Weightlifting during flare

I have this bad habit during the start of my flares of avoiding all body movement and cutting back on my diet. I even start fasting. It's some kind of weird survival response... it's like becoming totally helpless. Well, this time I would like to change that. I decided to stop fasting and keep eating as much as possible, and I'd like to keep exercising.

My doctor told me today that during a flare, the main kind of exercise to avoid is cardio. Prior to this flare, I was weight lifting regularly, so my body was used to it... but in the past, I've never weigh lifted during an active flare because I've been worried it would do something to my immune system, or increase bleeding. I always waited for the bleeding to totally stop before I touched weights.

I started prednisone less than a week ago at a very low dose. Back then, my CRP was 95, which my MD said is very high. As of today, my prednisone got upped to 40mg. My MD said my body temp, blood pressure and heart rate are all normal.. no signs of fulmination. I'm having 8-10 bloody BMs per day. They vary from watery to pieces of stool in them. I've also lost about 10lbs already, partly because of not eating enough.

I'm wondering what other people's thoughts are about weight lifting during a flare? I would like to preserve body mass, if possible. The only obvious downside I can think of is that my bowels have rapid transit right now, so my absorption isn't that great... and I'm wondering how I'd build body mass.

This disease sucks but I am trying to stay hopeful.

Serenity Now said...
When I was flaring - and note, I was not on prednisone, I think that might make a difference - I suspended cardio but did gentle things like Pilates and some very light weight-lifting. I did most of my same routine but just used lighter weights. Just to keep things going... not lose too much muscle though I did inevitably lose some. Then when back in remission I worked on getting back to my old level. This is just my non-expert input.

Do you think pred could make a difference in a good or bad way?

Flaredupfitness is the Instagram guy I follow and darn it! I can’t find the runner.

The runner makes running a priority, she runs indoors near a toilet when she is flaring, doesn’t get upset with herself about shorter easier runs and talks to her GI about supplements and gets blood tests often. Low iron effects my running.

Ease into it. Do 30% of your normal workout then work up from there. I think you should avoid high intensity type lifting sessions that take days to recover from.

I don't know where your doctor is coming from with saying no cardio. I can't see what difference it makes. Weight lifting is still "cardio" i.e. higher heart rate. Maybe running is too much impact? Bicycle could be a mechanical irritant as far as the seat I suppose. Why would low impact cardio be a problem?

Swimming is another thing I was considering.

The 30% tip is a good one. That's way less than I was planning!

In my experience weight lifting helps me during a flare, or at least doesn't make things worse. I actively weight lifted more regularly when I was in flares. And unlike distance running, you can weight lift right next to the bathroom.

Cardio I don't think helped directly but regular cardio does reduce my stress level, which helps with flares.

I've figured maybe if my body is busy repairing and building up muscle tissue it would be too busy to attack my colon. But others have reported exercise making their flares worse. We all know how crazy and unpredictable this disease is.

iPoop said...
You're not going to gain mass during a flare, best you can do is slow the weight loss. Exercising on prednisone is a good idea, reduces the bone wasting to have some light exercise. We also have higher blot clotting risks during flares and staying active and moving is highly recommended.

You will findout that you heal slower on pred, suppose you had a moderate workout one day, you'll wakeup the next morning feeling like you were hit by a train and had pushed yourself to your limits. You are still sore and achy and do not feel refreshed. So, most certainly lower your weight during lifts, and do less sets while on pred. We had a guy powerlifting on pred, and he tore a ligament off of the bone (painful). Prednisone weakens ligaments, so do not push yourself to the limits while on it. It did heal but was painful and a slow process.

I worked out during flares, the gym had a bathroom a short jog across the room, with multiple toilets. I ran over and used them a number of times. Certainly, some excercises can be uncomfortable during a flare, anything putting pressure on your lower abdomen, like ab crunches.

It might be slightly different in my case because I take DHEA and pregnenolone while I'm on prednisone. These are hormones that go offline while taking pred, which are responsible for wound healing and muscle development. I find that even if I sit around and do nothing, if I take DHEA I conserve muscle mass. But I'm still losing weight, which is why I need the gym.

I'm not concerned about ligaments breaking or anything as I don't power lift, but that's a really good caution to remember, thank you. I seem to recall that prednisone hinders collagen production, so that would explain the tendency for more soft tissue injuries!

Either way, I'm going to start at a reduced weight.

The weird thing is that I'm losing most of my mass from my mid-section, like around my waist, while my arms and chest still look relatively muscular. It's giving me a very weird shape.

I am sure it 'll feel good to exercise and do something about it! Take it easy, as I bet you'll feel pretty beat-up the day after the gym.

Usually pred takes mass from the extremities and settles it around the core. You're lucky.

My ribs start showing really fast, then my spine, then my hip bones. I get grotesque looking.

I can understand why you'd think I'm lucky if you have the opposite problem... but it does affect my self-esteem. Not to mention if it gets bad enough I have problems walking.

I can't drink boost because there are too many allergens in it. I'm currently looking for a dairy free protein powder... but a lot of the powders have gums added and I find they make me bleed. Also powders tend to be high in iron which is a big no-no during my flares for some reason.

Thanks for the tips quincy

I work out on prednisone (once I feel good enough to). All of the GIs I've ever said it's fine to exercise during a flare. I've never had a single one tell me I couldn't do cardio. They've all said if I feel good enough to exercise, to go for it. I don't work out when I'm having many symptoms because I don't feel well enough to. I have not noticed feeling more worn out the day after a work-out while on prednisone. If anything, it usually gives me a little bit of extra energy.