Positive Life NSW

Starting back after a break

Well you guys certainly know how to ask good questions. The first one is:

Hi Ingrid,
Hope you have some advice for me. I’m 54, pos 16 years, relatively fit, and have exercised at the gym regularly (3-4 times a week) for more than 20 years. I had my prostate removed due to prostate cancer, was done by robotic laparoscopic surgery so the six wounds are small and have healed quite well. Up till now I haven’t given a thought for gym or exercise, just recovery. But I saw the surgeon for follow -up one week ago and he said it was ok to start gym work again, slowly, doing small exercises, but not overdoing the weights as that could have an adverse effect on the wounds, internal and external. Can you suggest some exercises so I can start rebuilding my fitness, while at the same time avoiding putting any strain on the surgical area (abdomen, groin, bladder etc). I’m sorry this question is such a bloke’s issue, as opposed to a general fitness issue. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

Hi ‘Bloke’s issue’,
I am quite happy to answer such a bloke’s question as many of the readers will be blokes and core muscle strength is a subject important to everyone.

Doing deadbugs at home
When starting back after a longish break from exercise, plus recovering from surgery, start with the 40% rule. This means do 40% of the exercise you would normally do.

Your workout should take less than half the time you would normally spend at the gym. Do less than half the weight, and just under half the number of sets for all weights exercises. For exercises that involve body weight (such as crunches, leg lifts, chin ups etc) do 40% of the repetitions. Any cardio work should start at half the time and at half the workload. Keep it low impact for the first 8-10 weeks. This means bike, rower, cross trainer or treadmill (so we’re talking walking, not running).

The other exercise to avoid for the first two months is swimming. If you don’t have good abdomen strength, you can’t maintain a safe position for your back and groin areas in the water.

When starting back into exercise, take extra care to increase all effort very slowly.

• One week, increase the time at the gym. So you might add another set to 2-3 exercises.
• The next week, add about 5% weight to most exercises.
• The third week, you would add another set to 2-3 more exercises
• Then the fourth week, add another 5% to the amount of weight you are using on all the weights.

If you weren’t doing much abdominal work before your operation, try doing some dead bugs and other easy core stability exercises. Your gym instructor should be able to show you any of these exercises. It’s important to very gradually strengthening this area, and if you neglect it you will find that you never really get back to where you were before. Stomach, groin, lower back and glutes are all core stability muscles and very important to keep in top condition as we age. Without strength in these areas, you won't have a strong foundation for the rest of your muscles to strengthen and build again.

Look at the next few months as a chance to really make sure you are building everything up evenly, and balance out any areas that may have been getting left behind a little bit.

When metabolism slows down

The second question is:

Hi Ingrid,
A query for suggestions from the guy who has the column next to yours in Talkabout. I’m 55, 175cm tall, and weigh 72kg. As you can see, my weight is pretty good-and never varies- along with good blood pressure etc. I get daily exercise by walking the dog twice a day, and have a healthy diet (despite what gets printed in my Talkabout column), but am finding that I am at that age where what little fat I do have is settling around my middle, and that the tits are getting a bit floppy. I still like to dress well, but don’t feel very sexy when stripped down these days. Do you have any suggestions for a short, effective exercise program that will pull my stomach into shape, and firm my pecs up a bit? I do yoga, but am a bit erratic with it- more because of space limitations than anything else, and I have peripheral neuropathy, so anything with balancing is out of the question. I’m not a gym person, so need things I can easily do at home, maybe for around 10 minutes or so a day. I am currently using your stretch suggestions, especially the lower back ones, and am finding them really effective. Any suggestions appreciated.
Regards
Tim

Hi Tim,
Sounds like you have been doing pretty well so far, but now starting to notice that your metabolism is slowing down. Keeping fit and eating healthily has held you in good stead, but loss of muscle mass (happens to us all gradually from about forty on) has caused your metabolism to slow down. So a bit of strength training to build and firm up the upper body in particular is just what is needed.

Walking and carrying your body weight around, your lower body would be getting some strength training. You could always look at past Talkabouts for some lower body exercises to add to your home work out after you establish a routine. For the upper body, look back at the “Ask Ingrid” column in the August/September 2008 issue (“Working out at home”). Add the side push-ups, one arm rows and dead bugs to your stretching and yoga that you are doing at home. These three exercises along with stretching will only take about five minutes in the beginning, but will end up as a nice little ten minute workout as you gradually do more repetitions and sets. To begin with, do as many pushups on each side until you can start feeling your chest and arms working. Then do the same with the one arm rows, feeling it in the upper back and biceps. Finish off with some dead bugs for the abdominal muscles (keep the feet high, and only lower them after a week or so as you feel the abdominals start to strengthen).

This will give you a workout that consists of one set of repetitions on each side for each exercise. After a week add in another set and finally after three to four weeks add in a third set. Then you can make the exercises harder by going lower, adding more weight or doing more repetitions. Start gradually and over time add in another couple of exercises to keep your muscles growing and adapting. Muscle growth will take a little while, and will initially show up as toning.

If you stick with it and gradually make the home workouts harder over time, you will notice a definite change in body shape that should see you happy to strip down. After six to eight weeks of doing the three exercises I have suggested you may want to try a few exercises from previous Talkabout articles. Alternatively wait for next issue when I will be showing four more exercises that can be added to your workout at home.

Ingrid Cullen is a gym instructor with many years’ experience working with HIV positive people.

Do you have any fitness questions for Ingrid? Email them to: editor@positivelife.org.au