How Was It for Me?
Hear from patients about their experience.
How Was It for Me?
Hi, my name is Sam. I’m the Cancer Exercise Specialist for Active Leeds, working with Shape for Cancer Surgery, getting you as fit as possible for your surgery. I’ll be here to welcome you and make it as enjoyable and easy as possible.
This is one of the centers that we work at – it’s Hal Park. The other two centers are M Ledge Center and Rothwell Le Center.
Right, let’s go inside.
Well, I’ve never been to a gym before until I got on this project about two or three months ago. I’d always rather derided gyms and all the hunky people. I’m a sort of antidote to hunky people, really. But I can feel, after 3 months, more flesh on my bones than I had beforehand. So, whether I was going for an operation or whatever, I think I’d have found out about this and gone with it every here anyway.
And Sam’s great; he keeps our noses to the grindstone but not cruel.
Yeah, it’s entirely laudable. I would recommend it to anyone.
When I got my diagnosis back in February, I probably spent several years being largely sedentary, apart from the occasional slow walk to the pub. But then after several weeks of this intensive exercise, I’ve now done three marathons – or I think Snickers is what you call them.
And I feel much better. I’m on top of things and I’m a great deal fitter than I was.
How will we help you stay active?
The team has a large choice of activities across Leeds suitable for all levels, especially for people new to physical activity.
Participants will have a jointly agreed personalised activity plan and all activities can be adapted to individual needs.
What will your exercise programme involve?
Your baseline level of fitness and strength will be assessed, an exercise professional will create a personalised exercise programme with you. The types of exercise, frequency and duration will be built around you.
I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer, is this safe?
Exercise programmes prior to major surgery have been shown to be safe, can increase fitness and reduce complication rates.
Benefits of Exercise
Core Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
These core exercises, including chair crunches and floor ab crunches, strengthen your core and improve posture and mobility for recovery after surgery.
Core Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
Hi, my name is Sam. I’m going to show you some core exercises to build up your core as much as possible and improve your grip strength. This will help you when you come out of surgery, ensuring that you have as strong a core as possible, so you’re able to hold a good posture and move around as easily as possible.
The first exercise I’m going to show you is a few crunches on the chair. So, what you need to do is come to the front third of the chair, keeping your back nice and straight. Lean back just a little bit towards the chair, but not all the way back.
Then, bring yourself forward, aiming to bring your chest to your knees, and then back, not touching the back of the chair. Afterward, bring yourself forward again.
Now, the second exercise we’re going to do, if you want to make it a little more challenging, is to bring your knees up towards your chest as much as you can. This means peeling your feet off the floor and bringing them up towards your chest. The more you bring them up, the more you’ll feel it in your stomach area. You might feel it in your legs a little bit as well. If you feel it in your hips, just go back to the easier exercise.
The third exercise we’re going to do is floor ab crunches. Now, they can be quite a difficult exercise, so if you’re struggling with them, do the easier exercise. What you’re going to do is come down to the floor, lying on your back with your legs bent. Place your hands on your hips like this. Then, raise your chest up towards your knees and slowly lower back down. Remember to bring your chest up towards your knees, not your head. You’re not bending your head in; you’re lifting your whole back up.
Aerobic Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
These aerobic exercises, including seated marches and stair climbing, improve endurance and mobility while engaging both your upper and lower body.
Aerobic Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
So, the next exercise I’m going to show you is some aerobic exercises. The first exercise is going to be a seated march or a seated walk. Now, what you need to do is sit with your back straight, feet flat on the floor, and your knees above your ankles on the front third of the chair.
To begin with, just bring your knees up, lifting your feet off the floor, like a normal march. If you want to add in your arms, place them in this position and power through. The further your elbows go back, the more you’ll feel it in your upper back, between your shoulder blades.
If you want to make it a little more challenging, stand up and bring your knees up. If you want to add in the arms, bring them forward as you go.
Now, I’ll show you a side profile. Keep your back straight and power through as much as you can. The more you bring your knees up, the harder it will be.
The last exercise I’m going to show you is stair climbing. For this, you’ll need to use the bottom step of a staircase. Simply step up and back down.
To do this, step up with both feet and then back down. The leading foot will do most of the work, while the following foot will have less strain. If you can, do 10 step-ups with one foot and back down with the same foot, then switch and do 10 step-ups with the other foot and back down.
When performing this, keep your back as straight as possible, puff your chest out, and look forward. If you’re worried about tripping on the step, you can look down or use a banister for support, or any chair in front of you if needed.
Upper Body Aerobic Shape Up 4 Cancer at Holt Park
These upper body aerobic exercises, including front punches and overhead presses, help improve fitness and endurance while challenging your breath and strength.
