Well I can tell you what works for me. A long time ago when I got Fibromyalgia and it was after a car accident where I hurt my neck. I strained my back too. I had a fractured sternum as well. I had muscle and nerve damage in my back not serious nerve damage but it was very sore. I went and did Aquafit and at first I did a water therapy which helped a great deal then I moved to Aquafit in warm water. I always has to be warm water then I worked up to after the Aquafit I went in colder water and I swam. Then I would go and work on my own at the "Y" with riding a stationary bike and then do some stretching and light floor exercises. When that was all done I would have a hot shower. Oh and after the swimming I would enjoy the hot tub. I found this all very helpful. I did it quite regularly and it really helped me. Helped me get back to work. I had read you could get rid of FM with exercise and you really had to work hard but not too hard at first. I gradually worked up and what I did was never too stressful. I think it helped me a great deal. I would be at the "Y" for 5 hrs. I read you could get rid of it but I decided that I would have to kill myself exercising to get rid of it. But I did help myself quite a bit what I did. I would say Aquafit in warm water is the best and if you can tolerate the little colder water to swim that is helpful because of the stretching. I think stretching helps a great deal. Later I did lift weights but I was very careful and only lifted a certain weight as a matter of fact it helped me loose weight. I also think eating healthy helps you. Eat your vegetables and eat fruit and eat lean meat. I have since joined Weight Watchers and have lost 23 or so lbs. and I feel a lot better. It doesn't help you to be overweight. Even if you get up in the morning or whenever you should stretch and I always enjoy a hot shower not really hot but warm enough. I have always liked hot tubs. After my swimming I would soak in the hot tub for a while. It felt great. I would always feel so good after. Walking helps especially in the Summer, but you should never overdue any exercise. You have to make sure you don't over work yourself. I used to warm up doing Aquafit and that helped me do more. You must make sure you warm up some way with light stretching. I could never swim in the little cold water without warming up first like doing Aquafit first. The water is very helpful to your muscles and nerves when you have FM.

I have heard the same. The most recent research is that this whole gradually increase activity levels will help it go away is wrong. The absolute gold standard now is to listen to your body and pace yourself. With that said...i still hold on to the ideal of being fit and want to build strength...just want to know how to best do it and still pace?!

There is so much conflicting advice on fybro its confusing, i worked in physically active outdoor jobs my full working life. I was fit very fit and had a physique to match, i had unlimited endurance until the fibro nightmare dragged me down, i would work a full time job with overtime then do diy or car repair for family and friends and also trained, constantly active, i fought the fibro at first, i tried to exercise eat healthily but you know what?, it made it worse. Since then my arthritis had deterioated to a stage that physiotherapy is now useless due to the severity of my condition and now it seems to have got as bad as it can get. I dont want to deter you but in my own experience it made things worse.

For me. My orthopedic Dr. Gave me stretch exercises to do. So I do those, a little yoga, a little weight lifting and about a 15 min. Walk. I also added some of my own in like stomach crunches and leg lift. I mix it all in a little routine. It takes me about half a hour a day. When I first started my Rhum ethologist said to do it everyday. In morning, take shower then go to work. I did that for over a year. Unless I couldn't. Now not working and I try to do them every other day when I can. Don't sound like a lot, but does help and keeps me in shape. But this winter has caused me lots of flare ups and lately I m lucky if I exercise twice a week. Take it slow, don't over do it . Hugs and Prayers

That is a good question! I tend to go for the low impact stuff like restorative yoga. But I have been thinking the same as you what is a good exercise regime for someone with Fibro that is realistic and can help strengthen muscles without causing pain!?!