How to Live an Active Life with COPD
Ease into activities., Increase your lifestyle activity., Always do a warm-up., Add in low-intensity cardio exercises., Do light strength training., Try pilates and yoga for breathing exercises.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Ease into activities.
With a serious lung disease like COPD, you have to be exceptionally careful when you start physical activity.
Although exercise can help improve your COPD, you still need to ease into activities slowly.If you haven't been overly active, it's best to start very slowly with exercise.
Don't feel like you need to be exercising for significant amounts of time.
Many physicians will recommend starting with just five or 10 minutes of activity.
Incorporating more activity into your daily life and being active for longer periods of time will help you build confidence in yourself and also strengthen your body. -
Step 2: Increase your lifestyle activity.
Increasing your lifestyle activity is a great way to stay active without overdoing it.
These are not cardio activities, but they also help keep your body moving and your lungs working.
Lifestyle activities are those exercises that are a part of your normal daily routine.
They can include chores or yard work, walking up and down stairs and walking to and from your destinations.If you have COPD, some of these activities may be difficult for you initially.
This is what makes lifestyle activities a great place to start improving and measuring progress.
For example, if you have trouble walking for long distances, make one of your first goals walking to get the mail everyday.
Or if you have trouble with stairs, ask a family member to help you take the stairs more often during the day. , When you're ready to progress to more structured exercise, you need to plan to include a warm-up.
This is an essential component of safe exercise for those with COPD.The purpose of any warm-up is to slowly get your body primed for more intense exercises.
Warm-ups are especially important for those with COPD because your body needs extra time to get your breathing rate, heart rate and body temperature elevated.
A warm-up can also help prevent muscle soreness and improve flexibility.
Start by doing some simple stretches or walk very slowly for at least five to 10 minutes. , Unless cleared by your physician, you should only participate in aerobic activities that are low in intensity.
This level is the most safe for patients with COPD.Try using the perceived exertion scale to help you stay at a lower intensity.
It's a one to 10 scale, with one being completely sedentary and 10 being your maximum level of exertion.
Those with COPD should aim for a three to four level on this scale.
You can be slightly out of breath, but it shouldn't be difficult to breathe.
You should be able to talk and get out short sentences without having to take a breath.
Activities you can try include: walking, water walking, biking or using the elliptical. , Aerobic exercises are great to help improve the condition of your lungs and improve your cardiovascular system; however, strength training is an essential form of exercise as well.
Strength training, especially in your core and upper body, can help strengthen the muscles around your chest cavity.
These help aid your body in breathing by strengthening the muscles that help with inhalation and exhalation.Only include one to two days of strength training each week.
Also, there is no need to do more than about 20 minutes of these exercises.
Use light weights or weight machines to help build strength and muscle tone. , Both pilates and yoga are great exercises to help strengthen your muscles.
They are often specifically recommended for patients with COPD.
Both yoga and pilates are low-intensity exercises that have a significant focus on breathing.They help keep your heart rate and breathing pace low while having you practice deep breathing exercises.
This can help improve your coordination and improve your breathing function if done regularly.
Try including a yoga or pilates class one to two times a week.
These may be used as your strength training exercises as well. -
Step 3: Always do a warm-up.
-
Step 4: Add in low-intensity cardio exercises.
-
Step 5: Do light strength training.
-
Step 6: Try pilates and yoga for breathing exercises.
Detailed Guide
With a serious lung disease like COPD, you have to be exceptionally careful when you start physical activity.
Although exercise can help improve your COPD, you still need to ease into activities slowly.If you haven't been overly active, it's best to start very slowly with exercise.
Don't feel like you need to be exercising for significant amounts of time.
Many physicians will recommend starting with just five or 10 minutes of activity.
Incorporating more activity into your daily life and being active for longer periods of time will help you build confidence in yourself and also strengthen your body.
Increasing your lifestyle activity is a great way to stay active without overdoing it.
These are not cardio activities, but they also help keep your body moving and your lungs working.
Lifestyle activities are those exercises that are a part of your normal daily routine.
They can include chores or yard work, walking up and down stairs and walking to and from your destinations.If you have COPD, some of these activities may be difficult for you initially.
This is what makes lifestyle activities a great place to start improving and measuring progress.
For example, if you have trouble walking for long distances, make one of your first goals walking to get the mail everyday.
Or if you have trouble with stairs, ask a family member to help you take the stairs more often during the day. , When you're ready to progress to more structured exercise, you need to plan to include a warm-up.
This is an essential component of safe exercise for those with COPD.The purpose of any warm-up is to slowly get your body primed for more intense exercises.
Warm-ups are especially important for those with COPD because your body needs extra time to get your breathing rate, heart rate and body temperature elevated.
A warm-up can also help prevent muscle soreness and improve flexibility.
Start by doing some simple stretches or walk very slowly for at least five to 10 minutes. , Unless cleared by your physician, you should only participate in aerobic activities that are low in intensity.
This level is the most safe for patients with COPD.Try using the perceived exertion scale to help you stay at a lower intensity.
It's a one to 10 scale, with one being completely sedentary and 10 being your maximum level of exertion.
Those with COPD should aim for a three to four level on this scale.
You can be slightly out of breath, but it shouldn't be difficult to breathe.
You should be able to talk and get out short sentences without having to take a breath.
Activities you can try include: walking, water walking, biking or using the elliptical. , Aerobic exercises are great to help improve the condition of your lungs and improve your cardiovascular system; however, strength training is an essential form of exercise as well.
Strength training, especially in your core and upper body, can help strengthen the muscles around your chest cavity.
These help aid your body in breathing by strengthening the muscles that help with inhalation and exhalation.Only include one to two days of strength training each week.
Also, there is no need to do more than about 20 minutes of these exercises.
Use light weights or weight machines to help build strength and muscle tone. , Both pilates and yoga are great exercises to help strengthen your muscles.
They are often specifically recommended for patients with COPD.
Both yoga and pilates are low-intensity exercises that have a significant focus on breathing.They help keep your heart rate and breathing pace low while having you practice deep breathing exercises.
This can help improve your coordination and improve your breathing function if done regularly.
Try including a yoga or pilates class one to two times a week.
These may be used as your strength training exercises as well.
About the Author
Gloria Martinez
Creates helpful guides on home improvement to inspire and educate readers.
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