The #1 trigger for autoimmune flare-ups

It may seem funny for me to confess as a fitness instructor, right off the bat, that EXERCISE is the number one stressor that leads to autoimmune flare-ups. 

You may be thinking, “then what’s the point of a fitness course?” Well...let me explain. 

Exercise puts intense stress on your body if you haven’t adapted to that level of intensity. This is a common autoimmune side effect known as exercise intolerance. 

When we talk about the flare-up signals [insert blog #3 link], we mean that these signals, these symptoms, correspond to an increase of stress. They go hand in hand.  

Well, that’s because stress is the number one trigger of a flare-up. And exercise (or any kind of physical activity for that matter) puts stress on the body if the body is not adapted to that stress.

Exercise is an example of physical stress. 

We all have a stress tolerance threshold, and if we exceed that threshold, our body reacts in a flare-up and shuts down for protection. 

Exercise, or any kind of physical activity, even just doing the dishes, contributes to the amount of stress and pressure we are putting on our sensitive bodies, and is often the straw that breaks the camel's back.

It’s important to understand that our bodies don’t compartmentalize our stress. One life stress piles on top of another life stress on top of another life stress, until you have reached your maximum level of stress tolerance. Once you reach that maximum and then you add more stress on top? Well, that’s the flare-up tipping point. 

This is exercise intolerance, a very common side effect of autoimmune disease and chronic illness. 

This is the cycle that happens when you live with exercise intolerance. This means that when you live with autoimmune disease, your body has less tolerance to handle exercise and movement. It means that physical activity could be too much for your body to handle and it can be the final trigger for that flare-up that sends you to bed for the whole weekend.

It might seem that this cycle of stress to flare-up to bed to recover and begin again is the only option, the only way to get through the demands of everyday life. 

But did you know that EVEN THOUGH you have an autoimmune disease and your body is more susceptible to things like exercise intolerance and maxing out due to stress, that it DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY? If exercise is done in a way that works the body within its level of tolerance, instead of being triggering, it can actually be transformative! 

You CAN handle more stress, with less risk of flare-up, and with less intense flare-ups. I call this: training for everyday life. 

If you want to be able to do all the things you want to do in one day, you have to train for it. You have to teach your body to handle these movements and to process the stress these movements add. 

To do this, you have to work within the limits of your body, exposing your body to small, micro-doses of exercise so that your body can slowly adapt and increase its tolerance level a teeny tiny bit at a time. And only then will you find your day to day experience easier with fewer flare-ups. This is the KEY to flare-up prevention.  

Ready to learn the right way to exercise and prevent flare-ups? At Autoimmune Strong, we turn the number one trigger for flare-ups into your greatest superpower!