I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at seventeen. By my early twenties I’d had more than half a dozen joint surgeries, I was getting heavier and stiffer every year, and every professional I saw told me the same thing: rest. Rest made it worse. Learning how to train with RA, carefully, consistently, and on purpose, is what gave me my body back. Today I’m stronger and more mobile than I’ve ever been, and I train Muay Thai several times a week.
I’m Grant Denney, an NCSF-certified personal trainer and strength coach in Carmel, Indiana. This page is for anyone with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus or another autoimmune condition who’s been told lifting is off the table. It isn’t. It might be the most important thing you do.
Why strength training matters when you have RA
- Muscle protects joints. Strong muscles around a joint absorb load the joint would otherwise take. Weak muscles leave the joint to do the work, and it gets beaten up faster.
- Inactivity makes everything worse. Rest leads to weaker muscles, stiffer joints, more weight and less energy. Every one of those adds to joint pain. It’s a spiral, and I lived it.
- Strength is independence. Getting out of a chair, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, opening a jar. RA takes those things one at a time. Strength training is how you keep them.
- Your doctors agree. Current guidance from rheumatology and arthritis organizations recommends regular strength and aerobic exercise for people with inflammatory arthritis. The question isn’t whether to train; it’s how.
I’m a trainer, not a physician. Your rheumatologist manages your disease and your medication; I manage the training. Keep them in the loop, and if anything I ask conflicts with their advice, their advice wins.
How I train with autoimmune conditions
- Assessment first. Which joints are affected, what your flares look like, what you’ve had surgically done, what your medication schedule is, and what your body can handle today. Not what it could handle five years ago.
- Load the muscle, spare the joint. Every movement has a version that works the muscle without aggravating the joint: a different grip, a different range, a machine instead of a barbell, a slower tempo. We find yours.
- Stability and mobility in every session. Not a warm-up you skip. Joint control, range of motion and the small stabilizing muscles get trained alongside the big lifts, because that’s what keeps the big lifts safe.
- Progress slowly, on purpose. A little more each week. With RA, the body adapts to what you ask of it as long as you ask reasonably. Jumping ahead is how you lose two months.
- Train around flares, not through them. On a flare day we go lighter, work the joints that feel fine, or move the session. We don’t quit and we don’t push into a hot joint. The app tracks how you’re feeling day to day so we can see patterns and plan around them.
- Recovery is part of the program. Sleep, stress and nutrition affect inflammation. We don’t pretend training happens in a vacuum. Protein for muscle, enough food for recovery, and realistic expectations about hard weeks.
What it changed for me
Nobody hands you a plan for being twenty with joints that act three times their age. I built mine by reading everything I could find, testing it on myself, and keeping what worked. Meniscus repairs, a shoulder rebuilt twice, an ACL reconstruction and cartilage grafts: every one of those joints is strong now. The diagnosis didn’t go away. The limitations mostly did. The full story is on the About page. Clients who come to me with autoimmune conditions get the plan I wish someone had handed me.
Who this is for
Adults with RA, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus or another autoimmune condition who’ve been told to take it easy and have watched themselves get weaker. People a few years past diagnosis who’ve gained weight and lost confidence. Anyone post-surgery who wants to get strong again without ending up back on the table. If you’re in Carmel or Indianapolis, we train in person at a private studio or in your home. If you’re anywhere else, I coach clients with autoimmune conditions online through the app, and this is a case where it genuinely works. More on how I train around injuries and joint pain.
Questions people ask
Won’t lifting damage my joints?
Lifting badly or recklessly can. Lifting with the right exercise choices, sensible loads and steady progression does the opposite: it builds the muscle that protects the joint. That’s what we do.
What about days when I’m flaring?
We adjust. Lighter loads, different joints, more mobility, or a rest day if that’s what you need. Consistency over months matters far more than any single session.
Can I do this if I’ve already had joint replacements or fusions?
Usually yes, once your surgeon clears you. Bring your restrictions to the consultation; we build the program around them, not in spite of them.
Or call/text 765-571-1514. In person in Carmel and Indianapolis, or online anywhere.