Cancer Patients Benefit Greatly from the Right Type of Exercise, New Research Reveals

The AHA! Team — Fri, 23 May 2025 05:09:16 +0000

Sara Middleton via NaturalHealth365 – It’s safe to say that most American adults need to exercise more. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 80% of adults and adolescents fail to meet the daily recommended requirements for aerobic and/or muscle-strengthening exercise. It’s a grim statistic, considering that the many physical and mental benefits of exercise are well-documented, including the prevention of health problems like, heart disease, obesity, and cancer. Two recent studies highlight the profound impact of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on cancer. Research published in the Journal of Physiology found that HIIT prevents cancer and can also slow tumor growth by increasing beneficial immune responses. Additionally, a 2023 randomized controlled trial in the Journal of Sport and Health Science revealed that HIIT significantly improves cardiovascular fitness, quality of life, and emotional well-being in breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant endocrine therapy. Research results: A single HIIT session has a positive effect on cancer cells Research already shows physical activity improves outcomes for people with cancer. In one study, researchers set out to determine how exactly exercise can offer this type of beneficial effect. The researchers specifically wanted to understand how high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, affected people with colon cancer. HIIT is defined as short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of rest. For their study, the researchers had 20 colon cancer survivors participate in HIIT exercise sessions. One session was defined as four-by-four minutes of work at 85–95% peak heart rate. The researchers then measured the participants’ blood serum levels. Half of the participants had their serum levels checked immediately before, immediately after, and 120 minutes after a HIIT session. The other half had their serum levels checked before the intervention and four weeks later (after 12 sessions). The authors found something promising: In the blood samples taken immediately after a HIIT session (but not while at rest 120 minutes later), the number of colon cancer cells decreased, and the number of cytokines (immune cells that help fight off infection and modulate inflammation) increased, including a cytokine called tumor necrosis factor-alpha (necrosis means cell death). The authors summarize their major takeaway as follows: “Repetitive exposure to these acute effects [of HIIT training] may contribute to the relationship between exercise and improved colorectal cancer survival.” In other words, if you regularly participate in HIIT exercise, you’ll get repeated exposure to the beneficial immune system changes that are present immediately after your workout! This is good news whether you’re currently being treated for cancer or simply trying to prevent it. How to get more HIIT into your weekly exercise routine Only 1 in 3 Americans get the recommended weekly physical activity (even though gym memberships have climbed steadily over the past two decades). But while modern life may seem ill-suited to a life of exercise and movement (we sit in chairs all day and too often plug into television and social media), adding in a few HIIT sessions to your week is relatively easy: They don’t require much time. If done correctly, you can get a great workout. The “high intensity” portion of the exercise session typically is 15 seconds – 4 minutes in duration, depending on your fitness level. They don’t require a lot of equipment. You can use simple bodyweight movements done in your living room. Movements like spinning on a stationary bike, squats, lunges or even “burpees” (squat, push-up and jump) can work well for you. High intensity movement is followed up with easier movement for the same amount of time (or longer – if needed – depending on your fitness level). This type of exercise can even accelerate weight loss for you. In fact, you burn a large amount of calories during AND after a HIIT session, thanks to a phenomenon known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). The higher the exercise intensity, the greater the EPOC effect. So, while HIIT sessions are somewhat challenging, they’ll be over quickly – and they’re as effective as they are short-lived, making them a great value for your effort! Remember, we always recommend speaking with your physician or a qualified health coach before starting a new exercise routine. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov Wiley.com ACEFitness.org MayoClinic.org Cancer.org HHS.gov Statista.com To read the original article click here.

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Changing Your Exercise Routine to Boost Mental and Cardiovascular Health

AHA Publisher — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 08:00:21 +0000

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center via Newswise – Change is good — even when it comes to exercising. Did you know that altering the intensity of your workout or trying a new activity may benefit your cardiovascular and mental health? Newswise — Mixing up your workout routine helps: • Increase your aerobic fitness • Keep your brain mentally sharp • Prevent depression • Add Intensity High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has become popular over the last few years. You may have seen a class at the gym with stations and people working through vigorous repeated exercises, or a group of friends in the park switching off timed activities in short bursts of energy. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Cardiologist Jeremy Robbins, MD, explains the benefit of this kind of high-intensity cardiovascular and strength training workout. “HIIT has proven to be effective for reversing some of the impact on your heart that occurs from a sedentary lifestyle, improving body composition (i.e., distribution of muscle and fat), and perhaps most importantly, improving your body’s ability to use oxygen – the best measure of your cardiorespiratory fitness.” The more oxygen you can efficiently consume and use, the easier exercise will feel at a given intensity level and the lower your risk for a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease. While many fitness instructors teach modifications for a range of abilities, these routines can be demanding and they are not for everyone. Robbins adds, “It’s a promising type of exercise, but we need to learn more about its specific health effects and how it compares to other exercise before we broadly recommend it. The best routine continues to be the one that you consistently participate in.” While HIIT is safe even among patients with cardiovascular disease, it can be especially taxing to the musculoskeletal system, and Dr. Robbins advises that you consult with your doctor before starting a program. Add Variety Studies show that physical activity has benefits for the brain, too. Learning a new skill or Zumba step might help keep you mentally sharp and may help prevent depression, leading to a win-win situation. Depression itself can have a negative effect on heart health, particularly for patients with existing heart disease. In terms of variety, “there is good data that many different types of exercise can be beneficial in preventing depression,” explains John Torous, MD, Director of the Division of Digital Psychiatry at BIDMC, citing recent studies published in The Lancet Psychiatry and JAMA Psychiatry. Torous shared how this work is helping patients in his practice. “In our digital psychiatry clinic at BIDMC, we utilize data from the fitness tracking features on peoples’ smartphones and wearables to have data-informed discussions with patients about exercise during their visits. By tracking exercise and mental health symptoms like mood and anxiety via an app -we can partner with patients to understand how physical activity can help in their treatment.” Understand Outcomes While mixing up your workout routine can have many benefits, there is still a lot more to learn about how the body responds to exercise. Robbins is researching why different people respond to the same exercise program in sometimes vastly different ways by studying genes, proteins, and molecules. “We can now measure thousands of molecules that circulate in the blood before and after a person exercises,” he explains. Through these analyses, Robbins and his research collaborators hope to identify specific chemicals or ‘biomarkers’ that help predict who benefits most from a given exercise program, and better understand how exercise mediates its exercise-induced health benefits. “The ultimate goal – and we are not there yet – is to use these technologies to help guide people to the right exercise program so that they can achieve their specific health goal or improve an individual health condition.” To read the original article click here.

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Cancer Patients Benefit Greatly from the Right Type of Exercise, New Research Reveals

Changing Your Exercise Routine to Boost Mental and Cardiovascular Health