Muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness (how well your body takes in oxygen and delivers it to your muscles and organs during physical activity) are both significant predictors of your overall health.

Muscle strength helps improve balance and prevent falls as we age. It also lowers the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which can include heart disease and diabetes.

Good cardiorespiratory fitness (also called aerobic capacity) is connected with a lower risk for heart failure and stroke.

Together, these two fitness measures are a good predictor of longevity.

But even in the face of cancer, we’re learning how maintaining muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness can genuinely make the difference between life and death…

Longer life in the face of cancer

An international group of researchers has proven that exercise programs tailored to boost muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness can help increase the chances of survival for cancer patients, even those in advanced stages of the disease.

The researchers analyzed data from 42 studies involving nearly 47,000 patients with various types and stages of cancer.

Here are their findings:

• Patients with high levels of muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness were 31% to 46% less likely to die from any cause than those with poor levels.
• With each unit of increase in muscular strength, this risk fell even further by 11%.
• For patients with advanced-stage cancer (stages 3 and 4), the combo of strength and fitness was associated with an 8% to 46% lower risk of death from any cause.
• For those with lung or digestive cancers, this fitness combo was associated with a 19% to 41% lower risk of death.
• Each unit increase in fitness level was associated with an 18% lower risk of death from cancer itself. 

“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 state.

In other words, people with advanced cancers could increase their expected lifespan and improve their quality of life by engaging in exercise that improves their aerobic fitness and muscle strength.

Exercise for prevention and survival

Sarcopenia is a progressive loss of muscle mass associated with aging. Though the researchers did not mention this condition, there’s some relevance…

Cancer is prevalent in older adults with sarcopenia, but also cancer treatment can increase the risk of developing sarcopenia. So you can see how regularly exercising for muscle mass and cardiorespiratory fitness is to your benefit.

In addition to fitness being a contributing factor to cancer survival and longevity, exercise can reduce your risk of ever getting cancer.

We’ve previously shared that exercise works like a roadblock to prostate cancer progression, has powerful effects on slowing tumor growth in breast cancer and is essential to surviving colon cancer.

That said, if you have cancer or are under a doctor’s care for an illness, discuss your exercise plans with them before getting started.

Here are some simple exercises that fit the bill:

Strength training exercises include push-ups, squats, planks, and weightlifting. Here is a series of videos from the Mayo Clinic to help you get started.

Gymnastics, swimming, and cycling also strengthen your muscles.

Jumping rope, jogging, tennis, walking and climbing your stairs at home all offer chances for improving cardiorespiratory capacity.

Walking, swimming, tennis, dancing, and elliptical training combine strength training and aerobic exercise. They work both upper and lower body muscles, giving you insurance against sarcopenia.

Sources:

Muscular strength and good physical fitness linked to lower risk of death in people with cancer — Eureka Alert

Association of muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness with all-cause and cancer-specific mortality in patients diagnosed with cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis — British Journal of Sports Medicine

7 Reasons Why Strength Training Is Key to a Long Life  — AARP