The Intense Exercise That Improves Arthritis

If you suffer arthritis, you’ve probably been recommended to do some light, easy exercises. Such as water aerobics and light walking.

The problem with this is that light exercise like this may not be enough to burn many calories or boost your heart health. And you may even find them boring.

Good news!

Norwegian scientists have discovered much more fun and effective exercises that improve all markers of health for people with arthritis.

HIIT, or high intensity interval training, is the latest exercise craze, and this one is squarely based on scientific research.

How does it work?

Instead of running, cycling, rowing, or doing some other cardiovascular or aerobic training with moderate intensity for 40 to 60 minutes, you do only 10 -20 minutes per day but with extreme intensity.

While you train, you alternate between seconds of exercise at 70% of your maximum heart rate, and seconds of 90 to 95% of your maximum heart rate.

In other words, you train moderately hard and extremely hard in intervals, hence the name high intensity interval training.

Most of us would not prescribe high-intensity training for arthritic people, as we think of them as a tad fragile. But in 2015, Norwegian researchers decided to investigate whether people with arthritis can benefit from HIIT without worsening their pain or the progression of their disease.

They recruited 11 subjects between 20 and 50 years of age with either rheumatoid arthritis or juvenile idiopathic arthritis and made them do two HIIT sessions on a spinning bike per week for a period of 10 weeks. Each session included four, four-minute intervals of exercise at 85 to 95%of their maximum heart rate.

The benefits in just 10 weeks:
• maximal oxygen uptake improved by 12.2%
• heart recovery improved 2.9%
• muscle mass improved by 0.6%
• body mass index dropped by 1.2%
• body fat dropped by 1%
• waist circumference dropped by 1.6%.
Best of all, there was no change in their level of comfort and impairment, while the inflammation in their joints decreased a bit.

This is good news for people with arthritis, because it allows them to benefit from HIIT like other people do. It can help them to maintain a healthy weight, fend off cardiovascular disease, and remain fit. Needless to say, carrying around extra body weight for those arthritic limbs is one of the worst things that can happen.

If you consider trying this, make sure that you pick an exercise that does not put strain directly on your deteriorating joints.

Set your own interval times as you feel comfortable, but remember to warm up before you start the first high intensity interval.

Obviously, these exercises alone will not cure your arthritis. But a simple strategy cured my arthritis and has done so for thousands of readers. You can learn this exact strategy here…