Sneaky Exercises Can Slow Cancer

Thanks to COVID and the increasing use of electronic communication, it should come as no surprise that we are spending more and more time being stationary.

If you are not moving around and you are finding yourself spending lots of time sitting in front of a computer or television screen, you may be increasing your chances for developing a wide variety of ailments, including prostate cancer.

Any movement can help

The good news is you do not have to go to a gym or hire a coach to get in some exercise. Almost any type of movement during the day can help. Just standing instead of sitting, for example, can burn off a few extra calories without you knowing it. And who would not mind losing 5 to 10 pounds a year just by standing?

One easy approach to sneaking in more exercise is to get up and walk around during TV commercials. Depending on what you may be watching, an average hour of TV time can offer you between 6 and 15 minutes of commercial messages or “standing time.” Add in some walking activity during those commercials, and you can more than double the effectiveness of your “new-found exercise time.”

Another way to unknowingly get in more unnoticed exercise is to stand whenever you are on the phone. Now add in some of that walking time as you are talking, and suddenly you are getting a bit of a cardio workout. Best of all, none of this appears to be or reminds you that you are actually doing exercise. Why? Because you are distracted while talking with someone else.

What cancer can do to the body

If you're over age 65, you can be at greater risk of losing muscle mass if you are inactive. To add in more bad news, it can also take us older folks (I am 77) much longer than a 30- or 40-year-old to recover any muscle loss. It is better to me to retain what you have vs trying to rebuild your base.

If you are facing cancer, it is important to understand that this disease takes every opportunity to rob your body of nutrition, as it selfishly feeds its own growth. Cancer can quickly create malnutrition, as I discovered when I was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In just 30 days my weight went from 176 pounds to 145 pounds. And no matter how much food I consumed, the weight continued to melt away. It was not until my second round of chemo treatment that I finally began to see a slowing in my weight loss.

Any exercise is better than none

If you want to maintain and gain muscle strength, you can start moving. And almost any activity that works the upper and lower body has the potential to help. If after you have tried walking for a while and find yourself motivated to do more, it may be worth considering working out with some resistance bands. They are both easy to use and can be taken with you when traveling.

Another easy-to-do exercise can include cycling on either a stationary or regular bike. The key with any of this can be to start slow and do exercises that you can do safely, while keeping within your limitations. So why not start by just standing up right now? :)

In the end, no matter how you look at it, any activity is better than none when it comes to helping you slow or prevent the spread of prostate cancer.

Do you have any sneaky exercises? Let us know in the comments below.