Tools for Fitness

Why exercise if you have pulmonary disease?

Benefits of Exercise

How to Start an Exercise Program:

Cardiopulmonary Exercise:

Strengthening/Muscle Endurance

Flexibility/Posture - Flexibility and Posture Evaluation

How to Stay Motivated

What's your excuse for not exercising?

Tips for Successful Exercise

 

Benefits of Exercise

• Minimize cardiac risk factors
• Decrease shortness of breath
• Improve bronchodilation
• Improve breathing pattern
• Improve exercise tolerance
• Improve muscle strength and endurance
• Decrease stress
• Decrease depression
• Decrease fear and anxiety
• Decrease medication side effects
• Decrease medical expenses
• Improve quality of life

How to Start an Exercise Program:

Cardiopulmonary Exercise:

• Exercise test
• Determine response to CP exercise
• Assure safety
• Measure fitness level
• Assess need for oxygen
• Exclude heart disease

Choose an appropriate activity:

• Convenient
• Tolerable at current fitness level
• Aerobic
• Meets your goals

Frequency - how often?

• Consider needs and goals
  • 3 times per week to maintain current fitness level
  • 4 - 5 times per week to improve fitness level
  • 5 - 6 times per week to promote weight loss

Duration - how long?

• Consider individual abilities
  • 20 minutes to maintain current fitness level
  • 30 - 40 minutes to improve fitness level
  • 45 - 60 minutes to promote weight loss

Warm up and cool down:

• Warm up = 3-5 minutes
• Cool down = 3-5 minutes

Progression:

• Depends on goals and secondary diseases
  • Increase 2-5 minutes each week

Intensity - how hard?

• Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE)
  • Warm up = 1-2
  • Exercise = 3-4
• If RPE is greater than target, slow down or decrease resistance; don't stop!
• If RPE is less than target, increase speed, incline, or resistance

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Strengthening/Muscle Endurance

• Muscle strength and endurance evaluation
• Equipment
• Therabands@
• Hand-held weights, ankle weights. Weight equipment

Frequency - how often?

• 3 - 4 times per week (leave a day of rest between sessions)
• Increase endurance (repetitions) first, then strength (resistance)
  • 10 - 20 repetitions
  • 1 - 3 sets

Flexibility/Posture - Flexibility and Posture Evaluation

• Guidelines
  • Stretch after aerobic or strength exercises. Stretch muscles that are most tight
  • Stretch to the point of mild tension
  • Hold for at least 30 seconds
  • Repeat 2-6 times as needed
  • Don't bounce!
  • Remember to breathe .

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How to Stay Motivated

What is your excuse?

• Too busy
• Too tired
• Not feeling well
• Short of breath
• Too boring
• Weather

How to overcome excuses:

• Your priority is YOU!
• Listen to your body: Exercise = Energy
• Exercise decreases shortness of breath
• Distract yourself
• Have a Plan A and a Plan B

Ways to stay motivated

• Remember the benefits
• Improved health
• Improved control over illness

Reassess goals: What do you want to accomplish?

• Use rewards
• Feedback - keep a log
• Make it fun
• Just do it!

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What's your excuse for not exercising?

Excuse #1

"I'm too busy; I have no time."

You only need 20 - 60 minutes, 3 - 6 times each week, time that you probably spend watching TV, etc. Schedule your exercise time, make an appointment with a friend to meet the same time each day.

Excuse #2

"I'm too tired, I have no energy."

For the energy you expend on exercise, you receive twice as much back. So,if you have a lot of things to do, you'll need extra energy to get them done.

Excuse #3

"It's easier to sit and watch TV than exercise (I'm lazy)."

The less you do, the less you'll be able to do: if you don't use it, you'll lose it!

Excuse #4

"If I exercise, I get short of breath."

Increase shortness of breath is a normal response to exercise, and you'll experience lessshortness of breath the more you exercise. If you don't exercise, you'll experience moreshortness of breath with daily activities.

Excuse #5

"Exercise is boring!"

Make exercise fun. Distract yourself by watching TV, listening to music or books on tape, reading, or exercising with a friend. Keep a log or diary of your progress. Give yourself rewards for sticking with your exercise program (a new tape, a long-distance phone call, a night out, etc.)

Excuse #6

"I can't exercise today because the weather is bad."

Always have a Plan A and a Plan B. If Plan A is walking outdoors, then Plan B may be stationary biking, walking on a trampoline, walking at the mall, or going to the local YMCA or recreation center.

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Tips for Successful Exercise

• Convenience
• Exercise close to home or at home
• Pick a convenient time for an exercise class or when equipment is available
• Not expensive
• Activity is do-able
• Choose an activity that doesn't hurt you
• Choose an activity that is tolerable and enjoyable
• Shortness of breath with the activity shouldn't be so severe that you need to stop
• Your oxygen levels aren't so low that you need to stop the exercise

What kind of exerciser are you?

• Team player
  • Try badminton, volleyball, tennis
• Loner
  • Try biking, walking, swimming
• Strenuous exercise
  • Try golf, water aerobics, stationary biking
• Easier intensity
  • Try low impact aerobics, swimming, hiking
• Like to socialize
  • Try mall walking, aerobics, water aerobics

What is the best time of day to exercise?

• When you have the most energy.
• When you feel your best.
• Whenever it is possible to exercise.
• Within 1 - 2 hours of last inhaler or nebulizer treatment or within 1/2 hour of pretreatment.
• Do strength exercises throughout the day instead of all at one time.

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