Keeping Fit With MS

To be honest, I have never been a particularly sporty person so keeping fit with MS is a challenge. I was definitely more music and drama department at school rather than athletic, but I have always been averagely fit. I definitely took it for granted that as and when I decided that I wanted to get fit, I could. I’d start going to the gym for an hour each day or I’d go for runs and after a few weeks I would have got fit and lost weight...thinking about it now though, this may have had something to do with being in my early twenties, rather than not having MS! Getting older is a bitch!  Anyway, since being diagnosed with MS I have had a difficult relationship with exercise and managing my weight as I have found it difficult to find the right balance between keeping fit, burning calories and not completely wiping out my energy reserves. I recently discovered that my attitude towards exercise is “all or nothing” which has been frustrating and disheartening at times. I am still learning, but I definitely think that I am beginning to learn how keeping fit with MS works best for me. In this blog, I’ll share my experience with different kinds of exercise and what my weekly routine now looks like.

When I was first diagnosed with MS in 2015 I felt out of control. I felt like my body was no longer my own and my symptoms were the worst that they have ever been. I wanted to take back control and seriously considered getting a tattoo (!), before deciding that signing up to run a 10km race was probably the less radical thing to do! I had barely run before, let alone run 10km and it would have been an achievement for me without MS, let alone with it. Yet, one dark January night while I was feeling a bit sorry for myself as I was recovering from a cold, I decided that I didn’t want to let MS win. So, I signed up to run the Bristol 10km in May. That gave me about 4 and half months to train and so I downloaded the 10K Runner app and began to run 3 times a week.  Training for 10km race I really liked the app as it helped you to build up stamina and started really slowly which was what I needed as a novice runner. My body would get hot and my legs would get heavy when I ran, but as my symptoms were still pretty severe in general at this point it didn’t seem too big a change in severity. Plus, as I started my training in the winter, I found that it was more comfortable to run in the cool air than when it got warmer in the spring months. There were definitely days when I didn’t feel like training, but I had used the run as an opportunity to share my diagnosis and set up a fundraising page, so the pledges helped to keep me motivated. In the end, I completed the Bristol 10K in 1 hour 4 minutes and raised over £1000 for the MS Society. I was really rather overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and family! Not the right balance Nowadays though, while I really like running, I do find that it has a high cost with regards to my energy levels. Since quitting teaching and changing my work-life balance, my daily symptoms are greatly improved. As such, when I run, my legs and hands feel heavier as my core body temperature heats up even if they were ok before I started running and to me it’s not worth triggering my symptoms. Also, I have always wanted to get back up to being able to run between 7 - 10 kilometres and the training tends to go well for about 3 weeks before I get completely exhausted and end up not exercising at all for weeks! So, for me, running is not my preferred exercise for keeping fit with MS unless it is a short 10 - 15 minute run. I have definitely had to let go of the idea that if I run 7km then I can eat what I want!

Swimming is really recommended for people with MS as it is a good full-body and cardio workout and being in the water keeps your core body temperature down. I really enjoy swimming and always take the opportunity to swim whenever I’m on holiday and we have a pool. However, just as a personal preference I hate how humid public swimming pools are and I don’t like having to plan my swims around the school lesson timetables, so it’s never made it into my regular MS exercise routine.

I am terrible at going to the gym. It’s just not really my thing. I have the same problems with the gym as running: I’m not very good at moderating how much effort I put into it! In the past I have had the attitude of “wanting to make the most of my visit”. So, I would really go for it on the machines and make sure I do a full hour workout. Again, this has not been great for managing my energy levels and I will do it for a few weeks, before having a sudden crash in energy levels and not going for ages. I know that it would be better to work out moderately for half an hour each day, but trying to fit that around work and the rest of my life has always seemed a huge faff, especially when I have to drive 15 minutes to get to the gym and then the time it takes to shower and get dressed after- eugh!

Bodystreet is a gym alternative and there is one in my city, Bristol. It uses EMS (Electro Muscle Stimulation) machines which make you look like you’re taking part in a weird science experiment, but I love it! You wear a jacket and straps that are hooked up to electricity and over the course of 20 minutes my P.T. directs me through a series of poses that I have to hold while electrical pulses run through my muscles. I have been doing it for over a year now and have seen huge improvements in body fat loss and increased muscle mass. It also improves my balance as my muscles strengthen and I practice the different poses each week.  I originally tried it as it said that it only took 20 minutes each week and that it wasn’t necessary to do any other exercise. Each 20 minute session provides the equivalent benefits of 2 hours in the gym, so I thought it would be a good option for me with regards to managing my energy levels and it has been. Plus, my lovely German P.T. Barbara had 5 clients with MS in her studio back in Germany, so she is very understanding about my needs regarding effort and energy.

Walking is my new favourite form of exercise! When I was a teacher I used to be on my feet all day and didn’t even notice how many thousands of steps I was walking every day. When I left teaching 3 years ago I put on 7kg just from sitting at a desk all day! Recently, I have started to get up just before 7am and am enjoying 1 - 2 hour walks each morning. I have found these walks so beneficial, not just for my physical health, but also my mental health as I feel stronger physically which makes me feel more powerful and positive about myself.

I love dancing! I can salsa and swing dance and it makes me so happy! I haven’t managed to find a class that fits my schedule here in Bristol, but the year that I experienced my first MS symptoms I was living in Liverpool. I had the most fantastic time with the Mersey Swing dance group. Doing things that you love, even if you have to have breaks to take a rest, is so important in staying healthy both physically and mentally.

My best friend is a huge yoga fan and she has encouraged me to try it over the years. Thanks to her, we went to a yoga fair at Alexandra Palace a few years ago where I met Veronique Gauthier, who is a yoga teacher living with MS. Veronique taught a special yoga class for people with MS and I was so inspired by her that I went to speak to her after the class. Veronique was the first person with MS that I had spoken to since being diagnosed and she continues to be an inspiration to me. She runs a website called Taming the Walrus where she shares her specific yoga for MS courses and writes about her experience of living with MS. I really enjoy doing online yoga courses as it really helps me with my balance and flexibility.

It’s cold and we’re in the middle of a pandemic, but my weekly exercise for keeping fit with MS hasn’t really changed.Everyday (more or less): 7am walks aiming for 10,000 stepsOnce/ week: 

• 20 minute Bodystreet session
• 30 minute Guided group meditation 
• Yoga session

How do you keep fit with MS? What are your biggest challenges? Let me know in the comments below!