3 Workouts to Try if You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis

3 Workouts to Try if You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis

Yes, you can participate in the hottest fitness trends if you have RA. Here’s how.
3 Workouts to Try if You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis
Everyday Health
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Updated on May 13, 2025
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Connecting Mind and Body Through Yoga

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T he stiffness and joint pain that come with rheumatoid arthritis can make the idea of working out less than appealing, but exercise is key for managing these symptoms.

“Exercise can reduce pain, stiffness, and even fatigue in RA patients,” says Amy Kehl, MD, a rheumatologist in Santa Monica, California. “Strengthening the musculature around the surrounding joints can be very helpful in reducing joint pain and improving mobility.”

Talk to your doctor about which types of exercise are appropriate for you. With their approval, consider the three workouts below, all of which you can safely do from the comfort of your own home.

Meet the Experts

Here’s who will guide you to safely incorporate the latest trends into your fitness routine.

Suleman Bhana, MD

Dr. Bhana is a rheumatologist and a senior medical director at Pfizer in New York City. Inspired by his mother’s journey with inflammatory arthritis, Bhana is passionate about helping people with rheumatic disease.

Suleman Bhana, MD

Britany Williams

Motivated by challenges she herself has faced with RA, the Portland, Oregon–based Sweat instructor Britany Williams specializes in barre. Her classes fuse traditional elements of ballet and Pilates with athletic, high-intensity movements to build strength and increase flexibility.

Britany Williams

Phyllicia Bonanno

For the Sweat instructor Phyllicia Bonanno, yoga provides an energizing release that also builds strength and flexibility while grounding the mind and body. The New Jersey native enjoys the interlinking flow of movement between poses and the ability to create unique and creative flows for her followers.

Phyllicia Bonanno

On Trend: Fitness and Nutrition Tips

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3 Workouts for People With Rheumatoid Arthritis to Try

S ymptoms and energy levels can vary from day to day when you have RA, so meeting your body where it’s at is critical, says Bill Camarda, an Epping, New Hampshire-based certified personal trainer who had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis as a child.

“Low-impact exercise is usually your best bet with RA, but you should still focus on building muscle, because muscle helps protect and support the joints,” Camarda says. That said, he advises against heavy lifting (especially on days when you’re already inflamed or tight), progressing gradually, and letting your body guide the pace.

These three forms of exercise may be just what your body needs.

Yoga

The physical benefits of yoga for people with RA — including increased joint flexibility and function — are well-known. One study found that people with RA who practiced yoga experienced improvements in physical function, disease activity, and grip strength.

 Dr. Kehl adds that gentle yoga can be helpful for core strengthening and increasing range of motion in patients with RA, while Camarda says it promotes recovery after strength-building exercise.

If you’re new to yoga, it’s smart to ease into the practice. “My general rule of thumb is to 'start low and go slow' with new forms of exercise, but even 10 to 15 minutes two to three times a week of light stretching or yoga can be helpful for improving mobility and range of motion,” Kehl says.

Another pro tip: Try a smaller group class or even a one-on-one session with a yoga teacher, if budget allows. Camarda says this more personalized attention can be a big help when you’re first getting started. Even if you’re in a larger class setting, though, don’t hesitate to speak up if you need modifications.

“Your joints may not be able to go into full range of motion, so having someone there who can help you with safe adjustments based on your pain level is critical,” Camarda says.

In addition to being a great way to exercise, yoga offers benefits for the mind.

“Think about that mind-body connection and feel each movement through your breath,” says Bonnano. Incorporating deep, conscious breathing into your yoga routine could help reduce the stress that comes from managing the condition. One study found that people with RA who participated in yoga for 12 weeks had significant improvements in fatigue and mood.

Here, Bonanno leads you through a yoga flow to help you refocus on that mind-body connection. We’ve also tapped Bhana to provide his input on how being more mindful helps RA.

   Poll
How do you practice mindfulness? - On Trend RA

How do you practice mindfulness?

How do you practice mindfulness?

Strength Training

A well-rounded fitness plan for RA includes strength training. “People with RA may be more sedentary, so it's important to make sure muscle mass is maintained,” Camarda points out. “Light weight training, and progressing if the body responds well, is a great course of action.”

One small study found that people with the condition who completed 12 weeks of once-weekly strength training had increased lower limb strength as well as higher mental health scores.

Besides building your muscles, strength training has other benefits for RA. “We know that patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk for bone mineral density decline and osteoporosis,” says Kehl.

