The best bet is to start working with a personal trainer<\/a> who\u2019s trained clients with arthritis. That way you get to work with a professional who knows the appropriate training style and protocol to use.<\/p>\n Someone who knows to avoid exercises that put more stress on your joints. And instead provide exercises to improve your range of motion, flexibility, and of course, overall strength \u2014 all in a comfortable and safe way.<\/p>\n Then after several months of one-on-one training, you\u2019ll have the knowledge and skills to confidently work out on your own, or continue training with the professional, if that\u2019s what you prefer.<\/p>\n Pick a time of the day where your pain level is at its lowest. Exercising while in pain, stiff, or feeling inflamed will make the exercise uncomfortable, and that\u2019s exactly what we don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n Always warm up your body before an exercise. With arthritis, it’s better to have a longer warm-up time, so plan on setting aside 10 minutes or so. After this, your joints will feel lubricated and will make the exercises more enjoyable.<\/p>\n If you decide to workout at home, rather than with a personal trainer or physical therapist, then you\u2019ll need to purchase some dumbbells or resistance bands if you don\u2019t already have them.<\/p>\n Dumbbells and bands are more ideal than a barbell because they\u2019re easier and safer to use. Safer in the sense that you could have an imbalance in joint strength and that would make it more difficult to use a barbell. Whereas, with dumbbells or bands, you can work your left or right sides individually and gradually increase your strength over time.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s been many months or years since you exercised, then ease back into it gently and slowly. Pushing yourself too hard too soon will only overload and burden your muscles, which can increase joint pain.<\/p>\n This means starting with low weights as we just mentioned. It\u2019s better to do more repetitions than to start off using heavy weights and only doing a few reps. Also, try to do a little bit every day. Even if that means going for a walk, doing some light stretching, or a few bicep curls. Being active every day will help decrease arthritis-related pain.<\/p>\n Furthermore, when you do work with a professional trainer or physical therapist<\/a> they\u2019ll teach you good form. And this is not only fundamental to effective exercise, but also for injury prevention.<\/p>\n Hydration keeps your body healthy, and it helps to lubricate the joints. As you know, this is essential for minimizing pain from arthritis. Plus, the more you exercise and sweat, the bigger the need for hydration becomes.<\/p>\n As the owner of Results Performance Training in Williamsburg, Virginia, Detric Smith helps people achieve their fitness goals through customized training and action-based coaching. Over the last two decades, Detric\u2019s made it his mission to study the habits, strategies, and techniques of personal trainers and coaches who are successful and, most importantly, happy. Also, during this time he\u2019s authored a book, mentored trainers through multiple organizations, and his own business. Finally, Detric\u2019s written for well-respected fitness websites, magazines, and journals. Find out more about Detric at: resultsperformancetraining.com<\/a> and\u00a0 www.detricsmith.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n References<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you have arthritis but want to improve your current strength levels, there are smart strategies to get you there. In this article, we\u2019ll discuss them and provide some basic steps to follow. With a solid foundation in place, you\u2019ll be feeling stronger in no time. Seek out a certified & trained professional The best bet is to start working with a personal trainer who\u2019s trained clients with arthritis. That way you get to work with a professional who knows the appropriate training style and protocol to use. Someone who knows to avoid exercises that put more stress on your joints. And instead provide exercises to improve your range of motion, flexibility, and of course, overall strength \u2014 all in a comfortable and safe way. Then after several months of one-on-one training, you\u2019ll have the knowledge and skills to confidently work out on your own, or continue training with the professional, if that\u2019s what you prefer. Choose an ideal workout time Pick a time of the day where your pain level is at its lowest. Exercising while in pain, stiff, or feeling inflamed will make the exercise uncomfortable, and that\u2019s exactly what we don\u2019t want. Warm-up before exercising Always warm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":355,"featured_media":29426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[68,198],"class_list":["post-29424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-arthritis","tag-fitness-professionals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/senior-man-and-trainer-treadmill.jpg\")
<\/p>\nChoose an ideal workout time<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Warm-up before exercising<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Choose the right equipment and weights<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Start out slow & use good form<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Stay hydrated<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\n