Welcome back, friends! This week, I want to share what I learned at Pulmonary Rehab and what I managed to accomplish. The bursitis was real. I am starting PT this week so fingers crossed I can add distance and/or resistance soon. The education content was about why exercise is good for those of us living the “it ain’t easy being wheezy” lifestyle, but it would apply to pretty much everyone.
If you missed last week’s information and accomplishments, you can find it here.
Why exercise is good for people like us?
Glad you asked. Our bodies fall into the use it or lose it category, so keeping ourselves moving is the best thing for us. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s difficult when your body really doesn’t want to function at a level that is conducive to moving. All we can do is the best we can and work within our limits, right?
- Exercise helps improve endurance and stamina so we can do the things without fatiguing as quickly and/or becoming as short of breath.
- Exercise helps your body work better–oxygen can be used more efficiently and your cardiovascular abilities can improve. For example: lowering blood pressure, increasing bone density, increasing muscle strength (even the ones used for breathing), and improving brain function.
- Exercise can improve your mental health. For example: improve your self-esteem, reduce anxiety and depression.
- It can even help you sleep better! Who doesn’t need better sleep?
How often should I exercise?
You should start and do whatever is within your limits. When I talked to both Pulmonary Rehab and Physical Therapy, the goal is/was 3 days per week at least for about 30 minutes per day. It took me a while to build up to that in the past and I am having to get myself there again. As of right now, I am doing 2 days per week for 30-60 minutes. I am doing light work with no resistance at the moment, but when I get my physical pain under control I plan to add resistance and/or weight.
Keeping your efforts within the intensity and shortness of breath that feel like work for you is important. There are scales to measure this, which you have probably seen in testing. Currently I am doing exercises that fall into the light to moderate activity and light to moderate shortness of breath. My goal is to get to “Somewhat Hard” on the scale, but we’ll see what my old lady lungs can manage.
Types of Exercise
Stretching is relaxing and helps with flexibility. You should warm up and cool down your muscles with stretches before activity to prevent injury.
Aerobic exercise gets your blood pumping and breath moving. This is what I was talking about above when I talked about it helping your body function better. Examples of this are: walking, biking, dancing (used to be my favorite), and climbing the stair (bane of my existence).
Strength Training helps increase muscle strength. Building muscle can help you breath easier, believe it or not.
What did you accomplish this week?
On Tuesday, I walked on the treadmill for about 40 minutes at 1.3 mph. My stats stayed good throughout, so win! I moved slower and shorter than I wanted to because of my bursitis. I had some shortness of breath, but I considered it to be light-ish.
On Thursday, I was feeling better, but was still having issues with my hip. I decided to do the recumbent bike since I could get a decent amount of time in without bearing weight. I did 5.12 miles at 2.4 METs on average.
Remember to take care of yourselves and be safe out there! Seeyalaterbye <3
Also, if you feel called to help a sista out with her travels, check this out!
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