Before develop a chronic illnessI rarely thought of health and fitness at all. I proudly wrote “None” during medical history, took yoga courses for fun, met the gym sporadically in the summer and danced in a studio throughout the year. Fitness felt optional because my health at that time was a given – a luxury that I can hardly understand now.
I got Covid in December 2020 and got my first ischemic stroke at 21 years old just three months later. In a short time, I learned that my inner carotis arteries had become critically stenosed (that is, very little), and I had developed a problematic pseudotumor behind my right eye (which was eventually removed in 2024). I had a long way in front of me, but in the meantime, all the stability that I had become accustomed to suddenly and irrevocably lost.
I spent several months in and out of hospital beds and leaned on hospital staff to make sure I could still go independently. “You know they will make you blow up, right?” A doctor asked me once during my first hospital stay, Refers to the corticosteroids I had just been prescribed. She told me that I should start training as soon as possible to get before the side effects. In retrospect, I think I had bigger fish to fry just days after stroke. Still, when I finally returned home, I realized that even small workouts – like climbing the stairs – felt like a struggle. My return to fitness came even by necessity (plus A little health test).
Of course, I was not sure enough to go to the gym at first. I had A bad case of gymnasticsAnd worried about encountering people I may feel when I feel at its lowest. My body had changed, my energy was almost non -existent, and I didn’t know what I was doing to begin with. So I started slowly. As soon as I was cleared to do so, I went around my neighborhood and checked in intermittently with my body via a pulse oximeter that my mom bought at CVS Mid-Pandemic.
I liked my walks, but I got a little bored (even with My favorite training playlists). When I finally felt comfortable, I followed my mom to the gym, chose the simplest elliptical I could find and challenge myself to work up a sweat. I then found one or two machines that I didn’t feel too worried about trying in public, and it became my gymnastics. Was it the most effective? Almost certainly not. But it made it possible for me to keep me consistent – a big question when you are chronically ill.
Some fitfluencers Must have looked at my comfort gym and cheated. But within a few months I started to get strength, get my body back and easier to go through my day – all huge profits for me. In the process for get back to fitnessI also realized that if I didn’t feel it, I didn’t have to push myself to a flare up. I could listen to my body and still show up for it, whether it meant skipping a certain exercise, switching to an exercise with a lower effect, like yoga, or just taking a rest day. Over time, I also learned to be ok with changes, give myself permission to say no and do what felt best for my own body that day. Spoiler: I still got the results I wanted.
“Sorry, can’t come to the gym today! My body decided to attack itself again.”
As I continued to experiment with fitness, I also discovered what didn’t work for me. It included strict schedules, unforgiving goals and intensive programming. With chronic illness, hardships occur all the time, which meant that I could not always connect myself to a stiff training program or a year-long Pilates membership (as much as I would have liked).
The same logic is applied to training buddies. “Sorry, can’t come to the gym today! My body decided to attack itself again.” It felt easier to just train alone. Until today, there are people who do not understand my routine, or why I am so resistant to exercises with higher impact that I know my body will hate. But all I can say is that this is what has worked for me, and I really like it.
It is important to note that there are some chronic diseases that are exacerbated by exercise (MIG/CFS for example). The healthcare system also has a poor habit of turning to exercise as a catch solution for chronic illness. My fitness trip helped improve the quality of my life, but it did not cure my chronic illness, and it will not. Yet I am grateful for what it have done.
Becoming chronically ill changed everything – my stability, my career path, my mental health – but my relationship with fitness was one of the things that developed for the better. I can’t speak for the whole community, but if you are dealing with a chronic illness, and your fitness routine looks a little different today, I’ve been there too, and I think you are doing fantastic.
Chandler Plante (She/her) is the assistant health and fitness editor for PS. She has over four years of experience in professional journalism, who previously worked as an editorial assistant for the magazine People and contributes to Ladygunn, Millie and Bustle Digital Group.