Exercise and Mitochondrial Disease

When starting a new exercise routine, it's helpful to work with an exercise physiologist. They can help you
select the right exercises, and ensure you start slowly and build up steadily. Over time, as you get fitter and stronger, exercise will feel easier.

For example, you could start with a few minutes of stretching or walking every day, and then gradually increase it by one or two minutes a day.

Find an exercise you enjoy, so you look forward to it and enjoy doing it. This will help you get started and maintain a habit of exercising so you see the benefits from it.

Some great options for people with mito include:

• Swimming
• Walking
• Exercise bikes
• Tai Chi
• Yoga

Try to include a mix of both cardio and resistance exercise to get the most benefits. It’s best to be supervised by a physio or exercise physiologist if you’re new to  this type of exercise program.

• Cardio exercise includes walking, running, swimming and cycling. Cardio, or aerobic, exercise increases your heart rate and breathing so that oxygen is transported around your body more quickly.
• Resistance exercises often involve weights (including your own body weight). Exercises include sit to stands, modified push-ups, squats, machine and free weights and resistance bands or therabands. These types of exercises make your muscles and bones stronger, and improve your balance and coordination.

Exercising with others helps you to feel supported and motivated. Local medical clinics, community centres, councils and gyms often have adapted exercise programs for people living with chronic conditions. These might also be suitable for people with mito. Find out what’s available in your local area.

As you start to do more strenuous exercise, it's a good idea to plan your meals and drinks around your exercise routine. Eat an hour before you exercise to give your body plenty of energy, and eat again afterwards to refuel. Remember to drink water or sports drinks while exercising to keep you hydrated.

When you start exercising, monitor your pain levels before and after you exercise. Any pain you experience should be tolerable, and the pain should not increase from day to day.

It’s normal for your pain levels to rise slightly when you start a new type of exercise. But if your pain levels increase dramatically, see your doctor or physio.

It’s important to balance your exercise with periods of rest. This will help you recover and avoid tiredness.

For instance, you could exercise for 10 minutes, rest for 10, then exercise for another 10 minutes. Exercising that way is just as beneficial as exercising for 30 minutes non-stop.

Set goals to give yourself something to work towards. For instance, you could decide to walk an extra 500 steps every week for the next month.

Children can get so involved in sport that they can forget to take breaks. Taking regular breaks and resting is just as important for kids as it is for adults. They’ll also need some rest and a healthy snack afterwards to recover.

Exercising regularly will help you establish a new, hopefully enjoyable routine. Over time that becomes a habit, which is easier to maintain. Committing to a goal over the long term will pay off, and you’ll start to feel better and have more energy.

Exercise within sensible limits and if you experience any of the following symptoms, stop straight away and discuss them with your doctor or physio:

• Dizziness
• Light-headedness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Excessive tiredness (exhaustion)
• Chest pains
• A racing heart, or heartbeats that skip a beat
• Extreme pain