Why should I exercise?

Research has been conducted about the benefits of exercise when you have a lung condition. The research found taking part in regular exercise will:

• improve your functional abilities
• reduce your breathlessness
• improve your quality of life.

Cycle of inactivity and lung conditions

This describes what tends to happen to people with lung conditions. When a person becomes breathless with a certain activity, they tend to start avoiding that activity. This means they become more unfit and then even more breathless.

Cycle of increased activity

This describes what happens to people with lung conditions once they start to exercise. Exercise improves the efficiency of the heart and lungs, so they work better together.

This means your body will deliver oxygen to your muscles more effectively and keep muscles working for longer before they get tired. This means everyday activities should be easier. You should be able to do more before becoming breathless.

Other health benefits

• Weight loss.
• Improves the functioning of your immune system.
• Promotes bone density and reduces risk of falls.
• Lowers high blood pressure.
• Reduces risk of heart disease and having a stroke.
• Aids relaxation and sleep.
• Helps us to manage stress more effectively.
• Protects against mental decline.

Breathlessness and exercise

It’s normal to get breathless while exercising. Even the fittest athletes need to push themselves to breathlessness while training in order to gain improvements. During exercise or strenuous activities your body needs more oxygen. You have to breathe at a faster rate to get more oxygen into your lungs. Your heart will beat at a faster rate to carry the oxygen to your muscles.

After exercise or performing an activity, your body takes a little while to recover. It still needs to pump more oxygen around your body to catch up from the previous demand. This is why it takes you a while to get your breath back.

How hard should you work?

During exercise you can be moderately breathless and sweating slightly but you should still be in control of your breathing. You should feel your muscles working quite hard and your heart beating a bit faster.

Safety and exercise

You must always stop exercising if you:

• get chest pain or tightness
• feel dizzy or nauseous
• feel clammy or cold
• feel increasingly wheezy
• joints or muscles hurt
• feel very tired.