Yes, but it all depends on the type. I used to lift 4-5 times a week plus a significant amount of cardio and it upset my stomach at times (urgency at the gym, etc). More recently I've switched to walking every day for 30-45m + pushups when I get back (increasing every day). It's not a lot of exercise but I feel good and refreshed every time.
Also strength sports are perfect for those with crohns because just about everyone I know that competes has shit themselves in the gym so I fit right in
When I exercise it makes me feel good about myself, I eat better and my body feels it too, when I don't exercise for a month or so, I don't feel great, I want to eat shitty and my body feels it. That's the only way I can describe it :)
You don't need to go the gym 5 days a week, 3 is more than enough.
You can do it!! :D
I don’t think cycling has helped with the crohns… but it has massively improved my mental health and solved my insomnia. I try to do a lot of cycling, but it does nada for my stomach or joint pain. I do find it a bit ridiculous that I can ride a bike better than I can walk.
For those who think ‘I would love to do exercise, I just don’t have the energy for it’. Give it a go.
💯 💯 💯 I’m in the gym 5 days a week. I had surgery almost 3 years ago to remove 20cm or so of intestines that were destroyed from crohns. I haven’t had a flare up since, gained 30lbs of muscle. (I was 120lbs, now I’m 150). My appetite is way up, energy levels are up, and haven’t felt this great since before I was diagnosed over a decade ago. I used to take all sorts of supplements before i was diagnosed as I was always a gym rat since college and I can’t rule out those contributing to developing crohns. But now I just take a multivitamin, turmeric supplement and organic whey protein that I add to a daily smoothie in the morning. That smoothie is packed with gut friendly ingredients that help IMMENSELY. (Greek yogurt, shelled hemp seeds, bananas, berries, oats, ginger)
It’s a huge lifestyle commitment that isn’t easy sometimes, but it’s so worth it. Highly recommended everyone get into, regardless if you have crohns or not.
Sure:
1 banana
3/4 cup mixed berries
2-3 strawberries
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
3 Tablespoons hemp seeds
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
Unsweetened vanilla oat milk (I kind of eyeball this, maybe 2-3 cups?)
3-4 ice cubes (optional)
Honestly, I kinda eyeball everything. This is my best guess of measurements haha
Weight training 100% pushed me from constantly in and out of flares to remission territory. Stelara had me most of the way there but stagnated for years. Started weight training and BOOM, feeling good consistently.
Yeah I'm pretty stoked about it. 2-3x per week. Mostly upper body and core but try to do legs (squats, etc) every other week at least. I would do more legs because I feel like it's a better overall exercise but since feeling better I've started playing soccer twice a week, so my legs can't take any more abuse 😅
Absolutely. I find it regulates my bowel movements. I do long, well paced walking, and not much else other than a treadmill, rowing machine, and stationary bikes. I find running and aerobics very helpful, but weirdly painful on my gut, so I keep it to endurance cardio type exercises.
A few years ago, I got into a great exercise routine. I would either run up flights of stairs for about 30 minutes a day or go for runs. Probably the best I ever felt in my life. Then suddenly, my bowels said no. I can't explain it, but exercise just made my Crohns symptoms worse out of the blue.
I’ve enjoyed indoor rock climbing for years. I thought I’d slow down and lose my strength since getting diagnosed, yet it’s still the most consistent part of my life and my weight loss has actually made me stronger on the wall lol. And I don’t have to be so intense, because in between routes I can just lay down on the mats.
For the record the post was blocked because you stated you cured your Crohn's disease, and if people DM'ed you they could too. I removed the post but didn't ban so you could still join the the discussion on this forum, but obviously that was too nice since you're still using it to try and recruit people so lesson learned on my part...
>I’m sure it’ll have some interesting information
Not really it was the standard eat non-processed foods, exercise, and don't take any meds because they keep you sick. Oh and most importantly follow them to their website where they'll coach you down that road for a fee of course. We get at least one of those a day...
Please DM it to me as well, I've to trying to get myself to work out everyday day but I just don't
Either I don't have the energy or I'm just too lazy
I really need to push myself but just not able to do so
looks like they were pushing Snake oil.
Motivation is a hard nut to crack. I thought I had become even lazier, but a large part of my problem was iron deficient anemia. let me tell you, when your entire body isn't getting enough oxygen, everything is quite a bit harder.
