example, I noticed my knee problems during starting to work out. I substituted exercises which seemed to aggravate the problems with others that seemed to work the same muscle areas but in a different way.
I wasn’t able to do some of the exercises at all, so I just waited and worked on other aspects and strength until I felt ready enough to give it at least a try.
When I started I did most of the push-ups on my knees and stopped whenever I felt I couldn’t go further. I listened to my body and in turn I learned more about it then I did ever before. This dedication really pays off. I can’t remember when I had to switch to my knees for push-ups. A pull-up without a chair was something completely out of the question when I started (even with chair it was tough) and now I can do three unassisted pull-ups (with much struggling on the third one). I can only do unassisted ones in reverse chin-ups. Any other variations is still totally out of the question but who cares. 🙂
Balance problems
Yoga was the most important contributor to how my balance and flexibility improved. It was also the hardest to go through because it was really frustrating at first. However, the harder a workout seems to be the clearer it is that you lack in exact that area and the more you will benefit from trying to push through it. It’s with going through the hardest tasks that we come out with the most improvements.
Overheating
Even though I don’t have that much problems with heat (surprisingly enough), I am using a cooling fan to blow at me during exercising. Working out in an environment that is comfortable for you temperature wise is really important.
I am not bumping into the side of doorways anymore and I can walk down a stair without any problems or fear of losing my balance. My feet don’t drop any more while walking and I can open bottles and cans on my own again and I am probably fitter then your average “healthy” person out there.
Just know, if I can, you can. If you are someone with an illness or impairment you just really need to take it slow and work your way up very carefully. But it’s possible. I know it is. Honestly, right now I have to look at my MRIs showing my old lesions and pictures from the hospital and also pull out my lumbar puncture results to make sure the diagnosis was not just a freak accident (even though the tri-weekly injections remind me mercilessly).
This will be the first upcoming MRI test where I go because it is time to check and not because I have symptoms that make it necessary to take one.
Hey girl! Just poking around your blog… Love what I’ve read so far! I never knew too much about MS (which my dad’s girlfriend suffers from) so it was really quite informative for me to learn about it.
Can’t wait to continue reading about your Insanity journey!!!
Hey Laura!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I am really glad I found this today… I need to read something like this. I completely relate you and this has given me hope on one of my darkest days.
thank you!
Jeff, let me know if I can help in any way with motivation or if you have any kind of questions.
Thank you for creating this site, Tascha..
Wow.. I have MS too and it surprises me how much we relate.. Sometimes MS makes me feel like poo and weak, fragile as a piece of paper, but working out, exercising has helped me feel more strong and energetic. I’d love to chat with you sometime, you motivate all of us during those harsh times 🙂
Hi Meg and thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
I know exactly where you are coming from with the “piece of paper” and “fragile” references. I am still exploring my boundaries and have to listen carefully to my body to not overdo it but it feels like a great achievement once it’s done (the workouts I mean).
You can drop me a line wherever you like (n at tascha dot ch) or through my facebook page as well.
Tascha!
I’m so glad I came across your website! I too have MS (diagnosed in 2007) and I’ve been really debating on what kind of workout routine I can get into that won’t overdo it and one that I can stick with!
I was EXTREMELY athletic back in the day (I’m 26 now) 🙂 but over the years, after a shoulder surgery, stress fractures in both my shins, and the MS diagnosis and symptoms, I found myself packing on the pounds and I’m just downright depressed about it. I am 5’11” and many people consider me to be ‘proportionate to my height’ but I am definitely no longer 155-160 lbs as I once was and it’s frustrating.
To me, I have a hard time sticking with something, especially if I get extremely fatigued or if I have a lot of body aches. My fiance (yes….another reason to get my butt in gear is for our wedding that is in October!!) is really athletic and he is pushing me to try the insanity workout. He doesn’t think I give myself enough credit…but I just don’t know if I’m in the type of shape where I should be trying that as a first workout. I haven’t been consistently working out for about 2 months and I’m nervous that the craziness of the workout will seriously set me back. On top of that, there is that sense of fear that I can’t do it…and I HATE THAT!!! I’m much like you in the sense that I DO NOT want this disease defining me…but I have yet to do something about that.
