When it comes to exercise and MS, how do you know when to push and when to rest? It's confusing because sometimes that little extra push that got you out the door for the walk helped you to feel so much better. But then the next day, it was too much and it took days to recover. You want to manage MS to prevent it from progressing. But when it's so unpredictable, it makes it hard to create a consistent plan. So let's talk about how to navigate around this. And my friend, if you want to be more consistent with the healthy habits that get results, Download a free copy of My Wellness Tracker at Alenebrennan.com/tracker. Now onto today's episode. There are 1 million people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the US. So that makes you one in a million. And you have a special purpose in this world that no diagnosis can take away from you. So if you are ready to reclaim your body, mind, and life from multiple sclerosis,

I have to admit, I've always enjoyed physical activity and even working out. I know it kind of sounds corny, but I do. I started gymnastics as a kid and I loved the floor routines, the uneven bars. I'll take a pass on the balance beam. That was never my thing. But the rest of it, like It just, I felt like something in me lit up when I got that feeling of moving my body and getting stronger and just challenging my body in a different way. It was fun. And I loved watching it grow stronger. Again, like even as a kid. Then I cheered for eight years. I was a catcher in softball. And in high school, I was on the track team and lacrosse team. Then Billy Blanks entered my world. O-M-G.

I think I was the first person to sign up for his monthly subscription of those VHS videos that were sent directly to your home. I mean, was he not the original Netflix? Come on now. I loved my Billy Blanks workouts. Then when I got into my twenties, I started running 5Ks and then I completed my first sprint triathlon in my thirties. Actually, let me correct that. My first and only sprint triathlon. I do not see another one in my future. I'm happy that I checked that box. I completed a triathlon, even though it was a mini one, I did it. And I even started learning how to box. Like that was fun. Not from a competitive standpoint, but just learning how to train in the gym with it,

And then I started taking yoga more seriously. I even became a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor. So I'm sure like, even as I'm saying this, like I can hear myself getting excited over it. So physical activity, it's just, it's always been a part of my life. And to a certain extent, it's always kind of felt like part of my identity. So that's why when I was sitting in the doctor's office, hearing the words, you have multiple sclerosis, one of my first thoughts that came to mind was, what's going to happen to my body? And am I still going to be able to work out? There were a lot of other things on my mind too, but that 100% crossed my mind in that appointment, because that's something that brought me joy. That's something that felt like part of who I am.

Your life. And it can create so much confusion and doubt when it comes to exercise and MS. It's that fatigue that is so unpredictable, that can really, again, it just creates doubt and confusion as you're trying to figure out what types of exercise you should be doing, how much you should be doing, how frequently you should be doing it. Now, the old school thinking-We know so much more now about MS and about exercise and about the body's ability to create and produce energy. So we're learning from the ever-evolving science and research. But I do like this approach much better because it gives me that freedom to continue a passion that I have had. But let's be honest, that may be what the research says, but what's our body saying? It's not always clear-cut messages. It can be very confusing. As I said, both theories that those doctors were saying could be true. The old-school way of thinking, like, yeah, it does feel like I have limited energy. So I don't want to waste, so to speak, the little energy that I have on exercising when I still, I have things that I need to do for my job or for my family or whatever it is.

And that's frustrating and discouraging. The same workout on two different days can yield two completely different outcomes. Welcome to the world of unpredictability with MS, right? The topic for this episode was actually prompted from a discussion that we were having in my online course that I ran back in the fall. And we were in the lifestyle module, and it was all about sleep and stress and exercise.

And these are the same people who are also finding that they struggle on days when they do work out to kind of have that gauge or pump the brakes so that they don't go too far and completely drain their energy for several days to come. If nothing else, I think it was really validating to get in a community like that where they were sharing their experiences, and for the first time they were connecting with people who get it. Like, that's a really hard thing to have a conversation about with somebody who doesn't have MS because they will think that they are going through the same thing as well. They think that, yeah, you know, oh my gosh, I was exhausted after that workout or oh my goodness, That may be true. We're not doubting that, but that's not what we're talking about when we're talking about living with MS. It's very different. It's very different. So I could see that like sense of relief as they were all talking and finding their people finally of people who get it and could really relate and understand to the everyday experiences that they have. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, if you're listening to this podcast right now,

on the best types of exercise for MS. The ideal exercise program when you're living with multiple sclerosis should include stretching, balance training, strength training, and aerobic or cardio exercise. Now, certainly not all at once. That's a lot, but those are the four areas that are really ideal to include in a well-balanced exercise program. Stretching, balancing, strength training, and some type of cardio or aerobic activity. Now, I'm going to talk about the tolerance for each of them in a moment, but let's do a quick rundown on each of these types of exercises first. Stretching. Now, did you know, I learned this one statistic that I'm about to share with you when I first

