How do you balance pushing yourself to exercise more vs ending up overdoing it?

Hi . Pacing and finding the activity balance is one of the hardest things to manage for many in the community. Heck, my wife, Kelly Mack (a contributor here), was diagnosed at age two, 45 years ago and can still struggle with this. Our patient leaders have written a number of articles on dealing with the "activity hangover," such as here: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/activity-hangover-recovery and here: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/activity-hangover.


When it comes to managing exercise, I want to share with you this article from our patient leader on the S.T.O.P. method: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/new-year-resolutions-exercise. Note: you may also want to check out the extensive conversation in the comments section. In addition, Monica wrote about pacing here: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/learn-pacing. I hope this information is helpful. One common theme, unfortunately, is of a lot of trial and error. In fact, what worked one time may not the next - it tends to be the nature of RA. That said, it will get easier to get close, to learn some limits, and to manage the recovery. Hopefully others will chime in on what has helped them. Wishing you the best and know that people here understand. Richard (Team Member)

oh, wow, do i ever wish i had some wisdom about exercising and not overdoing it! my chronic illness journey began with a recurring form of meningitis 40 years ago. by the time rheumatoid arthritis struck 20 years later, i was already the proud owner (lol) of eight chronic illnesses. some days are better than others, and i exercise. however i have never been able to find the balance. the more i think about this, the more i feel that at least in my case, i think balance is impossible. the ups and downs of my illnesses come whether or not i make every effort not to overdo exercise or activity. i accept that and do the best i can with what i have. this information may be completely worthless to anyone else, but thanks so much for making me think about this subject, and for making me realize how my body works ... or doesn't work. by the way ... making every effort to eat properly is pretty darn important, too!

thank you, richard faust. i greatly appreciate your kind words, and thank you for your thoughtful posts. you helped me understand that my 40 years of chronic illnesses have given me insight into the fact that our individual struggles can help others in their fights.

Thank you Undone. I struggle with this myself. I actually overdid it on the weekend and I’m down for two days now so I know what you’re going through. I find I can walk a half a mile with my dog in the morning and that’s about it until the evening maybe 20 minutes it’s not a lot but it’s something so it gets me moving. Take care.