bodybuilding with MS?
Hey everyone, does anyone lift?
I actually started lifting before my diagnosis but after I started having symptoms, in my attempt to be healthier to see if things got better on their own (turns out going to the gym is good to have better balance, but you will still pee yourself at night on occasion haha).
I realized, especially after my last relapse, that my recovery was much longer than it used to be. it now takes me 3-4 days to recover from a good workout (by good I mean whole body, 1hour-ish, not lifting to failure, but trying to get close enough that I push myself).
I also have a very weak lower back due to my MS, and cannot lift heavy (for examples, one of my heaviest lifts now is like 40kg back squats, but more often than not I do more reps with less weight, otherwise there is a high risk I get hurt - I used to back squat 90kg before my last relapse).
Does anyone have experience with this? tips and tricks do handle this sort of thing? i enjoy the gym and would like not to lose this to the disease. Plus I'm the kind of person that is either building/maintaining some muscle or getting fat.
I also realize this is a fairly privileged position, as I can use my legs and do most everything as long as the charge is low.
Do let me know what you think :)
Hello! I am newly diagnosed (just last month) but I think I may have had MS most of my adult life. I've lifted at the gym on and off for many years, but have been consistent for the past three years. It has helped me lose fat, build muscle and get stronger 💪🏽 there are some things I just cannot do, such as go heavy on the RDLs because my lower back hurts so much, but I just select a different exercise for that muscle group (e.g. laying hamstring curl is too painful - I get a shock like pain down my legs - to a seated hamstring curl instead). I have a four way split (4 workouts) do I'm only training a specific body part once a week. I find this helps with recovery.
Lifted all my life & continue to, since diagnosis January 23. I believe lifting naturally increases testosterone, which may help with ms.