Upper Body Aerobic Shape Up 4 Cancer at Holt Park
So, the next exercise I’m going to show you is some upper body-specific aerobic exercises. These exercises should get you a little bit out of breath, enough that you can reply to someone but not hold a full conversation. It should feel about 6 to 7 out of 10 in difficulty.
The first exercise is front punches. Start with your hands in this position, then just push them forward like this. The faster you go, the harder it will be, but just make sure you’re keeping your back straight as you move. Avoid rotating your body; stay straight.
If you want to make it a little more difficult, add some dumbbells. Hold them in this position and push forward. Remember, the higher the dumbbells are, the harder it will be, as you’re working against gravity.
The next exercise is a similar one but done above your head. So, it’s the same movement, but this time your hands will be in this position, and you’ll push upward, palms facing in. Again, keep your back straight. Don’t lean over to the side—stay upright and straight.
If you want to make this more challenging, add the dumbbells here and push them above your head. At this point, you should be slightly out of breath, but not too much.
Balance and Flexibility Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
These balance and flexibility exercises include stretches for the back, hamstrings, chest, sides, and shoulders to improve mobility and flexibility.
Balance and Flexibility Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
The next exercise I’m going to show you is some balance and flexibility exercises. The first one is a back stretch. Sit on the chair with your back straight, on the front third of the chair, and your feet flat on the floor.
To begin, reach your hands out towards your toes. Don’t worry if you can’t reach your toes—just go down as far as you feel comfortable. The further you bring your feet out, the further you reach toward your toes, the harder the stretch will be.
Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then slowly come back up into the starting position. Repeat this three times.
The next exercise is a middle of the back stretch. For this one, have your hands on your knees, in the same position as before. Then, bring one hand over to the opposite knee and turn to face away. Hold this for 30 seconds.
Come back to the middle and go out to the other side. If you want to make it harder, bring your hands in front like this and turn around as far as you feel comfortable. After 30 seconds, return to the middle and repeat on the other side. Do this three times as well.
The final exercise is a hamstring stretch. Sit in the same position as before. Bring one foot forward, flat on the floor but with a straight leg. Place your hand on your hip and reach down towards your foot. If you can reach all the way to your toes, great! If not, just go down as far as you feel comfortable until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg.
Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then slowly return to the starting position. If you have any balance issues or feel dizzy when bending down, just walk yourself back up and wiggle your toes a little bit. Repeat this on both sides. Do it three times on each leg.
Now, I’m going to show you some more stretches. The first one is a chest stretch. Sit or stand tall, with your hands in front of you. Then, bring your arms as wide as you can to feel a stretch in your chest and collarbone area. Hold for about 30 seconds, and then slowly return to the middle and down towards your legs.
Next, I’m going to show you a side bend. Sitting upright, place your hands down by your sides on the chair legs. Reach down the chair leg toward the floor, then come back up. Repeat on the other side. Do this for about 10 on each side or 15 seconds per side.
The final stretch is a shoulder stretch. Extend one arm straight in front of you, then bring it across your body. Keep your arm straight, and use the other hand to gently pull your elbow towards your chest. You should feel a stretch in your shoulder area. The tighter you pull, the more stretch you’ll feel.
Hold this for 30 seconds on each side, then return to the starting position.
Lower Body Strength Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
These exercises focus on building lower body strength to help you recover after surgery, improving your ability to move and walk around the hospital.
Lower Body Strength Shape Up 4 Cancer Surgery at Holt Park
So, the next exercise I’m going to show you is some lower body strength exercises. The reason you do these is so that, when you’re in the hospital after surgery, you have as much strength as possible to get up and go for walks around the hospital. This will help you get out of the hospital as quickly as possible.
The first exercise is a small squat behind a chair. Use the chair for support. Keep your back as straight as possible and place your feet about a step behind the chair. Hold onto the chair for balance. Slowly bring your hips down and then push yourself back up. Make sure your knees don’t go forward toward the chair. Instead, push your hips back, keeping your knees behind your toes.
The next exercise is a sit-to-stand. For this one, sit on the front third of the chair with your hands on your shoulders. Stand up as much as you can, then sit back down.
What I don’t want you to do is swing your feet off the floor or bring your chest forward, bending your back. Keep your back straight and push through your legs to stand up, then slowly lower yourself back down to a seated position.
The last exercise is a normal squat. Start by holding your hands out in front of you. Lower yourself down into a squat by pushing your hips back, then push yourself back up using your legs.
If you start to feel any back pain, switch to the sit-to-stand or the squat behind the chair.