The first businesses to be targeted for closure are gyms, which, in my opinion, are an essential business and not a luxury. But I don’t want to make this blog about my stance on which businesses should be opened or closed. I want to talk about the importance of maintaining fitness during a time like this.
Don’t Stop Exercising Just Because You’re at Home
There are many U.S. states where gyms are open, and the gym owners are doing their best to sanitize the equipment and ensure that members keep their “social distance.” But for people living with a disease like multiple sclerosis, going to the gym may still not feel safe. While it’s not known for sure whether people with MS — or even people with MS who take disease-modifying therapies that alter their immune systems — are at higher risk of COVID-19 complications if they get sick, many people simply do not want to take that chance. If that describes you, then the safest place for you is at home. RELATED: A Guide to Living With MS During the COVID-19 Pandemic But you do not want to stop exercising just because you are stuck in your house, apartment, or Mom’s basement. So what do you do? You grab some resistance bands, attach a door anchor or ankle straps, and you get to work! Let me explain what this means.
Why I Use Resistance Bands for Strength Training
Resistance band training, done properly and using specific training methods for MS, is just as effective as using free weights or equipment in a gym. Your muscles do not know whether you are pumping iron or rubber, but they do know if you are training correctly. I have been using resistance-band strength training for many years with my MS clients, and every one of them gets results that are life changing. The way I approach this type of workout is no different from the way I approach a workout in the gym. I implement six different training principles in a cyclical manner that not only challenge the muscles to respond but, I believe, allow the brain to reconnect with those muscles despite, in most instances, many years of disconnect. By jumping into a program like mine early on in an MS diagnosis, I find the body has had less time to let MS take over, and it responds very quickly. But even for those I work with who have had MS for 40 years, the results happen. It will take much more time, which requires much more patience, but the benefits are still evident.
Contraction Training: How and Why
This blog is too short for me to go through all the training methods I use, so I’ll give you just one to think about and try: contraction training. I believe that by holding an exercise in the contracted position of the movement, while under resistance, for 4 to 6 seconds, you give your muscles enough time to send a signal to your brain telling it that this muscle is working. With MS, our brain just doesn’t seem to understand how to connect to our muscles, and our muscles don’t understand what they are supposed to do any longer, so we have to remind both parties. This is my theory, anyway, and the training methods I’ve developed based on that theory have proved over and over again to actually work for building strength in people with MS. Yes, yoga, Pilates, functional training, and many other types of workouts are great for you. Any movement is a good movement for people with MS, but these types of exercises do not “force” the MS body to become as strong and capable as the six methods I use, in my opinion. I’ve been helping other MSers get past their limitations through my training program for almost as long as I have known I had MS myself (more than 14 years). And my experience in fitness as the only MS expert inducted in the National Fitness Hall of Fame, with more than 40 years as a trainer, educator, author, speaker, and gym owner, has given me a history of knowledge in this field. I spent a lot of hard workouts using myself as a guinea pig to find out what really is the best way to conquer MS through fitness. RELATED: Circuit Training to Boost Your Fitness Level When You Have MS
Stay Active, Eat Healthy, and Stay Positive
Let me wrap this up with some parting advice. Whether you use my training methods or any exercise program, you are doing something positive for your body. The most important thing is to do something to keep moving! But I do believe that strength training properly is the best path to be on. In addition to trying resistance bands while the gyms are closed, make sure you’re not using the current situation as an excuse to reach for comfort foods to soothe your frustration. Eating “clean” — that is, eating mostly whole, minimally processed foods — is the only way to go. And, last, let’s not forget to attend to our mental health for as long as this pandemic continues. Create a routine for yourself, stay connected to friends, and reach out for help if you feel depressed or overwhelmed with anxiety. Stay focused on the three keys to fitness — exercise, nutrition, and mindset — and you’ll get through this COVID-19 phase of our MS journey with much less stress and much more productively!
