How Should You Exercise If You Have Low Iron?

You’re tired all the time. Your skin might look pale. You might be short of breath. Does that sound like you? If that’s your case, you just might have low iron (although you could also be low in B12 or folate). Congratulations. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.

And if you do have low iron, how should you exercise?

First, gather round, put your thinking cap on, and let me explain what iron does in your body.

Iron is a mineral that is part of a protein called “hemoglobin” (or if you’d like to use the British spelling, you can spell it “haemoglobin.” Don’t you feel more sophisticated and intelligent spelling it that way?). Hemoglobin is a component of your red blood cells that gives you energy and endurance.

If you are low in iron, there is less oxygen in your body.

Why might you be low in iron? There are 3 reasons:

1. Insufficient intake. This may be the case if you are a vegetarian or vegan.
2. You might be getting enough iron in your diet, but it’s not getting absorbed by your body.
3. Excessive losses. You might be a woman who bleeds heavily during your periods, or you might be an endurance athlete (especially a runner). Ironically (pun intended), each time your foot strikes the ground, you destroy some red blood cells.

So your first step is to solve your anemia. Don’t just self-diagnose, but go to your doctor to get a blood test that will confirm whether you have anemia or not. If you do, take some specific measures to resolve it.

During the time that you are bringing up your iron stores, it’s certainly a good idea to avoid running, since running works against your efforts to increase your iron. During this time, resistance training, using high repetitions (over 15) with large muscle groups is a great idea. Why is it? Because endurance comes from two sources:

1. How much blood the heart pumps out.
2. How much oxygen your muscles extract from the blood.

Doing resistance training with high repetitions enhances your muscles’ ability to extract more oxygen from the blood, so even with low iron, your energy will improve.

Just remember your first order of business: get your iron levels up.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions, leave your questions or comments below, and I’ll be sure to answer them.

Quick Summary

• Iron is a mineral that gives you endurance
• Low iron can happen because of:
  • Insufficient intake
  • Poor absorption
  • Excessive losses
• First, correct low iron
• While you’re correcting low iron, opt for resistance training using high repetitions (15 repetitions or more)