POTS and Exercise

If you have POTS, you know that when you exercise you feel like your head is going to roll of your body or float up to the ceiling because you're so lightheaded. It sucks, there's no lying about it. But there's also no way to avoid it - keeping your exercise to a routine and making goals is essential to any POTS treatment. 

So what's my plan? I bike Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for half an hour with little/no resistance. It's not to work my muscles, but to train my body to get used to being upright. On Wednesday and Sunday I do yoga, to help stretch and tone my muscles, and on Saturday I have a day off. It's only four hours of exercise a week, so it's not that bad and it's definitely working!

Every couple of months I change my cardio to something a bit more challenging. I've been on the recumbent bike for a while (my base level, but you could also use a rowing machine as it's also recumbent exercise), and this last week I've moved up to the regular upright bike. It's definitely more challenging, but the more I'm on it the easier it will get and the better I will feel when I'm upright, on and off the bike! The key is not to push yourself too far and relapse your symptoms - baby steps please. 

So that's my plan! Do you have an exercise routine, or any tips and tricks to share? Leave a comment telling me what they are!

Good luck,

Bridge