Chronic Pain, Weight Loss, and Personal Training: My Life With Ankylosing Spondylitis

The place where I train clients, train myself, and try to outsmart a spine that hates me.

Most people who lose 100 pounds celebrate by finally buying clothes that fit or booking a beach holiday. I celebrated by developing a chronic illness that makes movement painful, drains my energy, and sometimes makes just standing up feel like I’ve done leg day twice. The condition is called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) - a type of arthritis that mainly attacks the spine but also brings fun extras like joint pain, fatigue, and random flare-ups.

So here I am: a personal trainer with a chronic pain condition, trying to demonstrate exercises while my back feels like it’s about to spasm at any moment, my feet ache from just standing, and I can’t stay upright for too long without everything seizing up. Somehow, despite all that, I’ve managed to keep the weight off for more than a decade.

It’s a strange contrast: being in constant pain while helping other people get fit.”

The Early Symptoms Nobody Could Explain

It started at 18 with lower back pain that just wouldn’t go away. At 19, my feet became so painful that standing felt unbearable. I assumed it was plantar fasciitis - it wasn’t. Around the same time, I experienced costochondritis for the first time - chest wall inflammation that feels like being stabbed in the ribs. I thought it was a trapped nerve.

Back then, none of it made sense. Each problem felt like an isolated issue, and I just got on with things, not realising how connected it all was.

Heavy drinking: my original cardio routine.

Losing the Weight

At 25, I finally began losing the weight. Exercise became part of my life, and I dropped 100 pounds. What I didn’t realise was that I was doing all of this while my body was already fighting a condition I hadn’t been diagnosed with yet.

Looking back, I can’t believe how much pain I normalised during those early years in the gym.

The competition that kick-started everything - including my career in fitness.

College & Fatigue

In my second year of college, age 26, fatigue hit me like a brick wall. I had to start taking daily naps just to get through. At 27, while working in a local gym, my back ached constantly, my feet burned from standing, and the fatigue made me feel physically ill.

I just assumed this was normal - that working full-time left everyone this wrecked.

The First Diagnosis

In 2018, at 29, I finally got some answers: Ankylosing Spondylitis. I’d never heard of it before, but I felt relieved to have a name for what was happening.

That relief didn’t last long. A different rheumatologist told me I didn’t have AS after all - but without offering any other explanation. I was back to square one, only now even more frustrated.

Working, Stopping, Pivoting

Between 2019 and 2023, I trained clients on and off, depending on how bad my symptoms were. In summer 2020, the pain was so severe that I thought my career in fitness was over. I enrolled in a Computing & IT degree, convinced my future would need to be remote work.

The plan was simple: find a career I could manage without the daily punishment of commuting or standing on my feet.

The backup plan: a BSc in Computing & IT (expensive, time-consuming, but always there if I need it).

The Second Diagnosis

By summer 2023, at age 34, I was at breaking point. My neck and back pain were so relentless I begged my GP for a surgical referral. After reviewing my MRI, he referred me to a rheumatologist.

This time, the diagnosis stuck: Ankylosing Spondylitis. Finally, I had certainty.

I was prescribed Humira, a biologic injection taken every two weeks that suppresses inflammation by blocking TNF proteins. My fatigue improved slightly, but most of my symptoms didn’t budge.

Trading squats for syringes wasn’t the plan, but it became part of the routine.

Current Treatment

When Humira didn’t work, I moved onto infliximab infusions - a stronger biologic given intravenously in hospital every few weeks. The hope is that it will reduce inflammation and stop the disease from progressing.

So far, the results haven’t been life-changing. But I’m still hopeful.

When you live with a condition like AS, optimism is non-negotiable.

Returning to Personal Training

Despite all this, I wasn’t ready to walk away from fitness completely. After being re-diagnosed, I felt optimistic again. I restarted personal training while finishing my Computing & IT degree.

My hope is that treatment eventually allows me to stay in this job I love. If not, I have the degree as a backup plan - an extremely expensive and time-consuming backup plan, but one that keeps options open.

How I Manage Training Now

Because of my back, running hasn’t been possible for years. Walking for cardio is now out too - both my back and feet protest almost immediately. Even my trusty recumbent bike is no longer an option.

These days, my cardio comes from an under-desk elliptical while sitting in an office chair with lumbar support. It’s not glamorous, but it works - and crucially, it doesn’t leave me in more pain.

I’ve also shifted away from free weights and standard machines. Just getting weights into position was causing too many problems. My solution has been the Speedience Gym Monster 2, a smart home gym that lets you switch weight on and off with a Bluetooth ring once you’re in position.

It’s been a game-changer. In January this year, I had such a severe back spasm that I was out of work for five months and thought my career was over. Then I found this machine on YouTube (thanks The Tech Chap), and suddenly, personal training was possible again.

The Speedience Gym Monster gave me back my career when I thought it was over.

Now, I can demonstrate exercises for clients using very light weight, then switch it on for their working sets. I’ve even been able to bring back exercises I thought I’d lost forever, like squats - the belt squat lets me load my legs without punishing my spine or neck.

Best of all, no more lugging dumbbells and weight plates around - which was becoming impossible for me anyway.

Most of my clients have been with me for years and understand my situation. They don’t mind me sitting down for most of a session, often in a wheeled office chair so I can still check form from different angles. New clients get the same explanation from day one.

Enables me to work as a trainer again......as long as there isn't a power cut

Reflections & Lessons

Having a chronic illness makes weight maintenance trickier, but not impossible. It forces you to adapt. On bad days, I simply rest. On okay days, I train. It’s not a perfect schedule, but it’s far better than nothing.

When I first started in the gym, I wanted to build as much muscle as possible. These days, I’m content maintaining what I have and prioritising my health.

Fitness isn’t about perfect circumstances - it’s about persistence and adaptability.

If there’s one thing my story proves, it’s that fitness isn’t about having the ideal conditions. It’s about persistence, honesty, and finding ways to keep moving forward - even when your body makes that harder than it should be.

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