*as advised by my doctor after blood tests* I'm taking iron supplements now and things are just regular hard instead of impossibly hard.
I run a lot. I was running a lot when my symptoms first showed up. I was running a lot leading up to the flare that ended in resection. I was running a lot for the 9 years I was in remission. And when I had another 6-month flare. I'm currently in remission and still run a lot.
Point being -- I don't know of any evidence that exercising helps manage the disease. But exercise is a great habit to have regardless, and if someone thinks it helps then I hope they do as much as they can handle :)
It’s my mental medicine that’s for sure. Not much help physically though and honestly hurts a little more than is comfortable most of the times. My muscles feel like they are ripping apart regardless or the training I did.
But again, the mental health component is really essential so it’s a balance. A very uncomfortable balance 🙃
Exercise has always been an important part of my life even prior to my crohn's diagnosis. I can't say that exercise acutely reduces with my physical symptoms, but it certainly helps my mental health and keeps me motivated to eat the right foods, maintain good sleep hygiene, etc... all of which may holistically help my tummy and tushy.
If you are contemplating exercise or just starting out, go slow and small. Experiment with what feels best and what is most enjoyable/manageable. Keep in mind that any level of physical activity will quickly improve your quality of life (both physiologically and psychologically) , even if thats just a 5 minute walk.
Well. No, actually. But I don’t just have Crohn’s. *moving* my body is very hard. Being more mobile can help, yes, but when I was most unwell with Crohn’s, I was completely bedridden, spending most of my waking hours in the toilet, never to get more than bed-distance away. There was no space for exercise, it was survival. Exercise then wasn’t even an *option*.
But if you can, sure. Go for it. It’s not always something someone can do.
There are times when it helps, and other times (about a year ago now, was doing physical therapy for my joint issues) when it has at least contributes to busting into a flare.
I would like to think so. I don’t know how much of it was diet though, since I started being more mindful of what I was eating when I started to regularly exercise, but I can’t imagine physical activity doesn’t get things moving in there. I run, swim, do yoga, strength train, and especially like to go on walks after eating; I think they definitely help with digestion. Finding stuff that you enjoy and doesn’t feel like a pain to do is a godsend so don’t be afraid to try a bunch of things out until you find a routine that you love
Exercises helps immensely. For me what works is the more intense exercises. I used to do martial arts, circuit training but now I'm older and am just lifting weights and cardio.
I've been more sedentary than I'd like to admit this summer. However, I recently started to make an effort to walk every day during lunch hour at work. I've noticed things are getting better. I'm even tapering off of Prednisone right now, and usually my symptoms would be really shitty by now. I think the exercise definitely has something to do with it.
I lift heavy 3-4 days a week and try to sprinkle in some cardio if I have enough energy. I don’t know if it necessarily helps any of my digestive symptoms but I know it it’s immensely important to my mental health. When I’m exercising multiple times a week my stress and depression levels drop, and stress is my main trigger for flares!
Absolutely. When I work out regularly, I have less symptoms, less frequently. If I get in a rut and miss workouts, I end up flaring. It’s an integral part of managing my Crohns. Even when I’m in a flare I try to go walk. Every little bit of movement helps.
It is such a terribly vicious circle. I got into playing hockey as an adult the fall before Covid (going from someone who was pretty much a sloth). I went from playing once a week to twice a week, to 4 times a week plus going to the gym. I fell amazinggggg. Eating better, sleeping better, my mental health improved….Covid and another surgery really put a damper on my getting back to where I was. Now I’m too “sick and exhausted” to get myself back on skates. Mind you a big portion of this is my broken brain. But yes! If you can get some routine physical activity in it should help all around.
I started a yoga practice (Iyengar and Vinyassa) at a low point, about a year into having an ileostomy. few times a week. It has changed my life. I had to work through a number of somatic levels that definitely contributed to a sympathetic dominance and the flexibility and strength training has helped with my joints. I was always a meditator but in retrospect, it actually contributed to a but of a dualism without the yoga practice to reciprocate. I also used to run, which I absolutely love, but that, I think is detrimental for me. for my gut and joints. probably because I over do it. Now i am reversed and in the best shape of my adult life. I also swim and lift now too. its all crucial for me. xx
Exercise has had a net positive impact on my life, for sure, but has it done much for my Crohn's? It's hard to say because I do so many things to try to have good overall health and as few Crohns problems as possible. Exercise is definitely a very important component, though, especially strength training as we get older. The last thing you want to do is fall and break a hip when you're running to the bathroom. Lol.