I can ask friends and family members and even trainers what their recommendations would be….but they don’t know what it’s like to have MS and actually have symptoms to keep under control. Would you be able to offer up some advice on whether or not I should try this Insanity workout–even if I’m not in tip top shape??
You don’t know how much it would mean to me!!
(I apologize for the life story…but I’m seriously so happy that I came across this page…and you!)
Thanks in advance…and keep up the awesome work!!
Lindsay
Lindsay hi 🙂
First of all thanks for writing and don’t apologize, ever, for sharing your story or experience. It actually means a lot to me to hear from others and I think it’s important to share no matter the situation or story you want to share.
It’s a bit tricky for me to say if you should try with Insanity right of the bat since I don’t know what your current level of your illness is. I can just tell you that I started with P90X to build up general strength (but I had issues with my knees and Insanity would have been too hard on my knees and legs, which were always my weak points in general). I was however really weak when I started. To give you an idea I started resistance training with 1kg dumbbells and I didn’t make it through many of the P90X workouts in my first month up into the second if I remember correctly.
Insanity is much more about Cardio but it also asks for quite a bit of upper body strength (which I still didn’t have that much in the second month of Insanity). If you decided to do it I would suggest to take it slow and not push yourself too hard at the start. One thing I love about the Insanity workout DvDs is the fact that not even the gang on the DvD can make it through the workouts without taking a break which should be a big hint for us to not think we have to do it. Heck, I don’t think I know anyone who I talked to who made it through any single workout without having to take breaks in between and I am talking about fit healthy people here 🙂
What I am trying to say is this: Try it but don’t go crazy from the get go and don’t think you have to push yourself. Look at it as a get into shape and see where it takes you. Once you feel better overall (including using the nutrition guidelines which made a huge difference for me overall) you can start pushing yourself harder. Make sure you really listen to your body, if you “bonk” make sure you eat properly and most importantly, make sure you get enough rest and sleep in between.
I really love Insanity, it’s really hard but I was never fitter then after my first round. I am currently in my second round of P90X (little break this week since I had a little stomach bug) and can’t wait to get into Insanity again (and Asylum is on its way too :)).
As I said, take it slow. It will help you in a) not pushing yourself over the limit without noticing and b) make sure you don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Not because I think you can’t do it but because I know that even the fittest guys in the video can’t keep up with the routines without breaks. Another advantage of Insanity with other programs is that a) they are quite short and b) you don’t need any special equipment and not a lot of space either.
If you start it, also make sure to use a heart rate monitor. Not only during the exercises but also in the morning. It helps to keep track of your heartrate. If it all of a sudden is higher then usually (specially your resting heart rate) then you know you are pushing yourself too hard and it’s time to either take a step back or a break and try something lighter.
Whatever you decide to do, let me know how it goes and have fun. I think it’s great you are tackling the situation and don’t let it define you 🙂 That’s the way to go really!
Thanks so much for all your input!!
Since posting my comment to you, I have tried to ease into Insanity…mainly for a jumpstart for my body (a wake up call if you will!) I do modify it and take frequent breaks and sometimes I don’t get through the whole thing and I’m doing it 4 days a week rather than 6. I am finding that I need a bit more rest and more stretching than normal. I’m not sure if I will be able to do it in its entirety but I feel as though I need to try. They are fast workouts that seriously get your heartrate going and the sweat pouring and that’s what I need. I also have a fan blowing right on me during the entire thing. I’m finding that my super-fit fiance is struggling with it so I’m proud of myself for doing what I can!
Are there any other workout dvds that you could recommend? (We do have P90X as well)…but anything you can suggest for arms and boooottttyyyy??!? 🙂
I really appreciate all your feedback and will continue to follow you with your progress!
Thanks again!!
Lindsay
I personally really like P90X because of how “complete” it is. I really needed to work on all those aspects (strength and flexibility and balance mostly) but I can also recommend Brazil Butt Lift for your boooooottttyyyy 😉
It’s quite a bit of fun and targets exactly my weak areas. It’s not as hard as P90X or Insanity but it’s definitely more challenging then I thought it would be 🙂
I think it’s great that you notice changes such as when you say you need more rest and stretching. As long as you are careful and listen to your body closely you should be ok. Are you also following the nutrition guide? I find that changing my eating habits was a huge part of improving my energy levels and feeling better overall.