Physical Activity and Excercise

Regular physical activity has health benefits for everyone. To check how active you are, you can identify the amount of time you spend per day in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous activities. The illustration below presents an explanation of what these types of physical activity mean.

Robert realizes that with this level of moderate activity per week, he will not improve his fitness level. What about you? How do you measure up?

By answering the following questions, you will have an indication of how your muscle strength influences your daily life. The practice of exercises will promote muscle strength and maintenance of your muscles to be able to do all these tasks below that are vital for healthy living, healthy aging and independence.

The following exercises may help improve your strength.

See a testimonial of our patient Robert: “After reading this section, I learned the importance and benefits of regular physical activity or exercise. I feel I am able to define my goals and, thus I can act and put in practice what I learned so far. Now that I am aware of my levels of physical activity, I have developed a plan to be more active and perhaps be able to play more with my children and go to the World Games.”

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology guidelines for adults between the ages of 18 and 64 years as well as those 65 years and older recommend 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week for health benefits. More physical activity or exercise provides greater health benefits. Your training should consist of aerobic (cardiovascular exercise) or combined aerobic (cardiovascular exercise) plus resistance training, as well as stretching/flexibility exercises.–

Aerobic training(cardiovascular exercise): is the type of exercise that increases your heart rate and uses large muscle groups to perform dynamic activities (i.e., walking, running, biking, swimming or online virtual group classes). You can do these exercises 3 to 5 times per week. You can do several short periods of physical activity throughout the day (ten minutes at a time) every day to help improve your exercise capacity. You can also spread your activity out during the week, so you don’t have to do it all at once. It’s about what works best for you, as long as you are doing physical activity.

Resistance training (or muscle strengthening exercises): consists of activities to create stronger muscles, to help protect joints, and to decrease joint pain (i.e., lifting weights, yoga). Ideally, do strengthening activities using major muscle groups 2 to 3 times per week, with 1 day of rest in between to allow your muscles to recover. You can check an example of home exercise using this link (in French): exercise should be done after your regularly scheduled exercise activities. You can find examples of warm-up and stretching exercises here: (Can-restore stretching exercises pdf) Stretching exercise PDF. Here are some general guidelines for these exercises:- Hold the position for at least 10 seconds at first, building up to 30 seconds with practice. Stretching should not be painful, but you should feel a slightly uncomfortable pull;- Relax and don’t forget to do both sides of your body.

– Always remember to breathe while stretching. Counting out loud can help ensure that you are breathing.

To maximize benefits early or late post-transplant, exercise training should be of a moderate-to-vigorous intensity level (see below the table for some examples) 3 to 5 times/week in addition to the routine activities of daily living (such as cleaning, gardening, or walking the dog).

*If you think this recommendation is a little bit ambitious, remember that you can always start slowly and gradually progress to achieve this goal, according to your level of physical activity. You can also revisit the topics “Goal setting” and “Prioritizing goals” to determine your goals, make your progress and adjustments in your journey.

How can I do it?

General tips:

• Take every opportunity to be active.
• Setting a goal is a great strategy to help keep you on track.
• Keep an activity journal or calendar to look and decide how, when, and where, you can fit moderate exercises into your weekly routine. Give yourself credit for the work that you do and use the journal as a record to discuss with your healthcare team any concerns you may have.
• The GETONTRAK offers a walking program. Click here to get more information about it.
• You can also consult a fitness expert such as a physiotherapist, kinesiologist or exercise therapist to get a supervised and personalized exercise program.

Aerobic training (cardiovascular exercise)

– In recent years, activity-tracking wearable devices have arrived in great number on the market. Counting the number of your steps will encourage you to go a bit further every day. You will be able to challenge yourself and observe your progress. TIP: It is possible to download a pedometer app on your smartphone. Although it is not as precise as one you wear on your belt, it can still give you a good idea of what you are doing in your day.

– If you cannot tolerate high intensity activities for a long period of time, some suggestions are to add short bursts of higher-intensity exercise. For example, if you are using a stationary bicycle or other gym equipment, every few minutes, do thirty to sixty seconds of cycling at a higher resistance and faster speed; if you swim, sprint for short periods of time. If you are walking, climb stairs or walk up a hill. Before repeating the higher intensity burst, make sure you have returned to comfortable intensity. You should be pushing yourself into the high intensity twice a week. We like to call those days push days since you will be pushing your heart rate up.

– If for some reason you cannot tolerate moderate or high intensity at all, remember that even light intensity activities (the ones that require the least amount of effort) can be beneficial to you. Some examples include walking slowly (i.e. shopping, walking for transportation; walking around the office), making the bed, preparing food, light yard/house work and washing dishes.

Resistance training (or muscle strengthening exercises)

– To increase your muscle strength, you should select a weight that you can lift 8 to 10 times and by the end of the set, your muscles feel tired. One set of each exercise is a good starting point for muscle strengthening. Once the weightlifting exercise becomes easy (your muscle no longer feels tired), you can increase the weight you are lifting or add a second set of the exercise. If you find it difficult to start with weights, you can start with the same exercise with no added weights (just your bodyweight) and progress gradually to using weights as you become stronger.

– Remember when you work with an elastic resistance band to come back slowly and not let the elastic pull you down. You can vary the resistance from the elastic band by rolling it around your hand or changing where you step on it.

– At first, most of the exercises do not require specific material but here is a list of materials you might need to progress your exercises: an elastic resistance band or tube (available in your local pharmacy or dollar store); ankle weights; free weights (a cheap way to replace these is to use everyday objects such as cans of soup of different sizes, or water bottles); yoga mat (you can also use a thick blanket on the floor); a ball (about the size of a soccer ball).

– It is normal for your muscles to be sore 1-2 days after training. Soreness will go away on its own after a few days and it is a normal response. If the pain is in your joint or not going away, it may be a sign that the exercise was not done properly or is flaring up an old injury. Give yourself a few days’ rests. If the pain subsides, you can try the exercise again, but with less resistance than previously used. If you are still in pain after a few days, do not hesitate to consult with a health care professional.

– To avoid injury, it is important to be aware of your limits. There are certain steps you can follow to make sure you are not pushing your body too far: reduce your activity level if your exercise program has been interrupted due to weather, vacation or illness. Do not exercise if you are not feeling well or if you are unusually short of breath or feel very tired during any activity or in the day after exercise. Slow down or take a rest; and if you experience joint or muscle pain during the exercise, stop and rest. If the pain or symptoms persists, see a doctor.