Exercise and Cancer Patients…there is hope!

About eleven years ago I lost my younger brother to a malignant brain tumor. It will be exactly those many years on March 5th of 2012.

Cancer has touched the lives of many if not all in recent years.

It is with my sympathies to those who have lost loved to Cancer and with the hope that you’ll find the information provided below useful that I submit the following guest post by David Haas.

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Fighting Cancer With Fitness- Reclaiming A Zeal For Life

Most people today know about the numerous health benefits of physical activity. Better heart health, lower blood pressure, reduced stress, and improved self-esteem are just some of the benefits of exercise. Despite these benefits, however, physical fitness is usually the last thing on a cancer patient’s mind.

In fact, a cancer diagnosis often shatters a person’s sense of control over his or her own body. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and other cancer treatments cause further devastation. Cancer patients face additional struggles after treatment and during recovery. Physical fatigue, emotional stress, and various psychological barriers can leave them feeling crushed and beaten.

As unlikely as it may seem to someone going through, or coming out of, cancer treatment, physical activity returns the sense of control that the cancer diagnosis and treatment diminished. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise increases the sense of overall well-being and speeds the recovery process, too.

Engaging in a regular exercise routine during and after cancer treatment requires surprisingly little effort. Small steps are the way to go, and a little activity goes a long way. Most cancer patients can incorporate exercise into their days, but they should check with their doctor before beginning a fitness program.

Different cancer patients will benefit from different programs or different activity levels. For example, a breast cancer survivor’s fitness program will differ from that of someone going through mesothelioma treatment. Both patients should be able to do something, pending their doctor’s approval. The key is to start slowly and increase intensity as fitness improves.

According to national guidelines, the American Cancer Society recommends about twenty minutes of exercise a day. Moderate exercise is best, but cancer patients should adhere to their doctor’s instructions regarding fitness. Any physical activity above their usual daily routines will result in numerous health benefits for cancer patients.

Studies suggest that exercise increases the survival rate and reduces the recurrence risks. And the evidence for health benefits to the heart, lungs, muscles, and bones is extensive. For this reason, cancer patients are encouraged to exercise during treatment and recovery. Those who fight cancer with fitness not only reclaim control over their illness, but they often discover a newfound zeal for life.

David Haas
Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance
Guest Blogger http://about.me/haasblaag

Fatty Acids – Omega 3s

Have you established the good habit of taking Omega-3s and Fatty Acids?

Fish Oil, Omega-3s, Fatty Acids

Some time ago I established the habit of taking fish oil. This habit is so well entrenched that I can not remember how long it has been since I did not take any fish oil, it’s easy when you keep track. But I don’t have to it’s just a natural thing for me to do now.

I wish we could just eat the expensive fish as much as we wanted or venison but you have to make due with what you can find.

For this or any other habit, re-enforcement is key. So write a note to yourself, a post it note, a calendar item on your fancy cell phone, a pop up message on your email program. Did you take your fish oil today?

Of course it could be anything else, start with something.

Krill Oil has recently become the favorite child of many health enthusiasts. That’s what my wife takes, no fish oil after effects.

But first, establish the habit!

Lean Eating Recap and Maintenance Begins!

Reviewed the first lesson from last years LE program today.

Doing one thing at time has become so much clear for me since I first read this lesson last year. Not only in changing my eating habits but also at work.

It feels good to go over it and being that I’ve experienced a measure of success so far it really brightens up my day and I see much more improvement coming my way.

Get this, I’m wearing a brand new dress shirt, the fitted kind of dress shirt. It feels good.

I’m able to wear it because I did one thing at a time.

I started the Lean Eating program at well over 246 lbs and finished at 211 lbs. I’m looking at more fat loss and more strength gains coming my way.

I am riding the wave!

Today I had my fish oil and vitamins. That is so second nature now!

Looking back!

I have been tracking my progress on the 5×5 program more closely on this second try (courtesy of Strong Lifts). In fact I have tracked my food on Loseit! for one straight month now.

I used to track on another site but I really like the  new interface on Loseit! and I can use my iPhone as well to keep records that get uploaded to the site.

