Muscular strength and good physical fitness could almost halve the risk of cancer patients dying from their disease, according to a study that suggests tailored exercise plans may increase survival.

The likelihood of people dying from their cancer has decreased significantly in recent decades owing to greater awareness of symptoms, and better access to treatment and care.

However, despite notable advances, the side-effects of treatment, including on the heart and muscles, can affect survival.

A data analysis, involving nearly 47,000 patients with various types and stages of cancer, suggests muscular strength and good physical fitness are linked to a significantly lower risk of death from any cause in people with cancer.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

To inform potential options for extending survival in these patients, researchers set out to see if muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness might be associated with a lower risk of death, and whether cancer type and stage might be influential.

Researchers, led by Edith Cowan University in Australia, looked for relevant studies published in English up to August 2023, including 42 in the final pooled data analysis.

Compared with patients with poor muscle strength and low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, those at the other end of the spectrum were 31-46% less likely to die from any cause, the researchers said.

This combination of strength and fitness was associated with an 8-46% lower risk of death from any cause in patients with stage 3 or 4 cancer, and a 19-41% lower risk of death from any cause among those with lung or digestive cancers.

“Our findings highlight that muscle strength could potentially be used in clinical practice to determine mortality risk in cancer patients in advanced stages and, therefore, muscle strengthening activities could be employed to increase life expectancy,” the researchers wrote.

A second study, also published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Wednesday, found maintaining a slimmer waistline along with regular exercise was far more effective at cutting the risk of cancer than doing only one or the other.

The research, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, found people needed to exercise and keep their weight down to reap the maximum benefit.

The study, of more than 315,000 people, was the first to investigate how the two actions combine to reduce cancer risk.

Dr Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at the World Cancer Research Fund, said: “These findings underscore the importance of a holistic lifestyle approach instead of focusing on a single factor to reduce cancer risk. Maintaining a healthy weight and, in particular, having a waist circumference within the recommended level and being physically active, along with eating a healthy diet, are all crucial steps to reduce cancer risk.”

Meanwhile, Cancer Research UK, a leading cancer charity, announced on Wednesday that it and its partners were committing £10m to create new tools using AI and analytics to improve early cancer detection and prevention.

Doctors may soon be able to predict an individual’s chances of getting cancer and offer personalised help, thanks to the five-year cancer data-driven detection programme, the charity said.

This could lead to those at higher risk being offered more frequent cancer screening, or screening at a younger age, while those at lower risk could be spared unnecessary tests.

Also Read | Dietitian who lost 7 kg and 3 inches in 21 days shares anti-inflammatory weight loss diet plan: ‘Got glass-like skin’

In the video, she shared 5 arm workouts she practises at the gym to tone them. She also gave a disclaimer with her post that one cannot instantly target fat loss in a specific area. They have to be consistent to see the results. Additionally, though these exercises helped her out, none of them are going to bring changes unless you make some healthy changes to your diet.

5 workouts to tone your arms

Carla shared the video with the caption, “I lost over 40kg. Here’s my arm workout routine to help tone my arms! I do this twice a week – one day focusing on the back and biceps and the other on the chest and triceps.” She further explained that she does 3 sets of each exercise with weights that are challenging enough for her to manage 10-12 repetitions of each workout. The 5 arm workouts are:

1. Assisted pull-up: An assisted pull-up is a bodyweight exercise that helps you work your way up to performing a full, unassisted pull-up. The strength training routine targets your chest, shoulders, arms, abdominal, and back muscles.

2. Barbell bent over rows: This strength-training routine targets the back, shoulders, rhomboids, scapular stabilisers, forearms and biceps, spinal erectors and, to some degree, your hamstring and glutes.

3. Hammer Curls: A relatively simple exercise for beginners, hammer curls target your biceps and other muscles in your arms.

4. Bicep Curls: Bicep curls are done with dumbbells. They mainly target the biceps brachii, brachialis and brachioradialis muscles.

5. Lat Pull-Down: The lat pull-down is an exercise you can do with a weight machine to work the muscles on the sides of your chest wall and upper back.

