Exercise

Unlike stretching, exercise is almost one of those “dammed if you do & dammed if you don’t” type of activities. Nothing else demands such a careful negotiation between “enough” and “too much.”

An average person might be able to sit on their couch and eat potato chips every weeknight, then go for a five-mile hike on the weekend. If fibromyalgia becomes a part of their life, they won’t continue to get away with that.

The keys to good exercise are consistency & slow progression. Start where you are. If you haven’t walked in months, go a quarter or half mile. Work to go greater distances gradually. Do it every day, or almost every day.

Yeah, you've heard it all before from people who have never even heard of fibromyalgia. True, but the importance of this advice is magnified for you if you are challenged by fibromyalgia.

My two favorite kinds of exercise are walking and Pilates. Walking is something everybody does. It doesn’t take any instruction or special equipment. You just do it. Pilates gives me a cardiovascular workout, strength training, and further stretching all at the same. But I still stretch beforehand.

Exercise will build you up and make you stronger. You won’t become tired as quickly, and you will have less pain. Just be sure to keep your intensity and duration between the extremes.