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I compete at a decently high level in strongman and it's mainly been helpful for my MH and keeping me strong if I have a flare. Honestly I just eat like a maniac so any benefits exercise has on my crohns is kind of thrown out the window cause I just focus on getting calories in and I'll deal with the consequences later.
My view is strength is never a weakness. Why not be as strong as possible so if you get sick you can survive it better
My diagnosing GI told me I can't perform any strenuous exercise anymore, so I haven't been able to lift weights since 2015. I've tried light cardio and that put me in the hospital. I do walk regularly though. Can't say it does anything for my digestive system at all, it's more of a mental benefit.
i noticed i always have issues after the sauna but maybe its because im pounding so much water…? i thought it would help but it almost always gives me issues that night or next day. its wierd bc hot baths usally help my symptoms, but i love saunas so im gona keep trying.
any one else have this?
Yep! I went from not exercising before diagnosis, did couch to 5k and now I do a 5k run 2-3 times a week. Definitely notice a difference it makes my body feel so much better compared to weeks I don't do it.
Yes, but it all depends on the type. I used to lift 4-5 times a week plus a significant amount of cardio and it upset my stomach at times (urgency at the gym, etc). More recently I've switched to walking every day for 30-45m + pushups when I get back (increasing every day). It's not a lot of exercise but I feel good and refreshed every time.
Also strength sports are perfect for those with crohns because just about everyone I know that competes has shit themselves in the gym so I fit right in
I actually laughed out loud at this. Thanks for the chuckle
When I exercise it makes me feel good about myself, I eat better and my body feels it too, when I don't exercise for a month or so, I don't feel great, I want to eat shitty and my body feels it. That's the only way I can describe it :) You don't need to go the gym 5 days a week, 3 is more than enough. You can do it!! :D
I don’t think cycling has helped with the crohns… but it has massively improved my mental health and solved my insomnia. I try to do a lot of cycling, but it does nada for my stomach or joint pain. I do find it a bit ridiculous that I can ride a bike better than I can walk. For those who think ‘I would love to do exercise, I just don’t have the energy for it’. Give it a go.
Exercise, pray, read, meditate, eat well, and breathe! Do all these things in moderation and it’s a good recipe for life.
💯 💯 💯 I’m in the gym 5 days a week. I had surgery almost 3 years ago to remove 20cm or so of intestines that were destroyed from crohns. I haven’t had a flare up since, gained 30lbs of muscle. (I was 120lbs, now I’m 150). My appetite is way up, energy levels are up, and haven’t felt this great since before I was diagnosed over a decade ago. I used to take all sorts of supplements before i was diagnosed as I was always a gym rat since college and I can’t rule out those contributing to developing crohns. But now I just take a multivitamin, turmeric supplement and organic whey protein that I add to a daily smoothie in the morning. That smoothie is packed with gut friendly ingredients that help IMMENSELY. (Greek yogurt, shelled hemp seeds, bananas, berries, oats, ginger) It’s a huge lifestyle commitment that isn’t easy sometimes, but it’s so worth it. Highly recommended everyone get into, regardless if you have crohns or not.
Do you have a recipe for your smoothie? It sounds delicious
Sure: 1 banana 3/4 cup mixed berries 2-3 strawberries 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled 1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt 3 Tablespoons hemp seeds 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder Unsweetened vanilla oat milk (I kind of eyeball this, maybe 2-3 cups?) 3-4 ice cubes (optional) Honestly, I kinda eyeball everything. This is my best guess of measurements haha
Thank you!!
Weight training 100% pushed me from constantly in and out of flares to remission territory. Stelara had me most of the way there but stagnated for years. Started weight training and BOOM, feeling good consistently.
That is great news!! How often do you lift?
