Working out has impacted my life greatly and I’m not just referring to my appearance. Getting fit has provided me confidence. It’s a confidence I lacked my first few years of college. Working out and staying healthy allowed me to see that I can have some sort of control over cystic fibrosis.
My pulmonary function numbers have increased since I started including working out and running into my daily routine. Here are some tips as to how you can make fitness a part of your everyday CF routine and improve
5 keys to success with staying physically fit when you have cystic fibrosis:
1. Make your workout part of your treatment. I don’t mean doing your workout during your treatments. I mean waking up earlier and giving yourself time to do your workout pre-treatments or post-treatments. In other words, if you do your therapy, you do your treatments. It all goes together. Missing a workout should have as much value as missing a treatment.
2. Take pictures of yourself to reveal the progress you’re making. You don’t have to post them unless you want to but it’s always fulfilling to see how far you’ve come and it allows you to have goals and eventually make new ones.
3. Take pride in being a CF fitness warrior. In other words, when people notice your new physique, be proud of how hard you’ve worked and know that your journey has not been easy but totally worthwhile.
4. If you can, buy bands and a jump rope to travel with. When you travel, carrying workout bands allows you to get a good physical workout and the jump rope will keep you in good cardio shape. I recommend using apps like MapMyRun to also show you far you’ve walked, run or biked wherever you go. Sometimes getting away from the treadmill is a lot more fun because you can take a new adventure each time.
5. Don’t do the same workout every day. That gets stale. Read up on new workouts. If you can afford to hire a trainer, go for it. Do workouts before your therapy sometimes and sometimes after. The trick is not getting into a rut.
*NOTE* Please discuss with your doctor before starting a new exercise regiment.
Wondering how diet comes into play? Read all about my CF Diet Here