Exercise is an important component in staying healthy when you have arthritis. Moderate physical activity on a regular basis help decrease fatigue, strengthen muscles and bones, increase flexibility and stamina, and improve your general sense of well-being. Joint flexibility is especially important when you have arthritis because stiff joints means inability to do daily tasks, such as buttoning a shirt or starting the car.

You should commit yourself to regular exercise that includes three types of activity: flexibility (stretching, range-of-motion) exercises, strengthening (resistance) exercises, and cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise. That may sound like a lot, but if you incorporate it into your daily routine, you’ll find it gets easier to do without even thinking about it.

Types Of Exercises:

Before you begin any exercise, you should consult your physician to see if the exercise is appropriate for you. You may even want to see a physical therapist for an assessment of your specific exercise and joint protection needs. They will help you learn how to get started, how to modify exercises so they don’t damage your joints and how to set reasonable goals for yourself. Learn the importance of setting goals and use our helpful exercise log to plan your exercise.

Also, keep in mind that only a medical professional should determine what sort of activity to do during a flare. When a joint is warm, painful and swollen, rest will help reduce the joint’s inflammation. Your doctor or physical therapist also may suggest gentle range-of-motion exercises to help maintain joint movement

Flexibility (Stretching, Range-of-Motion) Exercises

These gentle stretching exercises should be done every day and are the most important of all your exercises. Flexibility exercises can help you protect your joints by reducing the risk of joint injury, help you warm-up for more strenuous exercise by getting your body moving, and help you relax and release tension from your body. These can be done on land or in water such as a pool, hot tub or warm bath.

These exercises can be particularly useful for easing those stiff joints in the morning. Work up to 15 minutes of flexibility exercises a day. Once you can do 15 continuous minutes, you should be able to add strengthening and aerobic exercises to your routine.

Good range-of-motion exercises include tai chi and yoga. Tai chi reduces the pain and impairment for people with severe knee osteoarthritis. The slow, graceful exercise – originally a Chinese martial art – also reduces stress and can improve balance. Yoga strengthens and relaxes muscles stiff from arthritis, as well as helps with weight loss programs. Contact your local office for details on the Arthritis Foundation’s tai chi and other exercise programs..

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Strengthening (Resistance) Exercises

When you have arthritis, you need strong muscles to lessen the stress on your joints. Strengthening exercises can help build your muscles so they can absorb shock and protect your joints from injury, as well as help you get around better. These exercises use weight or resistance to make your muscles work harder, thereby helping them get stronger.

There are two types of strengthening exercises: isometric and isotonic. Isometric exercises are good for people with arthritis because they work by tightening the muscles without moving the joint. It is easy to target the muscles around the joints with isometric exercises, and that reduces stress on your joints.

Isotonic exercises strengthen the muscles by moving the joint; for example, straightening your knee while sitting in a chair is an isotonic exercise that helps strengthen your thigh muscle. These exercises can also benefit people with arthritis because they can be made easier when you have an inflamed joint or you can make them more difficult when you are feeling better by adding weights or repetitions.

Strengthening exercises should be done every other day after warming up with some flexibility exercises.

Cardiovascular (Aerobic) Exercises

Cardiovascular (aerobic or endurance) exercise is any physical activity that uses the large muscles of the body in rhythmic, continuous motions. This includes walking, dancing, swimming and bicycling, among others. The purpose of these exercises is to make your heart, lungs, blood vessels and muscles work more efficiently. They also can result in improved endurance, stronger bones, improved sleep, controlled weight and reduced stress, depression and anxiety.

Try to include aerobic activity in your fitness program three to four times each week, with a goal of working in your target heart rate for 30 minutes each session. You can work up to this goal slowly, starting with as little as 5 minutes and increasing as you get stronger and are able.

If you’ve tried exercising before, but were unsuccessful, dont make a mistake by trying the same way this time. Do something new. Pick activities you can easily work into your day or find a buddy to exercise with. Sometimes this makes the exercise more a natural part of your day or gives you someone to encourage you when you need it. You can also join an exercise group. Check your local Arthritis Foundation office to learn about exercise programs in your area.

Remember, your goal is to keep moving. Set some exercise goals and track them with the Lets Move Together movement tracker or listen to a podcast and psyche yourself up to move.

Types Of Cardio Exercises

Cardio is an abbreviation for cardiovascular exercises. The exercises which lift your heart rate and keep it elevated for a period of time are known as cardio exercises. An alternate name to these kinds of exercises is aerobic exercises. These exercises help in cardiovascular workouts. Commonly known cardio exercises are jogging, brisk walking and swimming. Read on to explore more about cardio exercises.

A cardio is said to be extremely beneficial for body. First of all, it strengthens the heart and enhances the lung capacity. The cardio exercises are also suitable means of maintaining perfect metabolism and burning calories. Experts say that a regular habit of cardio exercises also helps you relieve stress as it promotes restful sleep and helps you relax. There are several varieties of cardio exercises to choose from. Given here are few cardio exercises:

Running
Running is the most common kind of cardio exercise. It is enjoyed by people of all age, especially by youngsters. In morning, running in fresh air helps to rejuvenate as well as burn calories.

