I have been training people with multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 10 years now and have personally worked with many who join the 12-week challenge that I hold locally through the MS Fitness Challenge charity. I have seen miraculous improvements in many of my clients and impressive results in all. But it is so rewarding to find a client with multiple sclerosis who decides to take their fitness journey to the next level and become a trainer. RELATED: Share Your Exercise Tips on MS Tippi Yvonne Juarez, of Boise, Idaho, is one of those who has taken this step. She is now studying to become a certified trainer and will then go on to become a certified MS trainer through my MS Fitness Specialist course. I asked Yvonne to share how working out in the gym has helped her, physically and mentally. David Lyons: When were you diagnosed with multiple sclerosis? Yvonne Juarez: March 2015. DL: What are your symptoms currently, and have they improved since starting a workout routine? YJ: I have trouble with nerve pain, chronic severe pain, extreme fatigue, muscle spasticity, numbness in my hands and feet, foot drop, depression, neurogenic bladder, visual comprehension, balance, forgetfulness, and trouble with coordination in speech, swallowing, and walking. And probably more that I am forgetting at the moment. Weight training has improved my mood, balance, and walking. I can play on the floor with my grandkids now — and get up again without pain. What a joy! DL: Why did you join the MS Fitness Challenge 12-week fitness program? YJ: After two years in bed from surgeries, pain, and fatigue, I went through 18 months of physical therapy to be able to get out of bed and be strong enough to help take care of myself and help others. When I heard about the MS Fitness Challenge from a friend, I thought it was a blessing from above. I hoped it would help me get my strength back faster. It was clear from the start that this is what I needed to regain my strength and maximize my energy and abilities. DL: What’s it like being trained by me, the founder of the MS Fitness Challenge? YJ: Not to embarrass you, but you have been my personal angel. Your fitness knowledge is unsurpassed, and your insight into the abilities and needs of individuals with MS, as well as your generous humor, have lit up my path and helped me be my best self. When I think I am too tired to try training, you know when to push me to keep going and when to make me rest, so I don’t get a relapse. I love learning from you. DL: What’s your current exercise routine? YJ: Tuesdays are upper body; Thursdays are lower body. Each workout is about 40 minutes and covers about four types of exercises. DL: What is the biggest challenge in your workouts? YJ: My biggest challenge is fatigue. Getting up, getting dressed, and driving to the gym is a battle. But I’ve discovered after making the effort to get to and complete a workout, I am not more tired than if I had stayed in bed. If I work out well and my muscles are sore for days, I don’t actually hurt more than if I hadn’t done it, just in different ways. And sore muscles make me happy — it means that I hurt because I did something good in the world, which is way better than hurting because of a depressing disease. DL: Were there any times when you wanted to quit or give up? YJ: No, I never wanted to give up. I want to get stronger, and I got hooked. I lost so much of what I could do and who I thought I was after my diagnosis. This is the first thing I have found that I can actually do and can learn and grow with. DL: How do you stay motivated to continue the program? YJ: You have been my anchor — texting me to remind me of workouts, and teaching, encouraging, cajoling, and coaching me through my personal limitations. Another of my sources of motivation is my grandson. When he was born, he weighed 6 pounds, but I had a weight restriction of 4 pounds because of my recent pump implant surgery, so I couldn’t pick him up. I got strong enough through physical therapy to pick up 8 pounds, but by then he weighed 20 pounds! It was a losing race to get stronger faster than he got bigger. Enter the MS Fitness Challenge. Now he is 45 pounds, and I can pick him up, snuggle him, swing him around, and flip him upside down. It took three years, and your help made it possible. We won! DL: Have you altered your diet and nutrition regimen? YJ: Yes. I eat lots of protein and vegetables and keep a low carbohydrate intake. Changing the way I eat has been hard. But I had already tried many different elimination diets for potential food irritations and for inflammation on my healing journey, so it wasn’t much of a stretch. It’s just the sweets that I struggle to turn down. DL: How has working out changed your life and helped with your MS? YJ: I can walk without my cane or service dog most days now. I still use my power wheelchair to run my dog, but I can walk for about a quarter mile now. I can play with my grandkids and splash with them in the pool. I can do self-checkout and load groceries in my car. I can do most of the things I need to if I pace myself and rest more than I would like. I still can’t work shirt buttons, and I can’t skip my daily naps, but my quality of life has improved dramatically. I’m thrilled. DL: Why did you decide to become a certified MS personal trainer? YJ: I needed to learn everything I could to help myself. And in so doing I have found some answers and now can help when new friends are searching, too. You helped me, and I want to pay it forward. DL: What fitness goals do you have set for the future? YJ: I am hoping to reduce my intake of sweets and prepare healthy meals more consistently. I am also hoping to move from two to four days in the gym each week. DL: Do you have any advice for those who want to conquer MS through fitness? YJ: My experience is that: With nothing to lose (other than a mindset of not being able to do things), and everything to gain, from increasing your strength to walk and do more for yourself and others, my overarching advice is try. It’s just one hard thing. You’ve survived so much that is harder. Try it. You can do it. Even if you can’t get out of a wheelchair or open a clenched hand, the MS certified trainers know how to help you make it work. I believe fitness will change your life. It changed mine.