Nearly everyone with MS develops shortened muscles, especially in the calves, hamstrings, and glutes. Let me show that again. Nearly everyone with MS develops shortened muscles, especially in the calves, hamstrings, and glutes. I read that in Dr. Walz's book and almost immediately thought, well, that stinks because the back of my legs have always been tight. I was a runner, so of course my hamstrings were tight.

Yoga as well? I don't know. My point here is stretching is really important because our muscles are more prone to shortening. And in doing so, it can create an imbalance in the body. Now, stretching has a lot of benefits to it that are important to know as well. I love hearing the benefits because that gives me like a little boost of inspiration and motivation. But some of the benefits for stretching include improved digestion. We might not think of that association.

Hello, there's a nice benefit. You're getting to stretch your muscles, but you're also helping to alleviate constipation, another struggle that many of us in the MS community deal with. Stretching can also help to reduce everyday injuries. These are the things that we don't always like think about as exercise, but this is something that I learned when I was in the personal training world, that the importance of functional training. So you can go to a gym and you can do like bicep curls and tricep dips and all kind of like the stationary movements of like just holding a dumbbell and moving it back and forth.

happen better and with less injury when you have stretching incorporated into your overall exercise routine. And I actually learned in a previous appointment with my neurologist, I'm always talking with her about different things. I love picking her brain because she does a lot of research. So I always love to ask some of the more like practical things that really helped me on a

might be one that you really enjoy. That was one of the classes I loved to not only take, but I loved to teach as well. So that's one where you're holding the poses for longer periods of time. And of course, a daily practice is what is going to create lasting results. So stretching is definitely important because MS makes us more prone to shorten muscles. So finding ways to lengthen out those muscles,

to further decrease our ability to sense where we are in space. This isn't ideal when you're talking about staying upright on your two feet. But one of the things that you can do to help to slow this decline is focusing on balance training. Now, if you've been in any of my live training or coaching programs before, you may have heard me guide you through a balance exercise that I previously taught a lot in my yoga classes.

Because that feels comfy. So let's take it a moment to do that. But then I want you to bring your attention to your feet. And I want you to intentionally shift your weight over to your right foot. So you're standing on both feet, but you're just shifting your weight over into your right foot, and then shift your weight back over into your left foot. And just do this a couple times, alternating back and forth. So you're shifting the weight to your right foot and then back to your left. Now, if you have balance issues, make sure that you're standing by something that can support you. So maybe that's leaving a hand on the wall or you have a hand on a countertop or the back of a chair. But just do this a couple times and then find the kind of happy medium between your left foot and your right foot. What feels balanced between your left and your right? So you're putting equal amounts of pressure.

So you're kind of shifting the weight to the back of your feet on your heels. And then shifting the weight to the front of your feet, the ball of your feet. Just keep going back and forth here. Do that a couple of times and then same concept, find the balance between the two. And ideally, as you're doing this, you're finding that balanced point, not only between your left and your right foot, but from holding your weight in the front or the back of your feet. And as you're standing here, does this feel any different than how you typically stand on a day-to-day basis? Because what I'm willing to bet, and I experienced firsthand, as I have heard from so many people who have done this practice before, they don't realize until they take this intentional practice, how much they're holding their weight in one foot or another, or how much they're holding their weight in the heels of the feet versus the balls of your feet. So this exercise here can just help you to create more balance between the left and the

balanced, you're more likely to fall. This is just a super simple practice that you can do. I think that this is one that's so nice to incorporate into something that you're already doing throughout your day. Because let's be honest, this isn't the most riveting exercise to do. You're not going to be the most motivated to do this when you jump out of bed in the morning. But can you do this when you're standing in line at the grocery store? Put your hands on the shopping cart and just do this back and forth. It's not a big movement, so nobody even notices that you're doing it around you.

