Staying Strong with Spencer O’Brien

Exercise and Strength Training with Arthritis

You often talk about how you went from being at the top of your sport to struggling to walk down stairs. How did it feel to go from a strong athlete to someone who was struggling to walk?

That was probably one of the most challenging parts leading up to my diagnosis – the disintegration of my body and the ability to not do my sport, train and be a healthy, active human being. At the height of my flare up, I struggled to walk down stairs or hold a coffee cup. I was going to the gym, working hard and trying to go to the Olympics, but nothing was driving me closer to that goal. The mental state that put me in was the most challenging part of the early stages of my illness.

What role did exercise and/or strength training play in helping you get back to the top of your sport?

I was still trying to train and perform at the level I did prior to my diagnosis and having rheumatoid arthritis, so I think I was causing more harm than good because I was trying too hard to train in a way my body couldn’t. Once I was diagnosed, I was able to change my perspective and work with my doctors and trainers to ease back into training in a different way. It was really important to me that I was able to keep the sport and physical activity aspect of my life intact. Initially, I didn’t know how this would look. Would I ever be able to lift the way I used to? Could I snowboard the way I used to? I worked with physiotherapists, trainers and my doctors to find the new “normal” for me. This ended up being close, if not better, to where I was before.

What types of exercises did you do to regain strength?

My diagnosis came very close to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, so I pushed through everything and tried to quickly find the right medication, and got on some temporarily, so I could make it to the games. But this was all Band-Aids. Once the games were finished, my body really needed a break and was screaming at me. I got a liver infection and this was my body’s way of asking me to stop. I took the summer to just relax and let my body have a chance to reset and get used to the new medications. I also needed to mentally process what my diagnosis looked like and what it meant for me moving forward. To get through the games, I had to pretend like I didn’t have rheumatoid arthritis – that it wasn’t my new reality. I needed to heal when the Olympics was over. We kind of picked up training again end of summer/early fall and we started back in with lots of biking and reconditioning work that was easy on joints and then slowly reintroduced strength training. The biggest thing was increases in weight and intensity were done at a slower pace to make sure my body could handle it. It took about a year before I started to pick up heavy weights like I used to.

Why do you feel it’s important to have strong muscles – not just as a professional athlete but as someone living with rheumatoid arthritis?

Strength training plays a huge role in helping me stabilize my joints. I definitely feel like keeping everything strong and in shape is very valuable – especially for having movement and mobility through my joints. As I’ve been transitioning more to backcountry riding, I don’t train as intensely. However, when I back off on training some seasons, I feel the difference. I realize that I need structured training in the off season to protect my body from my illness and the sport that I choose to do. I need it to withstand the impact and the bumps that go along with being a professional snowboarder.

Can you walk us through your fitness/strength training routine?

At this time of year, I’m training more frequently. I do three gym sessions per week that include Olympic lifting, a lot of mobility and lengthy warm ups as I get a little older. I also do tons of functional movement. I live in Ucluelet now, so I’m surfing a lot, which helps with cardio and upper body strength. I pepper in a little bit of Pilates, skateboarding and running too. I try to get a variety of exercise in, but still have those three structured sessions per week.

Do you ever train at home? If so, do you have any tips you could share that might help others who live with arthritis and don’t feel they can make it to a gym?

There are a lot of great online options if you don’t want to go to the gym. There are no workout classes where I live now. I loved Pilates and spin class when I lived in Vancouver. But I signed up for an online Pilates class that I can do from home. I only need weights and a matt. It’s great complimentary training. But for myself, for strength training, I need to go somewhere. I’m not a work-from-home person. For my strength stuff, I go to the gym. That’s my motivation to get out of the house. But there are a lot of ways to start small before going to a gym.

What would you most want to tell people who are struggling to get started with exercise and strength training?

I think I would say, talk to your doctors. They are huge resources to lean on. Make sure to run things by them before starting anything new. As you are reintroducing things, they can keep you on track. Lean on your community too. There is a lot of support out there, especially people who can share experiences. For me, I gained more confidence once I started talking to other people who were in the same boat as me. It gave me confidence to get out there and take back my life after my diagnosis.

How does exercise and strength training help your snowboarding as someone with arthritis?

Strength training is really important for snowboarding for lots of reasons. We have really short, explosive movements. We do a lot for training around squatting and jumping because this translates to popping up and landing jumps. We need to have strong bodies to take the impacts. I’ve noticed a big difference if I’m not in good shape going into a season and this builds up over time. Even though snowboarding isn’t an endurance sport, we need an element of endurance in our bodies to last a winter. It’s important to have strength and wellbeing in our bodies overall.

What kind of resources do you find most helpful when training? Which ones would you recommend specifically for people with arthritis?

When I was reintroducing exercise and training, I didn’t have a ton of information. I was just going by feel and working with trainers, physiotherapists and doctors. I wish I had something like Arthritis Research Canada’s I START Tool (a research-backed tool created to help people with arthritis start and continue with strength training) to provide me with reassurance. I wondered if what I was doing was okay. There was a lot of trial and error as I reintroduced exercises and activities back into my life.

The I START Tool also has a version for exercise professionals – to help them understand how to do strength training with people who have inflammatory arthritis. Do you feel this type of tool would be helpful?

In the beginning, especially with trainers and physiotherapists, they knew about rheumatoid arthritis, but didn’t have a ton of experience working with an athlete that was pushing through that illness to reach a level like I was. So, the I START Tool is definitely something professionals can use to help people diagnosed with arthritis figure out how to reintroduce strength training into their lives.

Anything else you would like to share to inspire others with arthritis to start their fitness journey?

The biggest thing is those early days were so dark and scary and I felt alone. I just want people to know that they aren’t alone and that it’s okay to lean on people and reach out to others living with rheumatic diseases. That’s your lifeline. Also, once you’re feeling great, don’t be afraid to try. You can be active again. I’m living proof of that. You can regain the life you had before your diagnosis. I was afraid I would lose my livelihood and everything that made me who I was – the thing I loved the most, snowboarding, and I was happily proved wrong on that.