Is Exercise OK with HIV?

By Sonja White


Overall health is significantly improved with exercise. Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and assist your cardiovascular system to work more efficiently. These are very important while fighting a chronic illness.

These are real issues while managing a chronic illness. Starting an exercise program while ill demands the sign off from a physician for your own safety. This information will help you determine where to start your routine. Exercise should be a safety first activity, and this is particularly true for those with immune system diseases.

Unfortunately, we cannot avoid all injuries. When we exercise with good safety practices, we avoid many injuries. Below are some tips that should protect you while exercising, but nothing can replace the importance of listening to your body.

While it is helpful to have guidelines about safety and exercise, nothing can replace knowing your body and hearing its warnings. There is a very crucial difference between injury pain and the natural strain of an exercise. Most people will have a few aches and pains when they work out, but they also have a sense of healthiness. A pulled muscle generates pain that could in no way be interpreted as healthy or fit. It requires immediate attention.

You will want to do this without taking away from the rewards of your workout. Any type of a snap, pull, or painful sensation is a warning that you should stop. If the pain continues, then see your physician. Pay attention to what your body is saying to you.

Cross training is frequently seen as a way to make exercise more effective and safe. It will safeguard muscle groups from being overexerted if practiced correctly. Cross training is simply varying the sorts of exercises done from one session to another. If you work the lower body on Monday, then exercise the upper body or core on Wednesday.

Regular exercise is the desired outcome. Even if the exercise is not as intense as you would like it to be. The greatest benefits come from a steady string of regular work outs. You will be more susceptible to injury if you work out intensely one or two times a week and then relax the rest of the week.

It is important to your muscles recovery time, but it is also important to give them consistent exercise. It may seem that regular exercise is outside of your ability. This is particularly true for those dealing with chronic illness. Again it is not the intensity, but the consistency that reaps benefits.

It would be foolish to race a motorcycle without a helmet. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to head out for skiing without the proper protective gear to keep you from getting frost bite. If you were sailing you should have a life jacket. Exercise is not a good place for high risk behavior. When a chronic illness is involved it is downright silly to ignore safety practices.

When a chronic illness is involved it is downright silly to ignore safety practices. As we discuss suggestions for your safety during exercise, please remember that your body is the pilot. You will know more than any list of rules if anything has gone wrong. Do not hesitate to contact your physician if something just doesn't feel right. Give your body an chance to build strength and energy while staying safe. Enjoy your next session whether it is at the gym, outside, or in the living room.




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