How I Exercise with Autoimmune Disease

There was a time that I felt like working out was out of the question for me, but that was before I learned How to Exercise with Autoimmune Disease.

As a person who manages her autoimmunity and other chronic conditions with diet and lifestyle factors, for a long time I simply did not fit exercise into my routine. Not because I was lazy or just “didn’t wanna” (okay, so sometimes that was the reason!). But mainly in the beginning of my AI journey I skipped out on movement because it always made me feel even worse afterward!

Then I came to understand that I was doing it the old way – the too intense way. (Hello, Richard Simmons?) So when I simply adjusted my approach and mindset to exercise, that is when the magic happened. I finally found my “spot” with movement for my autoimmunity, and I want to share with you today what worked for me so I could finally shake my groove-thang without getting even sicker after the fact.

Challenges Versus Goals

If you’ve got an autoimmune disease like me (I have Hashimoto’s and suspected Celiac) then you’re well aware of the difficulties and frustrations that come from trying to do physical activities.

Whether you are going through a flare up or not, exercise may seem more challenging to you now versus before you started to become chronically ill.

Even though physical activities can feel like a burden to some people and like a joyful experience for others – it doesn’t have to be difficult, intensely strenuous, or uncomfortable, even! Even a little bit of daily, gentle exercise goes a long way to improving the quality of life of someone with autoimmunity. Movement provides long-time benefits that can strengthen your body and improve the chances of aging well over aging into sickness.

While every person is different, the attainment of your future goals (strength, endurance, weight loss, better sleep, etc) can offset the temporary struggles you face today via moving properly with autoimmunity.

ALWAYS speak to your trusted healthcare professional before starting or adjusting a workout routine.

Setting a Pace and Taking Notes

One thing that it’s very important to note is that at no time are you operating on anyone else’s schedule!

Autoimmune diseases make it difficult on some days, so you have to be flexible in what your expectations of yourself will be.

One of the best ways to get started moving again is to start out at a lower workout level than you used to do. Then, as you become stronger, you can slowly increase the intensity as your body allows.

Setting your own pace gives you time to adjust to your workout. As your body becomes used to each level, you may be able to bump it up to a higher level every week or so. When you notice that your stamina and strength have increased, then you may want to try the next level up in intensity.

Take notes in a journal of how you feel mentally and physically before, during, and after each workout and after each intensity increase. This will help you look back and be the judge of whether this is working for you or against you, and what you may need to adjust.

Paying Attention to Signs

When you begin your exercise program, be sure to pay attention to every detail that you experienced during your workout.

If you’re feeling too sick, then it probably would not be a good idea to do a rigorous routine. When you’re under the weather or suffering a flare up, this may be a better time to simply do some stretching or a gentle, easy walk outside, or simply R-E-S-T instead!

Also, if your body is experiencing extreme pain, this could be a sign that certain parts of your body are sustaining damage. This could be caused by inflammation that’s taking place in joints and muscle tissues, or you may have actually injured yourself and need medical attention.

Any time that you experience sharp pain or severe exhaustion is a sign from your body that you are doing way too much for your current fitness level and/or autoimmunity. If this happens, be sure to stop the exercise in question, and then seek medical attention if necessary.

Check out this post for Paleo Natural Pain Remedies.

I Watch My Heart Rate

One way that I keep an easy eye on my workouts and ensure that they are not too overwhelming for my thyroid disease – heart rate.

I don’t wear a heart rate monitor myself (you certainly could though!). But I do listen to my body and keep in mind to not let my heart rate get too high, similar to when I was pregnant.

I’ve found this to be a good rule of thumb to determine how intensely I should be going at my workout that day. If my heart starts to thud too hard, I know that I need to take the level down a notch!

If I don’t listen to it and keep pushing through the workout at the same high level, then I pay for it dearly. Nine times out of 10 I have found myself super sick the next day, unable to sleep well because my adrenals have been exhausted, and the flare up cycle starts all over again.

This sets me back several days to even a couple of weeks, and I am unable to exercise during that time at all. If I simply listen to my heartbeat and taken it down a notch when it tells me, “Hey girl – slow it down, huh?” then I would have rebounded immediately and been able to work out the next day or day after.

Warming Up and Cooling Down

This exercise advice from the 80’s never goes out of style! Both warming up and cooling down can help me prevent injury, muscle cramps, and post-workout fatigue.

Before any sort of exercise, it’s always good to make sure that you spend some time doing warm-ups. Stretching, light walking, a little 5 minute slow dance…all are great ways to warm up the body!

This prepares you for the activity that you’re about to do, and lessens the chances of sustaining some type of injury.

When you reach the end of your exercise, it’s also important to observe a cool down time. This often involves doing some sort of low impact, low-stress workout that is very light and easy to do. This makes it less jarring for your body as it goes back to a resting state.

Low Impact Exercise May Be Best

Experts agree that for those with autoimmunity, low impact workouts may be the way to go for sustainable movement!

According to Mark Sisson, in fact, intense cardio may even be overrated and even worse for us humans in general. (That’s great news to me, because I despise cardio anyway, haha!)

Low impact exercises can be less damaging to your joints, especially your knees, ankles, neck and back. You may also experience less muscle fatigue and have lower chances of injury when you take your movement intensity down a notch.

Some great low-impact workouts that can be done at low speeds and may be a better choice for those with autoimmunity include:

• Pilates


• Walking


• Yoga (also great for thyroid health!)


• Strength Training


• Golfing


• Swimming


• Dancing


• Cycling


• Rollerblading / Roller Skating


• Elliptical


• Rowing


• Kayaking


• Tai Chi


• Rock Climbing


• LIIT (low intensity interval training)

This is the mini elliptical / stepper that I use at home! I love that it folds and fits right under my office cabinet. A bonus is that it is so quiet!

I use it first thing in the morning when my motivation is highest with my earbuds in and I never wake up my family with my movement. (Morning time is MOMMA’s ALONE TIME!)

It’s gentle on my sensitive knees (hello, chondromalacia patella) and joints. Though it still gives me a great full body workout in about 10 to 15 minutes where I set the pace.

This is How I Exercise with Autoimmune Disease. How do you get movement in?

I’d love to hear what you’ve found works best for you – or if you are just getting started again with fitness and you’d like to tell me how you’re doing.

Let me know in the comments!