But again, especially from a yoga perspective, you can take this up to so many different levels. Now let's talk about strength training. Declining strength is a primary factor for falls, injuries, and loss of mobility. Falls, injuries, and loss of mobility. I don't want any of them. So, strength training looks real appealing to me. And let's look at some of these benefits here. It helps to increase bone density and strength, which further helps to reduce risks of falls and fractures. It improves balance, posture, coordination. It strengthens muscles around your joints.

Bodyweight can be strength training. You can go up against a wall and start with wall pushups, or you can start with doing five squats as you're brushing your teeth. Again, I try to incorporate some of these things into everyday life because it just makes it easier. I personally have come to love strength training. I love it because it doesn't feel like it taxes my body in the same way that, like, a cardio workout would, but I love feeling my muscles getting

swimming, biking, dancing. Like, there's so many ways to just get your heart rate up a little bit. It doesn't have to be a full-on sweat. Just can you get your heart rate up a little bit more than what it is when you're sedentary? And in doing so, you can boost energy by stimulating mitochondrial growth. Those are the powerhouses of our cells. They are like the little batteries in our cells. So this is where the concept comes that you need to spend a little energy to make some energy. By doing some cardiovascular workout, you can stimulate mitochondrial growth.

Personally, I used to work out five days a week, even after my MS diagnosis, and that felt fine for me. They weren't as intense as my workouts were pre-MS, but I still had a pretty good routine going. But the reality is this past fall, I went through a really intense season in my life and I had to scale it back. I had to recognize that my body did not have the same

the time, but I definitely knew something was wrong with my body because I was in my mid thirties. And the only thing I could do was get out of bed and do child's pose on the floor. I'd go down for breakfast afterwards and go right back to bed. So child's pose was my exercise during that time. One child's pose, just sitting on the floor. And then of course I added on a few more yoga poses. And then I built myself up to go for a short walk. And then I went for a longer

She's a pretty active person. She'll go for two and a half mile walks with her granddaughters and go for Pilates and do Zumba. Like I consider that really active. It's a lot, but she started going through a time where she wasn't getting consistent results from them. Meaning that some days she felt great, but other days she was completely drained. So I encouraged her to start creating checkpoints in her workouts. There's three of them. First, how do you feel during the workout?

Your tolerance for exercise, such as sleep and food and mood and stress and weather and like all of the things. So here we may be doing a consistent workout routine, but if sleep is all out of whack and inconsistent, that's going to give us an inconsistent experience in exercise that really doesn't have anything to do with exercise. It more has to do with

so much more satisfying if I can do some level of exercise and still have energy for the remainder of the day, and then feel good to do something again the next day. I feel so much better when I feel like I exercised and I maintain that energy and I can go back to do something again the next day versus pushing myself beyond my limit in my first workout and then burning myself out for the next week. That's not a success to me.

rested or recovered the next day, then that means I did too much that day. And I want to take a look. Was that exercise too intense or was it an exercise after a poor night's sleep? Like what are all of the factors? And if I can pinpoint it to something, great. If I can't, okay, no big deal. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to MS, but next time I'm just going to scale it back

hour of PT, it's just too much. So they get discouraged from going to the very thing that can help them because they can't do the full hour. Talk to your physical therapist, see if they can cut it down to 30 minute sessions or whatever you can do safely and still feel like you're getting some benefit from it, but you're also recovering from it well too. My main point here is exercise is important. It's not something to ignore, but we can't

just start off with a full hour when we are starting, we want to understand what is our starting point? What does that starting point look like for you? It's going to be different for each person, and it's even going to be different for the same person at different seasons of life and healing. So always do that daily check-in. How is your health? How is your energy? And then do those checkpoints throughout as well. How are you feeling during the workout? How are you feeling afterwards? And then how are you recovering the next day?

Well, my friend, we've reached the end of this episode. Pick one lesson from today's discussion and put it into action now. It's time to reclaim your body, mind and life from multiple sclerosis. And for more resources, events and programs, head over to AleneBrennan.com. See you on the next episode of my MS Podcast.