Good Exercise vs. Bad Exercise for Healing

Mar
29

Good Exercise vs. Bad Exercise for Healing

Filed under: Exercise;
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Exercise has far too many other health benefits that it absolutely needs to be included in your daily activities.

In fact, the right kind of exercise can help…
- Balance your blood sugar
- Increase your energy
- Stimulate your immune system
- Balance your hormones
- Improve constipation
- Decrease stress
- Improve detoxification
- Decrease inflammation
- Improve sleep
- Increase bone density
- Reduce your risk of injury
- and the list goes on and on…
But there is a catch because I did say the “right” kind of exercise.

Most people don’t know this but not all exercise is created equal so there are some big differences between good exercise and what I call bad exercise. And keep in mind that I use the term “bad exercise” loosely because it’s not bad for everyone. It really depends on the overall goal of what you are trying to achieve. However, bad exercise can and will slow down, stop, and even worsen Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Bad Exercise for Healing – Cardio Exercise

I’m not entirely sure why, but most people seem to be obsessed with running, treadmills, elliptical trainers, aerobics and many other forms of continuous repetitive cardio exercise.

Yes, cardiovascular health is important but these forms of exercise are not the best way to improve your cardiovascular health. In fact, many competitive long distance runners suffer from enlarged hearts and often die from heart failure at an early age because the heart is really just a muscle. And overuse will cause it to compensate by growing just like any other muscle in the body which is not ideal for proper function.

But there’s a completely difference problem when it comes to your gut.

Cardio Breaks Down Healthy Living Cells

Cardio exercise is catabolic in nature. This means that it promotes catabolism within the body which is another way of saying that it promotes the breakdown of healthy living cells.

The body does this because long bouts of cardio elicits a stress response within the body. And when the body is under stress, it begins to hold onto its stored energy reserves (fat) and use up easier to access protein (muscle).

And hopefully you understand that this is the opposite of what you want when trying to heal. Instead of wasting the healthy living cells that you do have, you need to put your focus on instead rebuilding and promoting the growth of and repair of your cells.

This is due largely from the significant release in cortisol or stress hormone that occurs after performing this type of exercise. As I’ve mentioned before cortisol plays a vital role in turning off your body’s natural healing processes so it can instead respond to the given stress.

Good Exercise for Healing – Anabolic Exercise

If cardiovascular health is a goal then you can achieve the same but even healthier cardiovascular effect from doing more weight bearing exercise. The more you use your muscles, the more blood they require. And the more blood they require the more your heart has to work to pump blood to them.

The biggest difference is that under these conditions, your heart isn’t being forced to work for long periods of time. Instead, it can work in shorter bursts and get plenty of healthy rest in between.

Anabolic Exercise Builds and Repairs Healthy Living Cells

The opposite of catabolic (cell breakdown) is anabolic which refers to the building, growth, and repair of cells.

So when I refer to anabolic exercise, I’m referring to exercise that elicits an anabolic response within the body which promotes the healing process.

Some examples of good anabolic exercise are:
- Weight Training
- Qi Gong
- Tai Chi
But there still are some variables which need to be considered to ensure that you get the maximum healing effects of your anabolic exercise. And mostly I’m referring to the amount of exercise that you do.

You never want to over exert yourself with any form of exercise, otherwise the benefits will be greatly diminished. Anytime you work out, you should be energized afterward and that energy should continue with you throughout the day.

But if you feel worse and have lower energy throughout the day then you’re likely doing too much.

It’s best to build up slowly over time, especially if you haven’t exercised regularly for any period of time in order to give your nervous system time to adapt to these new demands on your body.

But the benefits are almost immediate and well worth the effort.

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23 Comments

23 responses to “Good Exercise vs. Bad Exercise for Healing”

Sabine April 26th, 2011 at 04:33

Again, I must admit that I learned it the hard way some months ago and I am still struggling to gain precious weight (muscle tissue). However, it is so good to see this worked out here and explained. THANK YOU!
Wendy July 26th, 2011 at 08:19

This is a great article Karen. Thanks. Keep up the good work. 🙂
patrice August 31st, 2011 at 11:18

Would swimming be okay?
Karen Brimeyer September 1st, 2011 at 00:45

It would depend on the intensity of the swimming. Easy swimming could be beneficial. But strenuous swimming would be counter-productive.
Cherie November 8th, 2011 at 15:24

Hi Karen
Is aqua jogging ok? (Physio has sent me as neck & back keep going out). Also I do 6 Km walks at a brisk pace. (Usually 6km in an hour or less) when feeling up to it :). Both only a couple of times a week.

Kind regards

Cherie 🙂
Karen Brimeyer November 14th, 2011 at 01:16

It depends on the intensity. Intense exercise is going to disrupt hormones and increase your stress response. If it’s not intense then it should be ok.
Denny November 29th, 2011 at 14:02

Karen is P90x workout ok? I know that there different variation of workouts in there workout plan?
Karen Brimeyer November 30th, 2011 at 01:33

P90x is very intense and the problem with really intense exercise is that it can cause a serious stress response, shut off your thyroid, and disrupt a lot of hormone pathways.
Lynn December 22nd, 2011 at 19:49

Darn Karen–you rock!
You write some of the most important articles.
I really get so much from your writings and my family LOVES spaghetti squash with meat sauce.
Your cookbook is great.
Best holiday to you!
Tina February 14th, 2012 at 11:26

Is rebouding ok?
Tina February 14th, 2012 at 11:26

It should be rebounding. sorry
Karen Brimeyer February 19th, 2012 at 11:47

You just want to keep the intensity low so that you’re not creating a big stress response.
Nikki March 30th, 2012 at 14:19

Yoga?
Dasha McGee April 17th, 2013 at 06:28

Hi Karen,

I have noticed that if I over do things I do feel worse and a yucky fatigue feeling…not a nice tired after execrise feeling. I’m trying to do yoga abit and swimming gently and gentle walking…….and If I don’t feel great dont do much on that day.
Susan May 8th, 2013 at 10:42

My daughter is a dancer struggling with leaky gut. Will her dancing be an issue in the healing process?
Karen Brimeyer May 8th, 2013 at 12:29

It really depends on how much of a stress her dance is to her body.
Kim June 18th, 2013 at 06:19

Karen what about yoga
sandra July 27th, 2013 at 17:57

I do yoga but have to watch out that I don’t do too much, otherwise I crash. I may try tai-chi since you mentioned it, and the nice thing is that my health insurance company offers free tai-chi classes at their office. Thanks for this update, Karen.
kevin April 10th, 2014 at 11:07

What heart rate would you consider too intense?
Karen October 27th, 2014 at 19:11

Are you advocating no cardio at all? Or how much cardio I am 55 and female! And I’m struggling to decide how much cardio because I don’t want to pull any muscles? I have been working out since I was 15 and now I find the cardio really wears me out and I don’t even do it that intense and I keep reading all the stuff about interval training? There is really way too much information out there and it is very confusing!

Thanks for your reply!
Karen Brimeyer October 28th, 2014 at 10:29

I actually don’t advocate cardio at all. I think for most people, what I recommend in this article is the best option to start with.
John November 9th, 2015 at 08:58

Karen this is really appreciated. I spent years and years in the gym doing punishing exercise programs which later in life caused me several long term problems and injuries.
This is a very common sense approach to an exercise program.

Thanks again.
Shonita. Badillo March 5th, 2018 at 19:31

Hi. Karen. Thanks for. Your. Info. On. Exercise. I. Will start. Strentgh. Training. Tommorow