Whole-Body Workbook for Cancer by Dan Kenner

Author:Dan Kenner [Dan Kenner, PhD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781608825554
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

How Much Exercise Do You Need?

Regularly performed moderate physical activity presents a number of benefits to your whole organism, especially regarding immune-system functioning, such as augmenting resistance to infections and cancer growth. Too much effort or strain has the obvious risk of injury, but it can also disrupt the cellular antioxidant system. Another reason to go slowly at first is that you might provoke a “detox” reaction. If built-up waste in the connective tissues is suddenly mobilized, the resulting malaise can resemble a case of the flu, which will pass, of course, but it may delay your effort to start regular exercise while you recover.

Do you suffer from fatigue? If you’re fatigued from cancer, chemotherapy, or both, it may seem nonsensical to suggest exercise rather than more rest, but cancer experts now claim that exercise is the most reliable treatment for fatigue. Starting with two to three minutes, even very weak cancer patients can often increase to twenty-five to thirty minutes of moderate exercise (such as using a treadmill) within two to three months.

It’s important to figure out how much activity is right for you. If you want to enjoy the advantages of aerobic exercise, you don’t have to commit a lot of time. Most people can spare at least ten minutes a day. In only ten minutes, your body and metabolism can function at a higher level, with effects that last for twenty-four hours at first, and improved benefits with daily activity (Hansen, Stevens, and Coast 2001).

To find your optimum heart rate for beginning exercise, measure your resting heart rate by checking your pulse at your wrist or neck and counting the beats in one minute. Subtract this number from 220 and then multiply this number by half. Then add the number of beats in the resting heart rate again. This number is the number of beats per minute at the low end of your target heart rate. For example, if your resting heart rate is 70 beats per minute, then 220 minus 80 equals 140. Half of 140 is 70. Add the resting heart rate of 70 to 70, and the target heart rate is 140 beats per minute. To find the high end, use three quarters in place of one half. In this case we calculate that 220 minus 80 equals 140. Three fourths of 140 is 105. You add the resting heart rate value of 80 to 105 to get the high-end target heart rate of 185. You can measure your heart rate by checking your pulse at your wrist or neck, but it’s easier to use a heart monitor if you want to check it every day. Some sporting goods and electronics stores offer small portable ones. This method of monitoring your exercise is good for general purposes, health maintenance, and stress reduction. If you have any medical concerns, be sure to work out your exercise program with your doctor or a professional referred by your doctor. If you’re exercising for prevention, you can approach it with fewer constrictions.

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