I’m not that concerned about my weight this time around. I’m eating cleaner and so the fat loss and muscle gain will converge at some point.

Right now I’m pretty happy with my gains, looking forward to more.

On my overhead press I was up to 125lbs but it was turning more into a push-press so I deloaded and I’m using smaller increments as I recorded on my last post.

More weight on my squat, less on my gut!

Chained progression!

Planned partial overload on my lifts are now accomplished courtesy of chains. Chained Progression! I went to my local hardware store and bought some chains in 1.5, 3 feet lengths. They weight less than 3lbs total. I use them to increment the weight on the barbell on certain lifts for slower but solid progression. Using the chains helps me to recover better as well. The increments in weight are not as traumatic for the overhead lifts and quite doable. I tried the five pound increments and it was too much. The new bling! Chaing gang!

5×5 Progress

My faithful companion on my 5x5 quest!

It’s December and my progress on the 5×5 program has been great. Squatting or Dead Lifting has not been an issue for me, benching and overhead presses are where the problems lie.

Since I started using my home made Indian Clubs and working on my shoulders, my bench and overhead pressing has improved dramatically.

As of today, I’m squatting my current weight of 245lbs for five sets of five fairly well.

The biggest improvement are my presses. I’m 155lbs on the bench press and while that is nowhere near what I did a long time ago, it is a miracle I can even do that. Overhead pressing is at 125lbs and currently deloading on it to make better progress.

The best part, I can do push-ups without any shoulder pain.

My weight although higher has stabilized, my food tracking is good so things look great from this side of the iron!

5×5 Experiment Partial Results

 

Sweat and tears 5x5

 

Well my 5×5 experiment is beginning again.  The last time, I was able to make some gains, some of which I did not really want. Weight gain for example. The issue for me I believe is that I did not track my food intake properly.

Another thing is that the 5×5 program requires benching, push-ups and overhead presses. Having shoulder issues made this really difficult for me. I went through sleepless nights due to my shoulder hurting after doing the part of the workout that require benching. It was very discouraging. Of course if something hurts, don’t do it, or fix the problem.

 

A different kind of squat!

 

I have restarted the program, worked on my shoulder feel much better this time around. Left the ego at the door and my bench is a paltry 65lbs at the moment, but it will improve.

I’m also very conscious of what I’m eating and not using the heavy lifting as an excuse to splurge

I’m on my third day of this second round. I really like it, keeps me focused and have high hopes this time around.

More weight on my squat and less on my gut!

The Irony of Iron

I was reading a men’s health article at the super market this past weekend, it contained photos of celebrities and their body types. I’m an endomorph and that’s Jack Black

I tend to gain weight easily, I can also gain strength easily, the caveat is the fat I gain along with it. Going heavy has seen me squat well over my body weight, DL over 400lbs and generally be able to push a truck unaided.

My biggest issue has been the carb intake (refined that is, and not in a gentlemanly way), and the idea of not counting calories. That modality is an incunabulum for disaster in my case.  I have to track, I have to track and I have to count, other wise I don’t know and before I do know, I’m back up and bigger in places I should not be

Fortunately, I’ve discovered that I can correct my mistakes easily, relatively speaking. It takes about the same amount of time to loose the fat as it slowly crept in. This is due to the fact that I’m not necessarily eating junk food, but way too much healthy food.

The irony of it all. Stop eating junk food and gain weight any way

5X5

I have officially began a new 12 week fat loss muscle building program.

I’ll be tracking my progress here and hopefully glean a new understanding of how my body type reacts to this mode of training.

The 5X5 protocol is not a high intensity program ( at least not in the beginning), the first week is over and it has been fairly easy.  Although I experienced a wake-up call in the form of a mild groin pull.

I was stretching before my lifts and did some weird static stretch that I had never done before and voila! it ruined my day.  I’m doing fine after four days. So it was pretty mild. I do have to be careful, groin pull means no squatting. That would really affect the program.

The objective is to build more muscle by progressively increasing the load. We start really easy and light and build over time.

You can read about the program in more detail at Strong Lifts.

So here we go, week number two is on!