When you talk to Jim, you cannot help but feel his enthusiasm for the sport of bodybuilding, but even more so for his desire to help educate others with MS on how exercise, fitness, nutrition, and the proper mindset can put them on a path to success in battling our disease. Jim proves this every day at the Total Fitness Clubs in Swansea, Massachusetts, where he is changing lives. Here’s what Jim has to say about MS and the roles fitness and bodybuilding have played in his life: David Lyons: When were you diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and what were your symptoms? Jim Nolan: I was diagnosed with MS back in August 2007 after about two years of tests that started when I had an abnormal MRI following a fall that resulted in a head injury. In the years leading up to my diagnosis, I felt like I was losing my mind: I was forgetting things like people’s names, directions, and how to do basic math, and my emotions were all over the place. Physically I was losing feeling in the left side of my body, I had a bad limp, and I was experiencing extreme fatigue. I was always off-balance and suddenly falling to the side, and then speaking became very difficult as well. Holding a job was almost impossible at the time, and most people thought I was an alcoholic. DL: What are your symptoms currently, and have they improved since starting a workout routine? JN: My current symptoms are pretty light, as they come and go minimally — slight numbness when exposed to heat, pain in my left side at times, and I still get some lassitude (profound fatigue). But since I started training my mind and body correctly, allowing for rest when needed, these symptoms are merely a nuisance, although it takes consistency and great effort to keep things this way. DL: How did you get started on an exercise program? JN: I have two younger sisters, and when I was a little kid, I was bullied often, usually due to opening my big mouth to protect my sisters. My father suggested I try weight training to help with the bullying, and as soon as that first dumbbell hit my hand I fell in love with bodybuilding. At an early age I noticed and loved the way Steve Reeves and Arnold Schwarzenegger were built — with small waists and big broad shoulders. And although my technique and understanding of the body were horrible at the time, I promised myself I would be like them some day. In my teen years I focused on sports, competition, and training. I was driven to train harder than the next guy — hell, I even made it a goal to train harder than myself from one day to the next. This drive led me to better understand my body, and I taught myself how to “feel it out” when I trained, slowing my movements down and “listening” to my body. When I was 16 I gained about 20 pounds of muscle in one summer due to my effort in both physical training, including boxing, and study. I would lock myself in the garage with some free weights, a pull-up bar, and some of my dad’s old equipment for hours. That was also the year I started training my friends, then their friends, and without knowing it, I had already begun my journey as a personal trainer. By 2007, though, things weren’t going so well. I was in a rocky first marriage to my high school sweetheart, I weighed almost 290 pounds, and I was on my first round of MS medication. A health crisis landed me in a hospital for two weeks, during which time I lost two organs (my appendix and gallbladder) and died for 21 seconds during my third surgery. Good times! But after some hard work; a good dose of old-school, head-down, stubborn will power; good nutrition; and a lot of digging deep, I lost 107 pounds in 10 months and felt amazing. DL: What’s your current exercise routine? JN: Currently I’m utilizing a traditional bodybuilding style of training to prep for an upcoming photo shoot at the gym where I work as a personal trainer and group instructor. My program is made up primarily of high-volume sets mixed with slow, controlled, negative sets, along with a consistent increase in cardio, both steady-state and HIIT (high-intensity interval training). I also utilize resistance bands, foam rollers, and some yoga in my training to keep myself limber and my joints strong. The key for me is variety and consistency in movement. DL: What are your biggest challenges in your workouts? JN: My biggest challenges are still balance problems and fatigue. They tend to creep up pretty often, but I never stop, ever. I find that if I feel really off-balance one day, I just switch to Smith machine or Hammer Strength machine work to assist with my stabilization, or I simply drop to the ground for body weight and stabilization movements. Often you will find me using the sissy squat bench in the squat rack with a loaded barbell as a modification to the classic back squat. When I feel really tired, I may switch my set methodology from high volume to slow controlled reps. Regardless, I never, ever give in. I always find a way to modify and keep on moving. DL: Were there any times when you wanted to quit or give up? JN: People often ask me, “Do you ever want to give up or quit?” I can say without reservation, “never.” When I feel weak, tired, anxious, emotional, or have any negative feeling, it always fires me up and makes me angry, and I use it. I look at my MS as another person trying to bring me down and stop me, an enemy at times that I will never let beat me. Then I put my head down, dig deep, and move some weights. DL: How did you stay motivated to continue the program? JN: I honestly do not see any other choice in the matter but to keep training and to stay motivated to do so. I feel very strongly that when I stop moving, I stay not moving. MS is sneaky as it works that way, with me at least. The moment I feel weak — mentally, emotionally, or physically — something triggers inside me, a deep well of stubborn pride, I suppose, that will not allow me to do anything but challenge myself and just keep moving. DL: Have you altered your diet and nutrition regimen? JN: I have completely altered my nutrition, mostly to a plant-based diet with the occasional seafood meal and plain Greek yogurt, but no meat, dairy, or eggs. Most of my protein comes from nuts and beans, though I’m careful of legumes and how they affect my digestive tract and inflammation. DL: How has working out changed your life and helped with MS? JN: Working out and changing my nutrition has completely redefined my life in every aspect. I’m healthier, stronger, and more able to be there for my wife and my daughter in every way. I used to carry such guilt when I had severe symptoms or during a relapse, but not anymore. Now I know how to fight it. I feel strongly that my MS is both a curse and a blessing: It beats me up, but any fighter will tell you it’s the getting up that makes you stronger. So I feel that having MS has made me a stronger person and a much better trainer. DL: What fitness goals do you have set for the future? JN: In addition to the upcoming photo shoot, my fitness goals include an obstacle course race and possibly a male physique competition at age 40, next year. I am also working closely with the MS Fitness Challenge as their ambassador in the Massachusetts area to help as many with MS as possible live a lifestyle of fitness. DL: Do you have any advice for those who want to conquer MS through fitness? JN: The best advice I can give is this: Stop thinking about it, and get up and move as much as you can. When I came out of the hospital my first exercise was simply dragging my body from my bed, sliding along my hallway wall, and dropping onto my couch, where I passed out. Then I got up and did it all over again. After a while I could do it more and more, as the feeling came back in my body, mixed with excruciating pain, of course. Then I tackled the stairs, as I lived on the third floor of an apartment building without an elevator. Again, I took it slow and steady and a little at a time, while respecting my body’s need to rest. This was the beginning of my 10-month, 107-pound weight-loss journey, and while I didn’t know it then, my path to becoming a much better and more intuitive personal trainer. Define your personal limits, create goals, and surpass them. Much love to my MS brothers and sisters. Keep fighting, and keep on moving. David Lyons’s new book, Everyday Health and Fitness With Multiple Sclerosis, coauthored with neurologist Jacob Sloane, MD, PhD, offers nutrition advice, a mental approach to fitness, and discussion of the mind-body connection.
