Exercising in the way my hypermobile body needs

Learning to exercise in a way that works for my body - with it's hypermobility and autonomic dysfunction - has been life changing.

A key part of this has been to adjust what I do according to my symptom levels - especially fatigue and coordination levels.

In practice this means:

• Before doing any exercise, testing out some familiar movements and seeing how they feel. I usually do a bridge or two for this - and if it feels really wobbly and hard to control when it should be easy, that's my warning that my body isn't ready/capable of that right now. If they feel strong, I'm good to go - and if I can get a few good days in a row I make progress. (One of my main unstable areas that muscles have to compensate for is my pelvis - hence my test movement is one that gently tests/activates that area)

• Adjusting my expectations around known fluctuations (e.g. premenstrual = much less coordinated = more lying down/non weight bearing, and slower, and lower resistance exercises)

• Being unafraid to take days off when needed, where instead of the ideal routine, I might just do a few really gentle, slow, low resistance movements to ease any muscle ache.

• Adjusting what position I do exercises in as needed - on a PoTSy day, or a hot day, focusing on lying of sitting versions of exercises rather than standing versions.

• Proper exercise sessions when I can do them are good, but doing little and often is also good. A couple of whole body movements in breaks between laptop work really helps my PoTS as well as strengthening my joints and easing stiffness and pain, but is MUCH more manageable when my fatigue is moderate.

• Exercising whenever works for me - I'm usually a morning person, so getting up and doing some exercise first thing is good. Except when it isn't! Sometimes I get up and my PoTS symptoms are severe - then eating and hydrating, and going back to bed for an hour or two is a much better option. Often when I do this, I can exercise later when my symptoms have calmed down. I do best with a routine for the day - then I'm less likely to forget to exercise - but can't always do the same routine, so I've learned to have several different routines that I can chose from to match the day's demands, and my physical needs.

• A post exercise snack and lie down helps speed recovery, (I was greatly pleased to hear that elite athletes often do exercise - eat - rest routines too.)

Me on holiday doing an ankle exercise in sitting with a resistance band - that I usually do in standing using body weight, standing was too much.

The result is that I rarely do the same routine for more than a few days in a row - but I do exercise in some form most days. Overall this has had a very positive impact on my health.

(Note: This should not be taken as a list of instructions to follow as it is what works for me - what works for other people will be different. But hopefully in sharing some of what works for me it will help some other people to find what works for them, and maybe also validate the experience of other people who can't exercise consistently but do what they can.)