Some old fashioned doctors still believe that exercising while you have cancer isn’t a benefit to your health. The opposite is true, though, and many studies have proven it.
Aim for a minimum of two and a half hours of exercise every week, even if you’re undergoing treatment for mesothelioma. When you’re feeling your weakest, this exercise can be extremely light. As long as you’re moving, you’re doing okay for the time being. When you start to feel stronger and healthier, increase the intensity and duration of your workout.
Many people don’t understand the different levels of exercise or how to fit them into your daily routine. Understanding the difference between light, moderate and vigorous exercise can make all the difference. You may be avoiding working out because you don’t think you can perform at certain intensity, when in fact you may be able to reap the benefits of exercise without pushing yourself as hard as you expect.
Moderate exercise activities include walking, biking, dancing, roller-skating, horseback riding and yoga. If you want more intense exercise, trying jogging, running, fast bicycling or a spinning class, circuit weight training, martial arts, jumping rope or swimming.
If you like to play sports, moderate sports include volleyball, golfing without a golf cart, softball or baseball, badminton, tennis or skiing. For more vigorous sports, try soccer, field hockey or ice hockey, lacrosse, racquetball, basketball or cross country skiing.
Some people need to incorporate exercise into their busy home life. Mowing the lawn with a pusher mower, gardening and cleaning the house all count as moderate or vigorous activity. Other people get exercise at their job if they work somewhere that they need to do manual labor, lift heavy objects or walk a lot.
Your ideal workout regime will combine flexibility exercises with toning and cardiovascular activity. Each type of exercise can be mild, but these three components are necessary for a well-rounded regime. Don’t work out the same muscle group two days in a row. Instead, engage in muscle building and toning exercises two to three days a week with at least one day in between.
During the height of your cancer treatment, don’t push yourself beyond what you feel comfortable with. For example, if you feel extremely sick from chemotherapy, wait two or three days until you feel a bit more like yourself. There’s a big difference between being too sick to push your body and feeling weak only because you haven’t been exercising. Learn the difference and listen to your body.
This article was written by David Haas (Awareness Program Advocate). Click here to read more about Author