Exercising with COPD

7 things that regular exercise can do for you…

• Increase functional capacity

  Improving your aerobic fitness can help improve your ability to use oxygen efficiently, so you can be physically active with less effort. This relates not just to exercising with less fatigue and discomfort, but also to performing daily activities and tasks.

• Support the immune system

  People with COPD are more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections. But regular moderate exercise and an improved fitness level help to support the body’s immune system, reducing the incidence of illnesses and infections.

• Maintain a stable condition

  Performing regular physical activity will reduce the chances of your COPD symptoms getting worse – keeping you out of hospital and enabling you to retain your independence.

• Strengthen respiratory muscles

  The ‘respiratory’ muscles are those that are used in breathing, and research shows that specific types of exercise can help to strengthen these muscles, which may have a beneficial effect on your breathing. Read more, below.

• Assist weight loss

  Being overweight can make breathlessness worse – partly because you have more weight to carry around, but also because excess fat constricts the diaphragm and chest wall, making it harder to inflate the lungs. Exercise is a great way to shed excess pounds because it increases the number of calories your burn each day. And if you aren’t overweight, physical activity will help keep your weight under control.

• Maintain range of movement/joint mobility

  Our joints are designed to move. If we don’t use them, they tend to get stiff and painful, while muscles get weak and waste away. Regular physical activity can prevent – and even reverse – the decline in joint health. The bottom line is ‘Use it or lose it!’

• Raise energy levels

  A study from the University of Georgia looked at 70 different trials on the effects of exercise and found that in 90 per cent of cases, sedentary people who took up regular exercise experienced less fatigue than those who did not exercise.

• Improve sleep

  A study found that exercise (40 minutes, 4 times per week) helped people get to sleep quicker and enabled them to sleep longer. And the better you sleep, the more energy you’ll have during the day.

 

Exercising with COPD – 8 things to consider

• Nice and easy – keep the intensity low to begin with.
• Drink up – ensure you stay well hydrated. Perhaps take a bottle of water with you to your place of exercise or carry one with you if you are exercising outdoors.
• Below the belt – stick with lower-body activities to begin with, for example, walking or stationary cycling rather than upper body activities like rowing. This reduces the amount of strain on the pulmonary system.
• Play it safe – have your inhaler with you at all times.
• Avoid the elements – don't exercise outside if smog or pollution levels are high. In cold conditions, you could try covering your nose and mouth with a scarf (wrapped loosely) and breathe through your nose. The scarf will help warm the air before it gets to your lungs. On hot humid days, exercise indoors in a clean, air-conditioned room.
• Cough up! – COPD can cause extra phlegm on the lungs. If you are able to, cough it up as this can block up the tiny airways in the lungs making breathing feel more laboured.
• Pace yourself – make sure you rest regularly throughout your exercise session and don’t overdo it. Avoid sudden bursts of activity.
• Schedule wisely – try to schedule exercise for when you generally feel best – for example, after you’ve taken your medication or at a particular time of day. (Allow at least an hour after a meal before exercising.)

What to do if you get short of breath while exercising

Fear of having to fight for your breath is a powerful factor in preventing COPD sufferers from exercising. But knowing what to do if you do start to feel extremely breathless can provide the reassurance you need. So here’s what you need to know…

• Step 1. Stop and rest as soon as possible in a comfortable position (for example, sitting down with your arms on the table.)

• Step 2. Breathe in through your nose and blow the air out of your mouth – as fast as is necessary.

• Step 3. When you feel able, begin to slow down the out breath and allow your breathing to slow down. If you feel able, breathe in and out through your nose.

• Step 4. Rest in the comfortable position for 5 minutes.

There are two breathing techniques that can help you regain control of your breathing, ‘pursed lip’ breathing and ‘diaphragmatic’ breathing. You can find out how to do these at The British Lung Foundation website

Staying motivated

• Half the battle with exercise is getting started – the other half is sticking with it! There are some key things to think about.

• Make it fun – If exercise is boring or unpleasant, you will do your utmost to avoid it. That’s why it’s so important to make it as enjoyable as possible. Why not put on your favourite music while doing household chores, to encourage you to move around, or do your walking with a friend or partner?

• Make it varied – Varying your activities not only helps prevent boredom, it also gives your body a better challenge, by using a greater range of muscles and movement patterns. For example, you could alternate walking with a friend or group with cycling on a stationary bike.

• Set goals – Every journey needs a destination – and knowing what you are aiming to achieve through physical activity makes it easier to stick with it, particularly when exercise feels tough. You may have a weight loss goal, or you may simply want to be able to walk to the end of the road and back without stopping. Once you’ve set your goal, decide on a deadline by which you want to achieve it – one that is realistic but challenging – and then start your journey. Remember the golden rule: make haste slowly!

• Look for support – Get some support for your new regime. You may be able to participate in a pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Otherwise, recruit an exercise buddy to do your activities with you! Or you might consider joining a class or group. If you do, let the instructor know about your condition, so that they can tailor activities to your needs, if necessary.

• Fit it in – Exercise – like any appointment – has to be fitted in to your lifestyle. So rather than pledging vaguely to exercise ‘every day’, think about where and when you can fit in the different forms of activity and then schedule them in. It’s also a great idea to keep an exercise diary in which you record what you did and how it felt. This could prove really helpful – indicating whether certain types of activity made you feel better or worse, for example. And looking back at how much you’ve done can be very motivating.

• Stay positive – If things don’t go quite to plan, don’t be discouraged. Stick with it and remember that many of the benefits of exercise go far beyond what you see in the mirror. It’s inevitable that you will occasionally miss sessions, or not achieve what you set out to – but as long as you keep focused on the ultimate goal and exercise regularly and consistently, you are doing fine.

• Reward yourself – Make sure that you reward yourself for your fitness achievements. Why not try an ‘exercise jar’, in which you put a small sum of money each time you complete a workout. After a month, empty your jar and spend the money on something just for you.

Top tip: Don’t underestimate what you can achieve… For inspiration, read some of the fantastic success stories about exercise and COPD.

If you do only one thing… build up to 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity, 3 days per week.