E98- Working Out With Chronic Illness: Fighting for Your Life Back
How do you exercise with chronic illness without pushing your body into a flare?
In this episode of Balance Banter, Exercise Physiologist and Functional Nutrition Practitioner Kristie Calise explains how to approach working out with chronic illness, POTS, fatigue, exercise intolerance, and fluctuating symptoms in a way that supports your body instead of fighting against it.
When you live with chronic illness, exercise is not always about burning calories, losing weight, or looking a certain way.
Sometimes, it is about rebuilding the strength to carry your groceries, climb the stairs, travel, stand through a concert, play with your kids, and participate in your life again.
In this episode, Kristie discusses:
• Why strength training with chronic illness is about function, independence, and quality of life
• How to modify exercise for POTS, dysautonomia, dizziness, fatigue, and orthostatic intolerance
• Why seated, floor-based, gentle, and modified workouts still count
• The difference between appropriately challenging your body and pushing through symptoms
• Why flare days may call for stretching, breathwork, nervous system regulation, or rest instead of a traditional workout
• How to build a more flexible relationship with movement when your capacity changes from day to day
Kristie also shares the philosophy behind Balance: Chronic Illness Care, an app designed to give people with chronic symptoms different options depending on what their body needs that day.
On higher-capacity days, you can MOVE with gentle workouts, POTS-friendly movement, and strength training.
On flare days or lower-energy days, you can RESET with nervous system regulation, breathwork, meditation, and restorative support.
Because consistency with chronic illness does not mean doing the same thing every day. It means learning how to support the body you have today while slowly building toward the life you want tomorrow.
Sometimes, you are not just working out. You are fighting for your life back.
Listen to Episode 98 of Balance Banter and learn how to build strength with chronic illness in a way that honors your symptoms, your capacity, and your long-term health!
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your licensed healthcare provider before making changes to your routine.