Getting Started with Exercise

Yes! Exercise in the right form is safe for everyone. It is recommended that people with many forms of arthritis safely participate in appropriate, regular exercise. Long-term studies have shown that even people with inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can benefit from moderate intensity weight-bearing activity. Remember, some exercise is better than no exercise. For more information, you can read the full 2022 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Exercise.

MUSCLE STRENGTHENING        +        AEROBIC EXERCISE (CARDIO)

In general, all adults should perform a combination of muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise. If you have difficulty with balance or mobility, you may want to include balance and stretching exercises into your workout routine.​

​There is no one size fits all formula for deciding what exercises to do and when. Many exercises may fit into “muscle strengthening” and “aerobic exercise” categories. The best exercises are ones that you enjoy doing and feel good to your body! It may take some trial and error to decide which exercises you like most. ​

​Remember, you may modify exercise to fit your preferences and symptoms. For example, you may attend an exercise class and decide to ask the instructor for alternatives to all jumping exercises or you may focus on exercises specific to the area where your RA is the worst.​

​For more in-depth exercise recommendations, please visit the Recommendations page.

Starting exercise may feel difficult and overwhelming with rheumatoid arthritis. The first step is to decide what exercise you want to do. There are many options, including but not limited to walking, yoga, weightlifting, hiking, biking, swimming, exercise classes. You can find a variety of exercises in our Video Library or read about how Eileen started strength training while suffering from RA. ​

​Some exercise is better than no exercise. Even small amounts of exercise may have a health benefit!​

​The most important part of starting an exercise program is to start “low and slow.” This means you should begin an exercise by doing a little bit for not too long. For example, if you are starting to walk, this means walking at a slow or normal pace for an amount of time that feels comfortable; this may be 5 to 10 minutes. Walk this amount of time for a week or so before slowly increasing this total time by 2-5 minutes until you reach 30 minutes total. Remember, as you increase the time by 2-5 minutes, the exercise may become harder at first.​

​As you keep practicing, walking for this amount of time will begin to feel easier. That is your body adapting and getting stronger! When the exercise becomes easy, that is when you will know you can make it harder, in this case adding another 2-5 minutes of walking.