Jessica Caracciolo

Dayyy 1 - 2 days ago. I enlisted the help of a fitness professional (Sam @ Weigh Better U) to help me ease back into fitness and yesterday was my first day and consultation.

Earlier in the week I scheduled a time to go by the gym to meet him and talk about my health which went well. 2 days ago was to assess my range of motion and to see how I handle body weight exercises, light weight dumbbell exercises and resistance band exercises. Yesterday’s other goal was to see what would happen to me AFTER the workout.

You see… having endometriosis, fibromyalgia w/ neuropathy, and cfs/me and more…if I go to the gym I will workout normally (like i did back in the day) and then be physically debilitated and out of commission for 5-7 days and then not workout again for months. If I have someone guide me through easing in to exercising, starting slow and building over time, and having a plan, maybe I’ll fare better. i don’t know how to ease in on my own. I only know how to do all or nothing.

The repercussions of exercising or being physically active in general can be severely painful for me and repercussions sometimes make it hard for me to move at all. It’s part of post exertional malaise.

Don’t get me wrong - anyone deconditioned could be sore after working out when it’s been a while. And anyone working out could end up sore. My prob is, the aftermath for me is so much worse than any of that. It’s not normal. It’s majorly painful, stiff and tight muscles and joints. It’s like trying to walk the beach in the sand with high wind coming towards you while also having severe pain everywhere.

I’m surprisingly strong. I have great range of motion. I know how to exercise. I know how to do many different types and categories of exercises too. I worked out a ton from 2004-2011 and then didn’t until around 2014-2017. It’s been spotty since.

My strength and capabilities are deceptive because I can do anything in the moment but I could potentially very severely pay for it afterwards and it happens more than you think (just doing everyday stuff.)

My “why” is very important to me. I’m doing this so when I’m in my 40’s, 50’s, etc…. I stay strong, mobile and have the ability to physically thrive. So far I’m on the right path.

I did the light workout, went home, stretched and then woke up faring a lot better than I thought I would. I’m sore, I had a few hours of fibromyalgia neuropathy, and now tonight some neck and shoulder pain but overall I’m doing well. (Note: the neck and shoulder pain is from a mix of things.) I’m so proud of myself. It’s time to get stronger and increase mobility.

👏💪🏻

(Note- I chose multisport mode on my watch… only because I didn’t know what my workout would be but I guess it thought I swam a triathlon lol. 🤷‍♀️😂)