I'm 5'5, 120lb (maybe, I could be more or less. I don't own a scale) female, 21 years old. I've always fluctuated between 105-130lbs, and I generally eat pretty healthily.
I have 7 autoimmune disorders, and have been diagnosed with 5 chronic pain illnesses. One of my chronic pain illnesses is JIA - idiopathic arthritis. I have been diagnosed with JIA since I was 8 months old. Because of the arthritis, I have permanent joint damage in both elbows, both knees, and my left ankle. I cannot fully extend or bend my elbows and my knees. I've been on prednisone for most of my life, and relied on it whenever I would exercise, because it helped manage swelling and pain. But I cannot take it anymore because it had negative effects.
Anyways, I would like to focus on strength training. I've been tracking my calories for the past week and found that I was only getting about 900-1100 calories (I'm an engineer, and we don't usually get much exercise in the office), usually because I forget breakfast, then eat a handful of nuts during the day, and have a bowl of rice for dinner when I get home. So, I've been increasing my calorie count and started trying to remember to eat a lot of protein.
I do not want to lose weight, I want to gain muscle and strength. I have been going to the gym for about a month, about 5 times each week. Mostly I do 10 minutes of the elliptical, then stretch, and then I work through the machines for a full body work out on M/W/F, on my off days I usually just go and do 20 minutes on the elliptical and some ab exercises. I can lift from 20lbs-40lbs, but only using the machines. But I have only lost more weight, and I do not feel like I am gaining much muscle at all.
There are not a lot of resources available for someone my age with arthritis on how to work out safely. The few resources that are available, do not recommend strength training and usually tell us to "maintain a healthy weight so daily activities aren't difficult." I would like to be capable of much more than just existing! I do not have access to a pool, so those exercises are not possible. Sorry, this post is all over the place.
What are the best *beginner* strength training exercises I could do that won't damage my joints further? I would like to eventually work my way up to the dumbbell, but it seems like that's a long way away.
