I hope that you will watch the video that displays some examples of what I do for exercise.  But I also figured that I would outline my exercise routine in writing.*

I learned a long time ago, before I got sick, that I am not a runner.  So over the years, especially since I got sick, I have had to come up with something that works for me exercise wise.  Other considerations for me include not exercising outside when it is cold, and the potential spread of germs at the gym.

My workout routine consists of the following:

I do kickboxing.  Right now I go every other week.  When I first started, I was going every week.  But if I’ve had a flare, injury, medication change, or other complications, I have had to go according to when I was able.

My kickboxing instructor has been really accommodating in when I can go and can’t go, and I can let him know the day of if I am not able to.  He has also been very accommodating in terms of how strenuous each kickboxing session is, and really depends on me to voice what I can and cannot do in a given session.

Not everyone is willing or able to be that flexible, but that is one of the chief things that have worked for me in terms of kickboxing.  The ability to be flexible, both literally and figuratively, is an important part of exercising with RA.

Each kickboxing session is an hour long.  My kickboxing is done at the Ann Arbor College of Martial Arts, if you are in the area or are interested in learning more.

I opted to do one-on-one training rather than a class.  I am somewhat self-conscious about my RA, and didn’t want to be in a class where people older than me could kick their legs higher than me or anything like that. 

I also do a walk aerobics DVD.  The walk aerobics DVD I do is Walk Away The Pounds and is led by Leslie Sansone.  The DVD I have includes a one-mile, two-mile, and three-mile walk.  I do the two-mile once a week and the three-mile once a week.  On weeks when I am alternating with no kickboxing, I do the two-mile twice a week and the three-mile once a week. 

I find that this walk is fairly low-impact, and I can adapt it if I need less of a workout.  The video includes both leg and arm movements.  It also includes the use of weights.  I opt not to use the weights because I often use weights in kickboxing, and I would rather do that supervised so I don’t risk injuring myself.

I also do nightly crunches.  The combination that I do has been figured out over the years.  I do 50 standard crunches, 20 elevated leg crunches, 25 side-to-side crunches, and five bridges.

While I try to be disciplined, the crunches are usually the first thing that go, conserving my energy to try and make sure I get my other workouts in when I am not feeling well.

Before I started doing kickboxing, I attempted to do several personal training sessions through my school.  They were pretty terrible.  They were more expensive than kickboxing and I felt were of little practical use.  Before that, I attempted to do personal training through community education, but the instructor was unfamiliar with my illnesses and didn’t feel comfortable training me, despite my claiming I could set my own limitations.