By David Smith
First, a few caveats:
*Always make sure to consult your physician prior to engaging
in any exercise program and to select a program that is inline with your
treatment
**You know your body best, listen to it and take it at your
pace, be careful and know how hard you can push yourself.
***Ensure you are taking all precautions prior to sexual
activity to protect yourself. The best treatment is prevention. Get tested and
know your status as well as your partner’s status. For more information visit www.denvercap.org
HIV/AIDS has had a huge impact on the
GLBT community. Today over 1.3
million people (World Health Organization
2011) are living with HIV/AIDS and there have been many advancements in
educational, prevention and treatment services offered that have turned the
disease from a death sentence to a manageable condition that is, hopefully, on the verge of a cure.
Living a healthy lifestyle and exercising regularly can have
many benefits for people who live with HIV/AIDS. Diver Greg Louganis was
diagnosed with HIV shortly before the 1988 Olympics, he stated in his book Breaking the Surface that
he was afraid he would be too sick to compete and almost called it quits. However
the fact that he was exercising regularly and staying consistent with a healthy
diet not only helped to keep the virus at bay but to keep his immune system
strong, to the point he was able to fight off other infections such as the flu
a lot quicker than his HIV negative teammates.
HIV/AIDS is a virus that targets the immune system; it
essentially attacks and breaks down the immune system making it much weaker and
unable to fight off other infection. Many of the illness and death attributed
to HIV/AIDS actually come from other viruses and infection such as pneumonia
and shingles.
Two physical conditions associated with HIV/AIDS are
lipodystrophy
and muscular atrophy. Lipodystrophy is a change in how the body stores,
processes and utilizes fat. It can lead to rapid and unhealthy weight loss or
weight gain and significantly manipulating your fat stores at a dangerous
level. This is unhealthy as it can affect your intake of fat-soluble
vitamins as well as lead to an increased risk of heart disease, high
cholesterol, stroke and diabetes. The specific cause is unknown but it is
believed that HIV/AIDS combined with other factors such as age, race and sex
play a significant role.
Muscular atrophy is the wasting away of muscle, both in
strength and the muscle tissue itself which becomes more and more diminished. This
leads to reduced strength and functionality, it also significantly increases your
risk of injury ranging from fractures on the bone, decreased bone strength,
joint issues, inflammation of tendons and ligaments and can increase risk
of infection.
Both of these conditions can lead to physical exhaustion and fatigue as well as mental conditions including depression,
anxiety, increased stress and body image issues.
There has been inconsistent research in regards to specific
benefits to exercise for people with HIV/AIDS but as more studies are being
done we are constantly learning new information on how exercise can supplement
a treatment program.
Exercise has consistently shown to help control and maintain
healthy body composition with the efficient processing and storage of fat and
fat-soluble vitamins. By maintaining a constant, healthy percentage of body fat
you immediately reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and other
metabolic, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Partaking in a consistent
exercise program as suitable to your condition can be beneficial in helping
your body maintain a regular and healthy function. This is best accomplished by
partaking in aerobic or cardio-based exercise programs. Depending on what your
goals are these may include long duration exercise at a moderate intensity
(walking, jogging, swimming, cycling) or higher intensity shorter duration
exercises (High intensity interval training, sprinting). Both types have been
shown to reduce fat and help maintain a healthy body fat percentage.
Resistance training can have a significant effect on
reducing and even reversing muscular atrophy. By keeping the muscles constantly
engaged and working, you are strengthening the muscles; they become stronger,
bigger and more efficient. Not only that but weight bearing exercises have been
shown to increase bone density, making your bones stronger and better able to
hold the weight. This helps
maintain strong joints and bones to allow you to function and perform at a
higher level as well maintain your physical health and quality of life for a
much longer period of time. It also significantly reduces your risk or injury
as you will better be able to recover and not be harmed as easily during
impact. Resistance training does not only include weight lifting but body
weight exercises, resistance bands and just about anything you can come up with
that involves an increased weight load.
Core training, agility and flexibility training are also
very important, as they will improve your balance, coordination and
flexibility. Helping your body to become more functional, better able to hold
yourself in unstable environments as well as always keep your mind sharp and
focused to better able to respond at the task at hand. Check out different
programs including yoga, Pilates and Zumba are great ways to keep your core and
mind engaged.
Exercise in all forms essentially challenges and pushes the
body, it keeps you engaged and constantly changing the stimulation placed upon
the muscles, bones, nervous system and mind. You know the feeling of being sore
after a challenging workout? Your body is essentially broken down and ripped
apart on the inside from the exercise at hand, however it regenerates and
rebuilds itself to be stronger and more efficient, able to better handle the
task at hand. This is why it’s important to keep changing your workout and
pushing yourself to the next level; it’s also why what may seemed hard last
week is suddenly much easier this week. It essentially has the same effect on
the immune system, it helps to break it down and rebuild it to be stronger and
more efficient in handling the combat of infectious diseases and viruses.
Exercise also has a wide variety of mental and psychological
benefits. Living with HIV/AIDS can be just as hard on the mind as it is on the
body. The two are connected to each other and maintaining a healthy mind is
just as important as maintain a healthy body. Depression, self esteem and
confidence issues as well as stress and eating disorders are all common issues
people have, not only that but also the medications and treatments often have
many side effects that play host to many of these conditions.
Elle Woods from
Legally Blonde said it best, “Exercises releases endorphins, endorphins make
you happy, happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.” Indeed this is true;
exercise will lead to the release of serotonin and dopamine, which are the two
neurotransmitters in the body responsible for pleasure. These neurotransmitters
can affect everything from mood, to overall physical health and quality of
life. Helping you feel stronger, happier and more fulfilled.
There is still much research to be done on how exercise
affects those living with HIV/AIDS and each person is unique. Depending on the
stage of the disease, medications, overall physical health and such it is
important to consult your physician prior to engaging in any exercise program.
Always make sure to start at a lower, lighter level of exercise and build up
from there. It is possible to exercise too much and that can have negative and
drastic effects
on your body and might even impact your
treatment program. Again always talk to your physician, you know your body best
and make sure you are always careful in your training program, ensure you are
exercising properly, safely and at a level that is appropriate to your level of
physical fitness and your goals.
Several studies examine this question in various aspects, the first such study Chocolate Milk as a Post-Exercise Recovery Aid by
Jason R. Karp, Jeanne D. Johnston, Sandra Tecklenburg, Timothy D.
Mickleborough, Alyce D. Fly, and Joel M. Stager. Examines the
effectiveness of chocolate milk as a recovery aid between two intensive
and exhaustive exercise bouts. Taking 9, highly trained, male cyclists
and putting them through an intense interval based training session with
2 minutes cycling, 2 minutes rest with increasing intensity until
failure. Immediately following and again 2 hours after the session the
athletes were given chocolate milk, fluid replacement or carbohydrate
replacement drink. After a 4-hour recovery period the athletes then
began cycling again and had cycled at an intensity of 70% of their VO2
max at the same RPM as the initial bout. Once the athlete could no
longer maintain this RPM the test was terminated and the athlete was
concluded to have reached exhaustion. The results concluded that those
athletes with the best performance overall had consumed either the
chocolate milk or the carbohydrate replacement drink. Those who had
consumed the fluid replacement drink did not see any improvements in
performance whatsoever. 