Bicycling
Bicycling is another kind of aerobic or cardio exercise that helps in losing oodles of weight. It also magically works on your cardiovascular fitness. Performing it as indoor or outdoor activity entirely depends upon an individual's choice. An alternative to bicycling is Power Walking.

Swimming
Swimming is the best cardio exercise in summers. Not only does it help in overall weight and balanced weight loss, but it also provides total support to your joints and reduces the risk of any kind of injury.

Walking
Walking is another effective cardio vascular exercise. Half an hour of normal walking can burn about 180 calories. Apart from this, if you like brisk walking, your speed of weight loss will be almost doubled. It is easy and requires no surplus preparation.

Rowing
Though at a glance, this machine looks complicated in the corner of gym. However, rowing is one of the most effective cardio. It helps in loosing about 300 calories in half an hour if done with vigor. It also gets your heart rate up, as you crazily work on your arms.

Step Aerobics
Step Aerobics is one of the most popular cardio exercises. It aims basically on the workout of the legs, hips and butts. It can make you lose 400 calories in half an hour if done with intensity.

Rock Climbing
Rock Climbing is a wonderful cardio. It can help you lose about 380 calories in half an hour, but is meant only for those who are well trained in this art.

Body Building Exercises Arms The arms are separated into 3 areas - the biceps, the triceps and the forearms. The main exercises for the biceps are curls. The triceps are the biggest muscle in the arm and one of the least worked muscles in the body. The best exercises for the triceps are the triceps pushdowns and lying extensions. Also dips are a good triceps exercise and also work the chest well. For the forearms the best exercises are wrist curls. Shoulders Shoulders are sometimes the most difficult muscles to train. The best exercises are shoulder presses and shrugs. When doing shrugs use a really heavy weight and that will get your shoulders packing on the muscle. Chest The chest is the most worked, focused on and favorite muscle for nearly all bodybuilders. The chest is divided into two parts: higher and lower chest. The bench press is the best exercise, however there are variations. A flat bench press, the incline and decline work the uppers and lower chest area. Another great exercise for the chest is the fly. Back The Back is the biggest muscle of the body, divided into upper, lower and then the sides. For the upper part of the back, lateral pull downs and seated pulley rows are a good exercise. For the lower back, the superman stretch is good. To perform this lie down on your stomach with hands and legs stretched straight. The reverse extension is a good lower back exercise. For the sides of the back to get the V shape, good exercises are chins and pull downs. Legs The legs have 3 different muscles – quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Squats are definitely the best exercise for the legs. Squats target the quadriceps. For the hamstrings, the best exercises are leg curls and stiff-legged dead lifts. And for the calves, the best exercises are calf raises both standing and sitting. Abs Squeezing the muscle develops abs. The abs take a long time to develop and the best gains come from crunches, pelvic tilts and side bends. With these 3 exercises you target all 3 areas of the abs. The crunch targets the upper abs. The pelvic tilts target the lower abs and the side bends target the obliques, which are the side abs. Weightlifting "Weightlifting" is one of the world's most misunderstood and under-appreciated sports. Part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 (with a women's event having been added in 2000), weightlifting is the only Olympic sport in which heavy weights are used. Weightlifting is the only weight sport that is included as an event in the Olympic Games - which is why the sport of Weightlifting is often referred to as "Olympic Weightlifting" or simply "Olympic Lifting". The best lifters in the world in the lighter weight classes can lift as much as 2.5 times their bodyweight in the Snatch). The best super heavyweight weightlifters in history have lifted nearly 500-lb./227.5 kg. In the clean and jerk (C&J), the bar is also lifted to full arm's length overhead. Since the athlete is lifting the bar in two stages in the C&J, heavier weights can be lifted in the C&J than in the snatch. Weightlifting is a sport in which the strongest and most powerful men and women in the world compete. Weightlifters simply have the strongest and most powerful muscles in the world, developed by hard and very specialized training that develops enormous strength without the "bulk" that bodybuilders, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, possess. Bodybuilders are dedicated athletes and many are quite strong, but they are not as strong as the best weightlifters and their muscles needn't be strong because they compete solely on the basis of the appearance of their muscles, not their strength (muscle size and strength are not highly correlated). There are four broad categories of those who train with weights: weight trainers, bodybuilders, power lifters and weightlifters. Those who train with weights for general fitness purposes, or to improve their performance in another sport, are typically referred to as "weight trainers". Athletes with much smaller and less visible muscles can often out-lift bodybuilders by a wide margin. Those who train purely for strength often participates in a sport called "Powerlifting". Bodybuilders don't train primarily for strength. Powerlifters, many of whom are wonderful strength athletes, do not face the level of competition that weightlifters do. Wrestlers and football players (along with many other athletes) train with weights to improve their size and strength. Weightlifting is primarily a test of strength and power (power is a factor in this sport because being able to move a heavy barbell relatively rapidly is as important as pure strength). Medical Disclaimer: These articles are presented for general informational purposes only. It is not the intention of this article or any others on this web site to provide specific medical advice, but rather to provide users with information to better understand their health. Specific medical advice should be obtained with a thorough physical examination from your health care provider. Consult with a qualified physician for diagnosis and for answers to your personal queries.