 “This decline is related to both the RA itself and the medications that are often used to treat inflammation, such as prednisone. Incorporating strength training and weight-bearing exercises will improve and stabilize bone mineral density and reduce the overall risk of fracture.”
Strengthening muscles also boosts overall stability and balance. Since people with RA have an increased risk of falls, Kehl says weight-bearing exercise can be an effective prevention strategy.

Sweat fitness instructor Williams, who has RA, takes you through this low-impact, no-equipment workout that engages all your major muscle groups. She also demonstrates modifications that can make each movement easier on your joints.

Don’t be discouraged if you need to modify certain exercises. “I couldn’t do push-ups on my toes for years because of my RA,” she says. “It was doing modified push-ups that helped me grow my range of motion in my wrists to be able to do them on my toes.”

The more you practice, the stronger you’ll get. You’ll also hear from Bhana on how exercise fits into your self-care routine.

Cardio Barre Fusion

It’s important to make the most of the time you have to work out, even if it’s just a few minutes — and that’s where fusion fitness comes in. Fusion workouts, which combine at least two different types of exercises, are a great way to fit a quick and effective sweat session into your busy day.

A cardio barre routine provides cardio, strength, and conditioning benefits, all in one workout.

Camarda says this mash-up of strength and cardio can help minimize joint pain in specific body parts. “Cardio barre is low-impact and targets stabilizing muscle groups like the gluteus medius and transverse abdominals,” he says. “For people with RA, pain in the knees, hips, or back can often be tied to imbalances in these muscles.”

Again, just be sure to take it slowly when starting a cardio barre class, tuning into what’s possible for you on any given day.

Here, Williams mixes the toning and strengthening benefits of barre with the aerobic benefits of cardio. “I have RA myself, so I completely understand how hard it can be to find a cardio workout that’s still nice and protective on my joints,” she says. That’s why this cardio-barre routine is ideal — you’ll get your heart pumping without any running, jumping, or other high-impact exercises.

Bhana also provides practical advice and tips throughout the workout. So grab a mat (and a chair, for balance) and get started.

   Poll
Which of these fitness trends interests you most? - On Trend RA

Which of these fitness trends interests you most?

Which of these fitness trends interests you most?

The Takeaway

  • Exercise is linked with numerous positive outcomes for rheumatoid arthritis, such as better mobility and less stiffness and joint pain.
  • Yoga, strength training, and cardio barre are three forms of exercise that may bring unique benefits for RA.
  • Listen to your body as you exercise, being sure to start slowly, make modifications, or stop if a movement is too painful.
  • Always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Ye X et al. Yoga for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Medicine. November 2020.
  2. Pukšić S et al. Effects of Yoga in Daily Life program in rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. March 2021.
  3. Sul B et al. Twelve Weeks of Strengthening Exercise for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Prospective Intervention Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. August 2020.
  4. Ashai S et al. Rheumatoid Arthritis and Bone Health. Clinical Medicine. November 2020.
  5. Mikos M et al. Evaluation of Risk Factors for Falls in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Medical Science Monitor. April 2020.
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Kayli Anderson, RDN

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Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainable. Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women. She’s the founder of PlantBasedMavens.com, a hub for women to get evidence-based, practical, and woman-centered guidance on nutrition and cooking, hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, movement, mental well-being, nontoxic living, and more.

Anderson is board-certified in lifestyle medicine and serves as lead faculty of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s (ACLM) "Food as Medicine" course. She is past chair of the ACLM's registered dietitian member interest group, secretary of the women's health member interest group, and nutrition faculty for many of ACLM's other course offerings. She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.

Anderson frequently speaks on the topics of women’s health and plant-based nutrition and has coauthored two lifestyle medicine textbooks, including the first one on women’s health, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan.

She received a master's degree in nutrition and physical performance and is certified as an exercise physiologist and intuitive eating counselor. She's a student of herbal medicine and women's integrative and functional medicine. She lives with her husband in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where you’ll find her out on a trail or in her garden.

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Kerry Weiss is a New York–based freelance writer, editor, and content strategist specializing in health and wellness. She has contributed to a variety of online publications, including Healthline, WebMD, Sharecare, Twill Care, and What to Expect.
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Sarah Garone is a licensed nutritionist, registered nutrition and dietetics technician, freelance health and wellness writer, and food blogger in Mesa, Arizona. She has written for The Washington Post, Healthline, Greatist, Verywell, and Eat This, Not That, among other outlets. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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