Physical activity and exercise

Class three

Wellness: physical activity and exercise

A critical step for patient post-surgery is to become more active on a daily basis through comprehensive exercise. Incorporating a consistent exercise program into your lifestyle will make it possible for your weight loss to stick. We recommend that you take it in steps:

#1: Move more!

Aim to be active daily. Spend less time resting or sitting than you did previously.

#2: Steadily increase your daily activity.

#3: Begin to add consistent aerobic exercise.

At least 10 minutes and working up to 60 minutes. Walking, biking, swimming, aerobic classes.

Warm up and cool down and stretch after all workouts.

#4: Add intensity to your workouts.

The more intense the workout, the more calories you expend.

#5: Add strength training to your aerobic workout

Weight machines, hand weights, tubing, or utilizing your own body weight. Seek out professional assistance prior to starting a strength training and be sure to see a staff member at Wellness before beginning.

Benefits

• Improves flexibility, strength, balance and endurance • Improves tone of muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments • Strengthens bones and deters osteoporosis and osteopenia • Improves digestion and elimination • Improves blood circulation: heart and lungs • Aids in skin elasticity • Reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke • Lowers blood pressure • Helps to lower blood sugar • Improves posture • Reduces stress • Helps manage chronic pain • Improves sleep • Reduces stress • Improves body image • Increases mental alertness

Activity every day

Begin to incorporate simple activities into your day to become more physically active. Stand up from sitting at least every hour, march in place, walk as much as you can, climb stairs, join an exercise class, etc.

Aerobic

You cannot lose weight successfully without aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise uses larger leg muscles as well as arms for a continued period of time. Walking, jogging, swimming, riding a bike, using elliptical, rowing or treadmill machines, participating in group fitness classes such as step aerobics, kick boxing, zumba dance, stationary bike, to name a few.

How long should you exercise?

Start with a minimum of 10-15 minutes if you are a beginner and increase the time up to 45-60 minutes. Your goal should be to exercise most days of the week for about 30 minutes. Your intensity or how hard you are working is a critical component in successful weight loss and improved metabolic functioning. The harder you work, the more calories you will burn.

Interval training*

Interval training allows for maximum caloric expenditure if done safely and consistently. This involves alternating more intense bouts of exercise lasting for 20-30 seconds with less intense exercise for longer durations of 1-10 minutes. This type of exercise is excellent for all levels of ability and potentially can burn more calories than traditional exercise. *Please see our staff for assistance in this method first.

General exercise guidelines based on F.I.T.T. Principle: Frequency (number of sessions per week)

• 3 sessions per week will improve overall health but only maintain your current fitness level • 4-5 sessions per week will improve both fitness and health levels • 5+ sessions per week will greatly improve both fitness and health

Intensity (measured by Heart Rate Check, Borg Scale and Talk Test)

The target Heart Rate range you should aim to maintain during exercise will be established by your healthcare team.

Borg Scale asks you to rate the amount of work you are doing, including your how hard you are breathing and how intensely you are working your legs and arms. An average scale number is 12-14 (“somewhat hard to hard”). You should be able to talk comfortably to someone during the aerobic phase of your work out, excluding the interval phase.

Time (duration) of workout

A good starting point for beginners is 10-15 minutes per session working up to 20-60 minutes. The duration does not include warm-up and cool down times.