Carla begins the routine by doing warm-up exercises that include full-body stretches. The fitness influencer added that she does the same set of exercises for months until she ‘plateaus in some way’. She makes small adjustments when changing her routine.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

When most of us think about exercise, our minds usually conjure up images of running as fast as we can or sweating it out in a gym class.

But slower forms of movement – like walking and stretching – can be just as beneficial, especially when we’re overwhelmed.

High-intensity exercise benefits our overall health, but it causes a steep increase in cortisol levels – the hormones responsible for stress.

It’s undoubtedly good for us, and countless studies have proved that regular movement results in better sleep, lower blood pressure and improved mood, as well as helping to combat health conditions and diseases.

But, when you’re already going a million miles an hour, adding in an early morning gym class could be doing more harm than good. Low-intensity exercise, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. It reduces cortisol levels.

“If you are already fatigued and embark on a workout when your body’s energy reserves are low, exercise can further deplete your energy,” explains naturopath, nutritionist and founder of Edible Beauty, Anna Mitsios.

“Getting up early can be counterproductive as it can induce a stress response, especially if we haven’t had enough sleep to begin with. It can spark a rise in cortisol, which can increase blood sugar levels and, in turn, imbalance hormones.”

Keeping cortisol in check

When you’re exhausted and put your body under additional stress, you’re only adding to your likely already elevated cortisol levels.

Pushing through an intense exercise session can increase cortisol, negatively impacting your immune system, metabolism and mood. And instead of boosting your energy, it could have the reverse effect.

“Rather than getting the benefits of an endorphin rush, exercising while exhausted can further deplete reserves, leading to increased fatigue, which in the end makes you feel more tired,” explains Anna.

What’s more, increased stress and fatigue can impact our immune system, and adding more stress can leave you prone to illness and infection, which is the last thing we need when we’re already drained.

Slow it down – right down

Once upon a time, cortisol gave us a boost of energy to outrun an enemy or animal. Today, however, our cortisol spikes whenever someone cuts us off in traffic or we run late for an appointment. This triggers a stress response that constantly tells our brain that we’re in danger, even when that ‘danger’ is just the relentless pace of everyday life.

Slowing down and focusing on our breath through gentler exercise soothes our nervous system, which is exactly what we need when frazzled.

“You should walk away from exercise feeling good. You want to nourish your body rather than deplete it,” explains Ali Handley, founder of Sydney’s Bodylove Pilates.

She’s an advocate for Pilates, which has soared in popularity in recent years. Using a variety of props to challenge, strengthen and lengthen, it serves as a full-body workout, just at a more controlled pace.

“Women think they need to do a lot of cardio, but that’s just not the case. We often need a slower burn to support our bodies, activate our muscles and connect to our breathing. All those things help to make exercise an experience rather than a punishment.”

Rest is a right, not a reward

Lydia O’Donnell, a running coach and co-founder of the Femmi app, which provides training plans personalized to your menstrual cycle, echoes this sentiment.

“We’ve been fed this narrative of ‘no pain, no gain’, and it’s very masculine. It can be a slow jog around the block. It can be a walk. You can still move in a healthy, sustainable way that isn’t about trying to reach a marathon finishing line.”

If you love running, you don’t have to give it up. Instead, just aim to slow down the pace. Running slower can help build your aerobic base, which is good for covering longer distances without leaving you feeling zapped.

“No matter what exercise you do, you should enjoy moving and do what feels right for you,” says Lydia.

For many of us, walking is a great option to help lower cortisol levels. Not only can it increase cardiovascular fitness, lower blood pressure and help maintain a healthy weight without pushing your body beyond its limits, but you also receive mood-boosting endorphins, which can help counter feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion. Plus, it’s free and can be done practically anywhere.

“Walking is a form of stress relief,” says Anna. “It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing the body’s stress response without the extra exertion of a gym session. If you need one or two cups of coffee to help you function at a 6am gym class, your body isn’t ready for the assault. You are better off sleeping in and calmly starting the day, waking with the sunlight and avoiding the harsh sound of the alarm.”

Permission to sleep in? Granted.