Rheumatoid Arthritis workout

RA Workout

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 22 years old back in 2013 right after I stopped cheering. I had trouble standing from sitting, but I thought it was pain from cheer. After being diagnosed I had to wait 3 months for my first appointment for medication. I began to be in so much pain those 3 months. I had trouble getting out of bed, opening my jaw to eat, lift my arms to wash my hair, and go up the stairs of my 2 story house. I lost about 20 pounds in muscle mass and fat. I went from no real diet and working out nearly every day to sitting around and having trouble eating. I bought a cane so I could walk from my car to work, I had trouble standing at work (cashier) or lifting pretty much anything. I remember crying during dinner one day because I got some popcorn chicken and couldn't open my mouth to eat it. My husband got used to carrying me up the stairs at night when I was ready for bed and this was not okay with me. I am very independent, do things for myself, and hate asking for help. I also love to work out, push myself, and be toned. 

 I have taken many medications to try to help me and the only thing that gives me relief was prednisone. A side effect of prednisone is bone loss, so my rheumatologist wants me to take something else that will stop my joints from deteriorating. Even on prednisone I  I recently started Humera about a month ago and I have been feeling better, not 100%, but better.
I wanted to start working out again since I recently starting the biologic Humera. I see so many people post about how much weight they have gained on all the medicatios they are on, and how they are still in so much pain so they have trouble working out.

I am the varsity cheer head coach at the school I teach at. I teach 7 periods (anatomy and physiology, Honors Chemistry, and Honors Biology), coach before school at 6 am and after school. By the time I get home, it is usually is about 9 pm, and this is before I have done any grading or planning. This is my first year as head coach and my team got 2nd place at state out of 12 teams. We were less than a point away from first place. I am so busy, I don't have time to work out on my own, so I want to workout with my team next year. In order to keep up with my high schoolers next year, I need to start re training my body now and seeing what my limit is with my disease. I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm trying to gain muscle.

I am not saying this workout will work for everyone with Rheumatoid Arthritis, everyone is different. I have gone from 115 and working out every day to barely walking and using a wheelchair at 102. My face has puffed up from the prednisone and I have stopped taking it at night and just in the morning. When I was at my peak, I always pushed myself and tried to go further or harder than any other person working out. Your mind will always give up before your body. I know sometimes I push myself too hard, which is why I am including how I feel the next day.

Current weight 121.2 lbs.

Day 1 Workout (Wednesday):

Time 1 hour

• Warm up run
• Stretch
• Work out: 5 squats, tuck jump, 5 push ups, tuck jump, 10 squats, tuck jump, 10 push ups, tuck jump, 10 squats, tuck jump, 10 push ups, tuck jump, 5 squats, tuck jump, 5 push ups, tuck jump, rest 45 seconds.
• Repeat 7 times.
• Cool down run and sprint
• stretch 
• 
  
• During workout feeling

Shoulders popping during push ups, knee weakening, legs feeling like spaghetti after, metacarpals or wrists had sharp pain during push ups. 

• Next day Feeling: Legs very sore, knees a little tight in the morning. Abs sore. Arms sore. The soreness is muscle soreness, except the joints in knees.

Day 2 Workout (Thursday)

Time 30 min

• Stretch
• 5 min walk
• 10 min run (1 mile)
• 5 min walk
• Stretch 

Next day Feeling: sore from leg work out still, but refreshed from run.

*Flare for a few days :(

Day 3 Workout (Monday)

Time 1 hour

• Jog 5 min
• Stretch
• Circle of Death workout (jog a lap after each strength training station- of 15 reps)
• Lunge walks
• Side hops
• Burpies
• Jumping jacks
• Jump rope
• 20 lb. weight lifts
• rope slams
• weight slams
• toe touch sit ups
• Push ups
• Plank holds
• leg lifts

Next day feeling: tired, not sore, pop in a few joints

Day 4 workout (Wednesday)

Time 1 hour

same work out as Monday

Next day feeling: tired, not sore, pop in a few joints

Day 5 workout (Friday)

Time 1 hour

•  Jog 5 min
• Stretch
• Suicides (At each cone, sets of 10)
• Push ups
• Jumping jacks
• burpies
• repeat 8 times
• Normal suicide (repeat 8 times) 

Next day feeling: normal joint pain, feet a little sore. 

Cheer History

I have been a cheerleader nearly all my life. My first experience with cheer was when I was in the third grade at a high school cheer camp for kids. I had tried softball, track and field, gymnastics, ballet, and ultimate Frisbee as an option for a sport for me to play. I was on my first cheer squad in elementary school as a fifth grader where we cheered for our football team.

My middle school only allowed seventh and eighth graders to try out and this was my first experience of being on a competition team. There were over 50 girls trying out for that middle school cheer squad of 20. My older sister was also doing trying out for her middle school cheer squad as an eighth grader for the first time. We both made our squads, but my second year of middle school I was elected cheer captain. This allowed my to start choreographing my first routine because my cheer coach at the time was just a parent and was never a cheerleader. I was the only tumbler on my team at the time, and that was thanks to my time with gymnastics.

In high school I was not allowed to cheer my freshman or sophomore year because almost all the cheerleaders the year before stole items from a store. They were not allowed to cheer, but my parents did not think it was a good place for me. I like being involved with the school and competing so my freshman and sophomore year I did color guard in the marching band. This was a great experience and is where I met my high school sweetheart. He was a percussionist and I did not want a relationship, so though he kept asking me out and he was my best friend, I kept saying no. Finally, we first kissed September 15, 2005 after one of our football games my sophomore year, and I realized I did not want to be with out him.

