Physical Fitness & HIV

Whether you are HIV-positive or HIV-negative, regular exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle. If you are living with HIV, exercise plays an important role in taking care of yourself. Exercising helps to keep your body strong and is an excellent way to relieve stress.

Exercise can:

• Improve your energy level
• Reduce stress
• Enhance your sense of well-being
• Build or maintain muscle mass
• Improve heart health
• Reduce cholesterol
• Increase bone strength
• Improve appetite
• Improve sleep patterns
• Regulate bowel function

Talk to your healthcare provider before beginning an exercise regimen. You'll want to make sure you start an exercise program that you can maintain and, depending on the state of your immune system, you may need to pace yourself. The key is to take it easy, choose activities you enjoy and work exercise into your daily activities.

The important thing is to start with an activity level that you feel you can commit to and then improve from there.

* "Undetectable" is defined as a viral load that is too low to be picked up by a particular test. Typically, it is a viral load of less than 400 or 50 copies/mL (depending on test used).