Gym, Excersize.
I recently joined a gym to gain some muscle and fitness.
Iam trying to avoid any excersizes that use the core/ stomach/ pelvic area.
I saw a PT and he told me to use Seated row machine, Seated leg press and Vertical chest machine.
So far it has been going well if I use weights lighter than he suggested as was abit heavy.
I do yoga swimming and Thai chi aswell.
I was told by others Pilaties isn't good for our core pain.
Just wondering what others do at gym to avoid pain but gain so e strength and muscle tone.
One thing that worked for me was to do yoga, starting very gently and working up to more difficult poses or doing poses without supports eventually. I was using videos online to choose which poses I wanted to do. ~Katrina, Endometriosis.net Advocate
Hi there! Thank you for being a part of this community and for your question. Yoga and swimming are 2 of my favorite things. I also really love walking on the treadmill. I mix between a slow/fast speed. And many times, it is one of the only things that helps me with my pain. Like Katrina, I also do many yoga poses and stretches - which you can find on YouTube. I have a row machine but haven't yet to use it. I really want to start though. You can also carry very light weights when you walk. I use no heavier than 5 pounds- Amazon has hand held ones you can buy that are soft. Hoping some of this was helpful for you.
How have you been feeling lately? -Kimberli (team member)
Great questions! I actually do a lot of planks and other core exercises that aren't crunches. That helps lessen some of my back and hip pain. I also like to do less impact, so I do lots of push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and longer walks. I've also started going to an indoor rock climbing gym, which doesn't hurt my hips and back at all. I love it! - Keri (team member) I'm very active and always have been but it's been a painful story since I developed endo. I am still active but unfortunately always with the proviso that it's going to probably going to kick up my endo regularly, no matter what I do. All I can say is avoid crunches and ease into anything that engages any stomach/middle parts - especially if you have had an exercise break, you'll be unwise to just launch back in again, even if it has just been two weeks. I personally find that while I love running- I used to run a few 10ks a week but then have to pee halfway through in the bushes and then bleed after and have stomach cramps so never fun - it tightens up my pelvic floor too much which is overly tight with all the endo and my usual stress, so have swapped it for swimming. Sadly, I have a tendency to get an inflamed urethra too so I have strained that while swimming way too energetically in the last week or two, despite swimming daily and being used to it. From experience then, I'd recommend swimming, walking, biking, cross trainers and steppers for cardio, basically any machines that take the impact away, you can get away with higher impact like running if you aren't currently having a flare up, but limit it to 20 or 30 mins. I used to also do weights very seriously but find that they engage my core too much and give me endo flare-ups so now I do lower weights than I did, and I personally find you need to be careful with lateral pulldowns and dead lifts because for me they usually cause spotting, but you can do them if you go carefully. All leg exercises are definitely your friend, do lots of those! Pilates has been excruciating for me in the past when doing anything that works on the stomach muscles, but I highly recommend doing it while avoiding anything crunchy. I usually do pelvic floor relaxation exercises regularly, and I highly, highly recommend these for getting rid of a lot of the stiffness you get from being in pain but that you're not always aware of. I get a very tight pelvic floor so the relaxation exercises are well worth it. I do always think the exercise is worth it, it lifts your mood and I think personally something like a daily swim is magic for the way it gently works your whole body, including your stomach, without usually causing any kind of flare-up. So my advice is, do it moderately, scale up to more exertion and if you get any kind of slight flare-up, cool the intensity down a bit or swap to something else for a bit.
we just wanted to thank you so much for sharing your experience with the community and being here to help our community members with their questions. You certainly are very active! I am so sorry a lot of it causes you pain though. I am actually the same way. I have been active my entire life, with sports, etc. Lately, it seems the only thing I can really handle is walking. Running, forget it! Any time of machines at the gym with weights, forget it! An endo specialist once told me though, that intense work outs like that are not good for women in general. It messes with the hormones in a big way. Which for us dealing with endometriosis, is not something we need! It of course all made sense and sounded way better when he explained it haha. But I do find swimming to be relaxing as well, as long as I don't go too crazy! I used to love doing crunches and sometimes I still do them but I think it's giving me more bloat rather than abs. Ugh! So frustrating. Pilates, without anything crunchy, yes! And yoga too! Again, thank you so much for sharing with us. We hope you are having a pain free week! -Kimberli (team member)