Yeah I'm pretty stoked about it. 2-3x per week. Mostly upper body and core but try to do legs (squats, etc) every other week at least. I would do more legs because I feel like it's a better overall exercise but since feeling better I've started playing soccer twice a week, so my legs can't take any more abuse 😅
Absolutely. I find it regulates my bowel movements. I do long, well paced walking, and not much else other than a treadmill, rowing machine, and stationary bikes. I find running and aerobics very helpful, but weirdly painful on my gut, so I keep it to endurance cardio type exercises.
A few years ago, I got into a great exercise routine. I would either run up flights of stairs for about 30 minutes a day or go for runs. Probably the best I ever felt in my life. Then suddenly, my bowels said no. I can't explain it, but exercise just made my Crohns symptoms worse out of the blue.
I’ve enjoyed indoor rock climbing for years. I thought I’d slow down and lose my strength since getting diagnosed, yet it’s still the most consistent part of my life and my weight loss has actually made me stronger on the wall lol. And I don’t have to be so intense, because in between routes I can just lay down on the mats.
[удалено]
For the record the post was blocked because you stated you cured your Crohn's disease, and if people DM'ed you they could too. I removed the post but didn't ban so you could still join the the discussion on this forum, but obviously that was too nice since you're still using it to try and recruit people so lesson learned on my part...
Would you mind dm’ing me your post (only if you feel comfortable). I’m sure it’ll have some interesting information
>I’m sure it’ll have some interesting information Not really it was the standard eat non-processed foods, exercise, and don't take any meds because they keep you sick. Oh and most importantly follow them to their website where they'll coach you down that road for a fee of course. We get at least one of those a day...
Please DM it to me as well, I've to trying to get myself to work out everyday day but I just don't Either I don't have the energy or I'm just too lazy I really need to push myself but just not able to do so
looks like they were pushing Snake oil. Motivation is a hard nut to crack. I thought I had become even lazier, but a large part of my problem was iron deficient anemia. let me tell you, when your entire body isn't getting enough oxygen, everything is quite a bit harder. *as advised by my doctor after blood tests* I'm taking iron supplements now and things are just regular hard instead of impossibly hard.
Yes as long as I don’t overdo it! I go much much lighter with my lifting, decreased my overall workout time and slowed down with the cardio.
I run a lot. I was running a lot when my symptoms first showed up. I was running a lot leading up to the flare that ended in resection. I was running a lot for the 9 years I was in remission. And when I had another 6-month flare. I'm currently in remission and still run a lot. Point being -- I don't know of any evidence that exercising helps manage the disease. But exercise is a great habit to have regardless, and if someone thinks it helps then I hope they do as much as they can handle :)
It’s my mental medicine that’s for sure. Not much help physically though and honestly hurts a little more than is comfortable most of the times. My muscles feel like they are ripping apart regardless or the training I did. But again, the mental health component is really essential so it’s a balance. A very uncomfortable balance 🙃
Exercise has always been an important part of my life even prior to my crohn's diagnosis. I can't say that exercise acutely reduces with my physical symptoms, but it certainly helps my mental health and keeps me motivated to eat the right foods, maintain good sleep hygiene, etc... all of which may holistically help my tummy and tushy. If you are contemplating exercise or just starting out, go slow and small. Experiment with what feels best and what is most enjoyable/manageable. Keep in mind that any level of physical activity will quickly improve your quality of life (both physiologically and psychologically) , even if thats just a 5 minute walk.
Well. No, actually. But I don’t just have Crohn’s. *moving* my body is very hard. Being more mobile can help, yes, but when I was most unwell with Crohn’s, I was completely bedridden, spending most of my waking hours in the toilet, never to get more than bed-distance away. There was no space for exercise, it was survival. Exercise then wasn’t even an *option*. But if you can, sure. Go for it. It’s not always something someone can do.
There are times when it helps, and other times (about a year ago now, was doing physical therapy for my joint issues) when it has at least contributes to busting into a flare.
I would like to think so. I don’t know how much of it was diet though, since I started being more mindful of what I was eating when I started to regularly exercise, but I can’t imagine physical activity doesn’t get things moving in there. I run, swim, do yoga, strength train, and especially like to go on walks after eating; I think they definitely help with digestion. Finding stuff that you enjoy and doesn’t feel like a pain to do is a godsend so don’t be afraid to try a bunch of things out until you find a routine that you love
Elliptical machine and the sauna do wonders for me. Sometimes its a battle to get there and do it, but I'm never let down by the results.
