When you read about the health benefits of exercise for cancer survivors it’s common to lump all exercise together. After all, there’s no bad form of exercise.
A new review of the research now suggests that lifting weights, sit-ups and other forms of resistance exercises can help survivors both during and after treatment gain muscle strength, reduce body fat, and improve fatigue.
The improved effects seen with arm strength and body fat were most pronounced in survivors who engaged in low to moderate intensity exercises compared to those of higher intensity.
Doing resistance exercises at least two times per week led to survivors able to increase the amount of weight lifted, on average, 34 pounds (15.5 kilograms) for legs and 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms) for arms.
The study was published in the early online issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Continue reading
