Exercise as a Prostate Cancer treatment

Good for you! That's more miles than I average per week! I've averaged ~11 miles/wk for the last 6 months.

The great thing is that it doesn't take a huge number of miles per week...its more important to be consistent month over month, year over year....slow and steady wins the race.....

I know you've been on ADT for some time and also an example of how "exercise medicine" works to one's benefit.

You could use the calculator link I posted earlier, for the one mile WALK calculator, to estimate your VO2 Max...I input the numbers you posted (assumed a weight) and it appears you may be in the "Above Average" group for your age!

We recently moved and live ~2 miles from a nice HS track that is open to the public 24/7...that was an important consideration in our home selection.

The house we recently purchased needed some remodeling and if I had not built up my endurance, via "Zone 2" running, I could never have completed all the tasks that required extended times of strenuous physical activity over the last few months.

"Exercise medicine", when applied safely and consistently over an extended period of time, provides significant benefits to every aspect of one's life, especially for us with PCa...as you are experiencing.

I consider my exercise medicine protocol like doing radiation treatments or taking medications...if I stop or don't follow through consistently...I know I'm going to suffer negative consequences....it also helps to have a group supporting your exercise activities 🙂

Keep up the good work!

We're waiting for my husband's 6th and last round of chemo and the doctor keeps saying my husband is doing extremely well considering.... anyways he goes to the gym almost every day for maybe 2hrs. He's always been a weight lifter, but added treadmill too. Now he's doing it like his life depends on it!
You wouldn't know he was dying by looking at him! Other than being sorta bold but lots of men are so....
I think he rotates around what body section he works on each day and allows rest after chemo.

I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate what Newton is talking about into an exercise program suitable for me that I can do at home. I've been doing a mostly aerobic and stretching program for years, 30 minutes a day. Apparently, aerobic exercise may interfere with a patients best interests if he is on ADT.

When discussing an example of how he would design a personalized exercise program for a prostate cancer patient on ADT, Rob mentions aerobic exercise. This is in a youtube video entitled "Personalizing Exercise for Your Cancer Care". Around 17:05, Rob says this:

"We may limit the aerobic exercise or at least have it on separate days or different sessions here because in these patients on ADT... any aerobic exercise interferes with their capacity to grow muscle and also we will have extensive recovery strategies as well to support their training."

@climateguy you NEED aerobic exercise to offset the negative cardiac and metabolic effects of ADT. Sure, you need to maintain muscle tone and mass but you’re not entering a Mr Olympia contest!

@heavyphil Agree with this 100%. Been on Eligard for 13 months and it's really affected my ability to run. I do walk about 3 miles a day without fail but running is a whole different story. I was a pretty avid runner before all this and I'm not even close right now. I blame ADT! 🙂

@dpayton
Take some electrolytes half an hour before you go out and you should be able to run. I’m 78 and hadn’t been able to run for many years because of bad knees, Had my knee replaced and I can now run the full 1 mile I like to run every morning and afternoon. I always had to walk that distance, If I tried to run, I would fall. I’m not even fatigued or winded when I get done. I’ve been on ADT for eight years.

The electrolytes helped me build up my stamina, so I don’t even need them anymore, forgot them one day and was able to run the full distance., I continue to take them For extra energy. I use sugar-free liquid IV Which Costco sells at a pretty good price. Amazon wants the same price for half as much.

@climateguy

Interesting observation!

I asked a series of questions to find out why Newton says that and for whom he thinks aerobic exercise is best…you can see the questions and detailed answers here:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/3b491cce-8131-4ae0-a4b4-f7324d409bc6
In summary, Newton’s view is based on evidence that ADT drastically accelerates muscle loss and frailty; therefore, maximizing resistance training is seen as essential to counteracting these effects. He says that aerobic exercise, when done alongside resistance training, for those on ADT, can reduce the muscle-building response that resistance exercise induces.

Newton’s approach does not rule out aerobic exercise entirely; but he highlights that it should not dominate or detract from resistance training, nor be performed during the same session, when on ADT.

Conversely, Newton indicates that for cancer patients who do not have concerns for severe muscle loss or the catabolic effects of aerobic exercise, it is valuable and often recommended to improve cardiovascular fitness, metabolic health, and immune function. Newton cites examples such as patients with early-stage cancers, or those who are not on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). He thinks they can benefit from a balanced exercise program that includes both aerobic and resistance training.

Well…it just goes to show you that even the use of exercise as a “natural means” of restoring health has to be tailored to the individual PCa patient. Just like when a patient selects an active treatment, there is no one exercise program that is best “across the board”.

As of today, I’ve focused my aerobic exercise efforts exclusively on running “Zone 2” (fully aerobic, slower pace), as I’m nursing a slight knee issue, which I don’t want to aggravate with the addition of HIIT….at least until my knee has fully recovered.

As far as strength training, I exclusively do multiple sets of push ups (never really enjoyed going to a gym)…but again….it’s what works for me…others will have to find what works for them.

All the best!

@jeffmarc Thanks so much for this Jeff. I’m going to have to get some because it’s maddening not being able to run. Love that you can get those miles in on ADT. Keep it up!!!!

@dpayton
The first couple of months I made up my own electrolytes using this recipe which the WHO published.

1 litre of water (A little more than a quart)
2 level tablespoons sugar
1/2 level teaspoon of salt
You could make half a recipe with a pint of water.

I then moved onto the Liquid IV version that was sugar-free. They both work just as well.

You can get started right away with the first recipe.

@dpayton Try Walk/Run in intervals - that is probably even more beneficial aerobically; most people believe that running at a constant pace burns more calories and is better aerobically but many studies have not proven that to be the case.
Not saying that the ‘walk’ part should be done slowly - but at the same pace as your current walking velocity; the ‘run’ part shouldn’t be an all out sprint either, but a normal run pace for you.
At first your run times will be much shorter but over time they will naturally increase. The key to all this is ‘ROCKY’ music playing continuously in your head - or for real with earbuds!!🥊🥊🥊😆