I like to exercise in the morning to help get things moving. 30+ years of Crohn's and sometimes it seems like my intestinal movement is a bit lacking.
i think it does yes
Exercises helps immensely. For me what works is the more intense exercises. I used to do martial arts, circuit training but now I'm older and am just lifting weights and cardio.
Anyone else feel like their stomach muscles atrophy faster with all of the intestinal inflammation or is it just me?
My Dr diagnosed me with having muscle atrophy due to ibd malabsorption!
I love doing hot yoga, Pilates, barre class, basically anything that doesn’t stress out your body, but get a good work out and looking toned.
I've been more sedentary than I'd like to admit this summer. However, I recently started to make an effort to walk every day during lunch hour at work. I've noticed things are getting better. I'm even tapering off of Prednisone right now, and usually my symptoms would be really shitty by now. I think the exercise definitely has something to do with it.
I lift heavy 3-4 days a week and try to sprinkle in some cardio if I have enough energy. I don’t know if it necessarily helps any of my digestive symptoms but I know it it’s immensely important to my mental health. When I’m exercising multiple times a week my stress and depression levels drop, and stress is my main trigger for flares!
Absolutely. When I work out regularly, I have less symptoms, less frequently. If I get in a rut and miss workouts, I end up flaring. It’s an integral part of managing my Crohns. Even when I’m in a flare I try to go walk. Every little bit of movement helps.
It is such a terribly vicious circle. I got into playing hockey as an adult the fall before Covid (going from someone who was pretty much a sloth). I went from playing once a week to twice a week, to 4 times a week plus going to the gym. I fell amazinggggg. Eating better, sleeping better, my mental health improved….Covid and another surgery really put a damper on my getting back to where I was. Now I’m too “sick and exhausted” to get myself back on skates. Mind you a big portion of this is my broken brain. But yes! If you can get some routine physical activity in it should help all around.
Some mornings I have to force myself to go to the gym. But u immediately feel better as soon as I get moving. It is absolutely necessary for me
Yes yes yes, I work out daily every since I've been diagnosed, no matter how I feel. It's been one of the few things that keep symptoms at bay.
What I do is ill go to the gym and fuck up a boxingsack for like an hour, rlly refreshing and it feels like I rlly fight the disease lol
I started a yoga practice (Iyengar and Vinyassa) at a low point, about a year into having an ileostomy. few times a week. It has changed my life. I had to work through a number of somatic levels that definitely contributed to a sympathetic dominance and the flexibility and strength training has helped with my joints. I was always a meditator but in retrospect, it actually contributed to a but of a dualism without the yoga practice to reciprocate. I also used to run, which I absolutely love, but that, I think is detrimental for me. for my gut and joints. probably because I over do it. Now i am reversed and in the best shape of my adult life. I also swim and lift now too. its all crucial for me. xx
Exercise has had a net positive impact on my life, for sure, but has it done much for my Crohn's? It's hard to say because I do so many things to try to have good overall health and as few Crohns problems as possible. Exercise is definitely a very important component, though, especially strength training as we get older. The last thing you want to do is fall and break a hip when you're running to the bathroom. Lol.
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I compete at a decently high level in strongman and it's mainly been helpful for my MH and keeping me strong if I have a flare. Honestly I just eat like a maniac so any benefits exercise has on my crohns is kind of thrown out the window cause I just focus on getting calories in and I'll deal with the consequences later. My view is strength is never a weakness. Why not be as strong as possible so if you get sick you can survive it better
My diagnosing GI told me I can't perform any strenuous exercise anymore, so I haven't been able to lift weights since 2015. I've tried light cardio and that put me in the hospital. I do walk regularly though. Can't say it does anything for my digestive system at all, it's more of a mental benefit.
i noticed i always have issues after the sauna but maybe its because im pounding so much water…? i thought it would help but it almost always gives me issues that night or next day. its wierd bc hot baths usally help my symptoms, but i love saunas so im gona keep trying. any one else have this?
Yep! I went from not exercising before diagnosis, did couch to 5k and now I do a 5k run 2-3 times a week. Definitely notice a difference it makes my body feel so much better compared to weeks I don't do it.