Find Stores

Close

Please enter the your ZIP code or city/state.

ZIP Code:

OR

City:        

State:      

 

Only show stores with:




Advanced Search

The Kroger Co. Privacy Policy

Close

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

COPD: Boost Your Strength with Exercise

Regular exercise can make it easier for you to breathe. It strengthens the muscles you use to inhale and exhale. It can also help your body use oxygen more efficiently. Both are important benefits for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Strength training done two or three times a week can contribute.

Create a routine

Check with your health care provider about the level of strength training that makes sense for you, and keep these ground rules in mind:

  • Warm up first with a five- to 10-minute walk or stretching.

  • Start with easy exercises and build up gradually.

  • Exhale during the more strenuous phase of the exercise and inhale during the less strenuous phase. For example, when you do standing push-ups, exhale as you push away from the wall and inhale as you lean in toward the wall.

  • Rest at least one day between strengthening workouts.

Get started

Here are two exercises you can do in your own home. Do two sets of 10 repetitions. Rest for a minute or two between sets. Follow these steps:

  • Squats. Stand in front of a sturdy chair as though you’re about to sit in it. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Put your arms straight out in front of your shoulders. Bend your knees and hips, slowly lowering your bottom toward the chair to a count of four. Stop just before you reach the seat, and pause. (If this is too hard, don’t go as low.) Rise up to a count of two. Keep your back straight. Don’t let your knees go forward past your toes.

  • Standing push-ups. Stand facing an empty wall, a little more than an arm’s length away. Put your arms straight out in front of your shoulders and lean forward, placing your palms against the wall. Bend your elbows, slowly lowering your body toward the wall to a count of four, and pause. Straighten your arms, pushing yourself back up to a count of two. Don’t lock your elbows. Do two sets of 10 repetitions. Rest for a minute or two between sets.

By doing these simple workouts at home, you can take steps to help improve your strength and your breathing.

Publication Source: Staywell Breathing Easy/Spring 2008
Author: Conaway, Brenda
Online Source: Growing Stronger: Cooldown, CDC, 2007http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/exercises/cooldown.htm
Online Source: Growing Stronger: Exercises, CDC, 2007http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/exercises/index.htm
Online Source: Growing Stronger: Stage 1, CDC, 2007http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/exercises/stage_1.htm
Online Source: Growing Stronger: Warmup, CDC, 2007http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/exercises/warmup.htm
Online Source: Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Team Approach to Improving Quality of Life, American College of Chest Physicians, 2007http://www.chestnet.org/patients/guides/pulmonary/p4.php
Online Source: COPD Internationalhttp://www.copd-international.com/exercise/
Online Source: American Lung Associationhttp://www.lungusa.org/associations/charters/new-england/programs/msb/news/connecticut-study-copd.html
Online Source: American Lung Associationhttp://www.lungusa.org/associations/states/minnesota/events-programs/mn-copd-coalition/patient-toolkit/staying-fit-with-copd.pdf
Online Source: American Lung Associationhttp://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/copd/living-with-copd/
Online Source: American Lung Associationhttp://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/copd/resources/facts-figures/copd-fact-sheet.html
Online Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutehttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Copd/Copd_Treatments.html
Online Source: MedLine Plushttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/winter07/articles/winter07pg24-25.html
Online Source: What Are the Signs and Symptoms of COPD? American Thoracic Society, 2007http://www.thoracic.org/sections/copd/for-patients/what-are-the-signs-and-symptoms-of-copd.html
Online Editor: Haley, Charla
Online Medical Reviewer: Berry, Judith, PhD, APRN
Online Medical Reviewer: Fraser, Marianne, MSN, RN
Date Last Reviewed: 8/23/2011
Date Last Modified: 9/27/2011
Copyright Health Ink & Vitality Communications
Send to a Friend Printer Version
All Comments © Copyright 2009The Kroger Co. All Rights Reserved