Can’t make it to the gym? No problem! You can do a lot with your own 30 second circuit stations at home!
Walking into a gym can be intimidating. There’s a fair amount of peacocking (at least at my hometown YMCA) and there’s always at least one guy who lifts huge weights loudly, with loud grunts, like you might see at an Olympic level. You’re not there to compete with Mr. Grudge, but my god, this can be disgusting!
Or, maybe you’re ready to start your own exercise program with the idea, “Give it your all or don’t even try.” Maybe it’s not the first or fifth time you’ve done this: with the best intentions in the world, you try to do too much, too fast, give up after a few weeks, and feel discouraged.
Over-ambitious goals can set you up for failure. But here’s great news: It doesn’t have to be that way! says Harvard scientist Christina Dieli-Conwright, Ph.D., MPH, who recently discussed exercise in a Facebook Live event for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. What he has to say is not only true for prostate cancer patients, but also for anyone who wants to get fitter: Starting small is fine. Actually, it’s good!
Even better: You don’t need a lot of money, or even a lot of time, to make a difference in your health.
Note: First, talk to your doctor about what you are doing can and cannot do. For example, in the prostate cancer world, men are advised to avoid lifting weights very soon after a prostatectomy because of the risk of developing an inguinal hernia. And men on long-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), who have a higher risk of fracture, should seek medical approval before lifting heavier weights. When in doubt, start with light weights.
“When it comes to exercise, something is better than nothing.” says Dieli-Conwright. “Pick something you like – or something you hate less” if you don’t like exercise. And stick with it. Just do it something: Fit something into your day.” You don’t have to be like the people in the home gym equipment or sneaker commercials, and you don’t have to push yourself like Rocky Balboa. You can improve your health and your body’s cancer-fighting abilities, even with moderate exercise.
“Worth itsays Dieli-Conwright, whose research focuses on discovering the why and how of exercise slows down or prevents cancer from coming backand how can reducing the risk of death from other health conditions – diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease – in cancer patients and survivors. Specifically, it monitors biomarkers in blood, muscle, and fat related to obesity, lean mass, inflammation, and metabolism to help understand the underlying physiological mechanisms by which exercise and obesity/sedentary lifestyles create the cancer is more or less likely to recur. “Exercise is a single attitude.” As my friend, medical oncologist Jonathan Simons, MD, often says, if pharmaceutical companies could make a drug that offered all the benefits you get from just exercising, they’d make billions. (Well, they make billions anyway, but still.)
Exercise makes you sleep better. It also makes you feel less tired during the day, says Dieli-Conwright. “It makes you feel better and reduces depression, stress and anxiety. It reduces the risk of diabetes, which is particularly important for men on ADT.” Men with ADT tend to gain weight more easily and also lose muscle mass. Exercise burns calories and even light weights or resistance bands can maintain and build muscle strength.
In addition, improving your cardiovascular fitness also improves your ability to do “activities of daily living,” starting with sitting down and standing up. Exercise prevents breakdown (loss of strength), which can affect the circulatory and respiratory systems as well as muscles and bones.
Walking: You don’t need to go to a gym or even buy any equipment (except some comfortable walking shoes). You can walk for free! The first step is, literally, a step: “Walking is a great way to start!” says Dieli-Conwright. “It can be done outside if it’s safe, but you can even do it inside, just by walking around your house. You can walk with friends or loved ones or with your dog.” When people are sick, he adds, “or even hospitalized for a day or two, the first thing they stop doing is walking.” Deregulation can happen very quickly. “Walking from room to room, back and forth, can help prevent this.” Over time, even if you don’t increase your distance, try to improve your walking speed. “People who have a faster walking speed tend to live longer.”
Note: If you have balance problems or other conditions, your doctor can help you modify the exercise to suit your needs. The solution can be as simple as a walking stick!
Circuit Training: You can do a lot in 30 seconds. “Circuit training is faster and more time-efficient,” says Dieli-Conwright. “One of the main barriers to exercise is that people feel they don’t have time. In circuit training, you create small exercise stations and move through each station in a systematic way (for example, alternating upper and lower body exercises), at a good pace.” Do 30 seconds at one station and move on to the next. Then repeat the entire circuit. It might be less than five minutes total, but that’s okay! You can do this once or several times a day. Some DIY stations you can set up:
“Sofa Occupancies”. Stand up and sit down, using the couch or a sturdy chair, over and over for 30 seconds.
Push ups. You don’t have to do the full body push-up with straight legs. you can do it with your knees on the ground.
The wall sits: Back against the wall, bend your knees and pull down, hold for five seconds, then push up. Make sure your feet are placed far enough away from the wall so that when you “sit down”, your knees form a 90 degree angle.
Walk in his place. We are talking about a low budget station! Just pick a spot, go there and walk in place for 30 seconds.
Stairs: Not the whole staircase! Just a step or two, up and down, over and over for 30 seconds.
Weights: If you don’t have real weights, use whatever is available. Water bottles, food containers – anything you can lift safely and easily.
“You can be in better shape without exercise equipmentsays Dieli-Conwright. “Use what you have at hand. The biggest thing is making sure you have a safe space where you’re not going to hit anything.”
Another thing that’s good about exercise: it’s not sedentary! “There is a lot of evidence that sedentary behavior has an impact on mortality. Even taking a 20-second break from sitting every half hour or hour to walk around the kitchen table goes a long way.”
So instead of “Go big or go home”, think: “Start at home”. Says Dieli-Conwright: “Don’t be intimidated by unattainable goals, like an ultramarathon. Start small, find things that will motivate you and be consistent. Just keep it! Consistency is the key.”
Additionally with Book, I have written much more about prostate cancer on the Prostate Cancer Foundation website, pcf.org. The stories I have written are in the “Understanding Prostate Cancer” and “For Patients” categories. As Patrick Walsh and I have said for years in ours books, Knowledge is power: Saving your life can start with going to the doctor and knowing the right questions to ask. I hope all men put prostate cancer on their radar. Get a baseline PSA blood test in your early 40s and if you are of African descent or have a family history of cancer and/or prostate cancer, you should be screened regularly for the disease. Many doctors don’t do this, so it’s up to you to ask.
©Janet Farrar Worthington