My junior year I tried out for the varsity cheer team. There was a varsity, junior varsity, and freshman team and just about everybody there had been on one team or another the year before except for the up coming freshmen. I made the team as a base. Our middle school was not allowed to do extended stunts, so I did not learn how to go straight up to a lib and had to learn some of the basics quickly. I had my captain in my stunt group as a back spot and she was a good fun leader. She was a leader who liked being liked. I think I even remember her winning queen in homecoming or winter ball. Our team was pretty good, but we got second at regionals, did not place at nationals, or get in the top three at state. Our coach was a fashion teacher so at least we looked good.

My senior year my team elected me as captain at the end of the summer because I was then experienced and well spoken. There were other seniors who were on the team all four years of high school and did not think I deserved the spot and they gave me a few hurdles to over come. Our team was an all tumbling squad, and my coach did not take any freshmen on the varsity team. After talking with my coach about how the team should be lead, we both agreed there needed to be a change. I decided to be strict or even mean to get the team to the excellence level I knew they could be. We won our first competition at the Regionals in Albuquerque, NM.

We went to the American Cheerleader Association national competition in Texas where we competed against teams from Oklahoma and Texas. One of the cheerleaders had an older mom who went on the bus with us, but was in a different hotel. My coach asked me to escort her to her hotel from the bus. I was very obedient and did everything my coach said, so of course I was going to go out of my way and help her. When we got in the hotel my dad was standing in the entry. I was so happy I started crying. My dad was not very emotionally supportive of my cheerleading career because he did not think it would be productive for me in the long run and I would just become corrupt; yet here he was, ready to cheer me on for my second national competition.  We won Onate's first national cheer championship in 2008 at this national competition. This is when our cheer squad actually got noticed and the reputation of the cheer squad changed. My parents told me they were not able to go to my national competition, and I understood because it was expensive to send me out as well as try to go out themselves. We did not take state, and I think it was all politics, because some of the judges remembered the thievery incident from years ago. We hit a perfect routine and could not have asked for a better finish to my senior year.

I tried out for the coed cheer squad at BYU because that was the only team they had, even though I was mainly a base in high school. They had two or three positions open for girls because many were returning from the year before. I was short, did not weigh very much, but I had a lack of flying experience, so I did not make the team. I did marching band again at BYU because I am not someone to give up just because of a little rejection. I met some of the guys on the squad and went to an open gym once a week to work on partner stunting.

After a semester and a half of BYU, I ran out of funds and had to choose to take a semester off and work to go back to school, or transfer schools that had a different payment plan. I transferred to New Mexico State University where my high school sweetheart was attending school. I knew the cheer coach at NMSU from high school, and she knew my talent so she accepted me onto the small coed squad as a base. NMSU had a co ed and a small co ed squad. The small co ed squad was mainly for all girl stunt groups and a few guys who were not strong enough to partner stunt on their own. We did not win nationals my first or second year on the squad, but I did step up to fly mid in pyramids because I was a strong base, but small. I also partner stunted with the guys on the team for fun or at appearances cheerleaders were required to attend.

Over last summer we did a "stunt" group competition squad. Stunt is a new sport in the cheer world where everyone does the same routine to the same music, like early levels of gymnastics and New Mexico State was introducing it to New Mexico coaches for the first time. The competition was on the day of my wedding with my high school sweetheart. He proposed December 15, 2010 and we picked the wedding date July 29th, 2011 because it was summer and most convenient for most of my family. My dad moved to China after I started college to teach American dentistry to a Chinese business so I had to make it convenient for my dad, step mom, and four siblings to make it to my wedding. Three of my siblings live in Las Cruces so they could easily make my wedding. The competition was scheduled for July 28th and it would be easy for me to make it. The week before they changed the date. I went to the competition in the morning, ran to get my hair and make up done and was only half an hour late to my own wedding, but I am so glad I did the stunt competition and get married.

This last year I was on the team our coach decided to have an all girl team and a co ed team, but combined us for competition as one large co ed team. I still was a main base for lib stunts, but I became a key person in all the pyramids, and when one of the girls got hurt in a key pyramid position, I stepped up in her spot and showed my coach I was ready for anything. I got to cheer at the Western Athletic Conference basketball game in Las Vegas, and we got second at Nationals. 

This is going to be my last year and I am on the competition co ed squad and this year my coach is requiring tucks from everyone, so I have hope we can win nationals this next year. I have come a long way and plan on being a high school chemistry teacher and hopefully I will be able to coach a high school cheer squad as well. 

Wedding Ideas


I went to my cousins wedding this weekend and it was a simple country wedding in the mountains.


Here is a sign showing where the wedding ceremony was, which was by a fishing pond with ducks. The reception was up the hill in a large empty barn, decorated to compliment the wedding colors.

This is a real smoking gun where the meat was cooked in. The brisket tasted amazing!

This is the souvenir for the guests and a perfect holder for those cold sodas, waters, and beers.  

My husband and I waiting to eat at the benches outside the barn. He danced with me, but it wasn't easy in the tight form fitting dress I was in that night.

Some recent art of mine

Amore de la fleur "Love the flower"

Pas encore de la danse "No more dancing"

Embrasse-moi "Kiss me"

Coucher du soleil "Sunset"

Haute sur un montagne "High on a mountain top"

Amour de l'adolescence "Puppy love"

Prends ma main "Hold my hand"

Frappez, et je vais ouvrir "Knock, and I shall answer"

Maison du sud-ouest "House of the Southwest"