Simple Step BOOSTS Prostate Cancer Survival
Reduces PSA doubling time
If you’re a man with non-aggressive prostate cancer, often the best course of action is no action at all.
The medical term for this is active surveillance.
See, it doesn’t make sense to undergo a surgery that could leave you impotent and incontinent when you’re dealing with a cancer that (typically) isn’t life-threatening.
The benefits simply don’t outweigh the risks.
Of course, if you know you have cancer in your body, doing nothing can be very difficult.
Fortunately, researchers have identified something you can do that can boost your outcomes if you have localized prostate cancer.
Exercise can improve nearly every aspect of your health.
And it turns out it can be beneficial for men living with prostate cancer as well.
This study included 52 men with localized prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance.
Half participated in exercise regimen call HIIT (high intensity interval training) for 12 weeks, and the other half didn’t.
Those who did the HIIT workouts experienced increases in their peak oxygen consumption (VO2), while the other group saw a decrease.
The HIIT groups also experienced levels of three key markers of prostate cancer:
- PSA
- PSA velocity
- LNCaPcell growth
Specifically, the PSA doubling time was better in the HIIT group. This number represents the length of time it takes your PSA numbers to double.
Shorter PSA doubling time indicates a greater risk for a poorer outcome.
So, what exactly is HIIT?
It’s a form of interval training that alternates short periods of intense aerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.
It could involve anything from sprinting to biking to jumping rope.
The workouts are typically on 10-30 minutes long, but studies have shown that they can be twice as beneficial as moderate intensity exercise.
Whether or not you’re living with prostate cancer, HIIT has benefits including
- Weight loss
- Building muscle
- Improving oxygen consumption
- Reducing heart rate and blood pressure
- Reducing blood sugar
And now we can add boosting prostate cancer outcomes to this list.
If you’re healthy enough to do it, give it a try.
It provides a ton of (health) bang for your (exercise) buck.
