Fitness And Special Concerns
How should I design an exercise program if I have arthritis?
If you have arthritis, you need to participate in an exercise program. But what you want to do is pick an exercise program that you like, you're going to stick with, that is not going to hurt the joints. So in general, you don't want to be pounding your body weight through your joints. Bicycling or swimming, or doing a spinning course or a yoga program. These would be the type of exercise programs that I would pick for a patient that has arthritic joints.
How should I exercise if I have high blood pressure?
If you have high blood pressure you should exercise cautiously, at least in the beginning. Give a physician an opportunity to evaluate your situation before you start the exercise program. They may choose to do a treadmill stress test on you and take a look at how well your heart functions prior to starting the exercise program. And doing that they can also take a look at what happens to your blood pressure while you are exercising. Does it go up? We would expect your high blood pressure would increase to some degree while you are exercising but in the long run, the benefit from the aerobic exercise would be to decrease your high blood pressure which is an excellent way to help you manage your high blood pressure. But it's key that in the beginning you are evaluated if you have high blood pressure to make sure that you have a physician tell you that you can safely start an exercise program before you start it.
Why is it important to exercise if I have arthritis?
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, it's important to stay active. That will help maintain normal range of motion in those joints affected by the arthritis. You don't want joints affected by arthritis to get too stiff so you are not able to use those joints. Also, it helps with the pain management associated with arthritis. Arthritis is particularly painful. And by getting into an appropriate aerobic exercise program, you can maintain your exercise levels which is good for your heart and your lungs which may be affected by your arthritis. It also helps maintain the range of motion in those joints affected by arthritis and it helps you with the pain management. Aerobic exercise will help you release endorphins which are the natural painkillers of the body. Those come from your brain. When people with arthritis who are in a regular aerobic program often report that they experience less pain.
Will strength training increase my blood pressure?
With regards to fitness and special concerns, strength training can increase your blood pressure temporarily while you're participating in it. The actual act of lifting weights will temporarily increase your blood pressure, so it'd be important to make sure that you can tolerate having those increases in the blood pressure while you're exercising before you initiate a weight lifting program or a strength building program.
How will exercise affect my cholesterol levels?
A consistent exercise program will affect your cholesterol levels positively. It will increase the percentage of HDL, or high-density lipoproteins, that are found in your body, and decrease the percentage of LDL's, low density lipoproteins, that are found in your body. It's the ratio of those two, HDL over LDL, that we take a look at when we do blood tests on patients to make sure that they have the appropriate levels of HDL and the appropriate levels of LDL. The higher the HDL and the lower the LDL, the better your cholesterol levels are considered to be. The medications that are available, that you see advertised on televison, are what they're trying to accomplish. So, for some people it's necessary to take a blood cholesterol lowering medication as well as an exercise program. Somebody who's relatively young and healthy may be able to accomplish the same thing without taking the medication.
How should I exercise if I have high cholesterol?
An exercise program whose goal is to help you manage your weight and improve your blood cholesterol levels is going to be an aerobic type program, where you're exercising for an extended amount of time several times a week. That would be something such as fast walking, running, bicycling, or a spinning course. These are low level aerobic exercises that you can continue to do for 30 45 minutes and you want to be able to do that several times a week. A minimum of three times a week, hopefully five times a week. If you have high cholesterol and you are starting a new exercise program, you want to have an aerobic program. There's something known as the talk test which is very helpful. If you are able to continue talking to somebody while you are exercising, you know that you are staying in the aerobic degree of exercise that will help you burn fat more than you are burning sugar. By your being able to talk, we know that you are breathing well, and are able to get enough oxygen in. Aerobic exercises, if you stay active in that particular activity, will help you to burn fat and, of course, then improve your cholesterol levels.
