Exercise and Inflammation: What is the Correlation?
We all know that physical activity has multiple health benefits. Benefits such as:
Weight management
Reducing risk of diseases (examples include cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer)
Improved muscle mass and bone density
Improved brain health (such as improved cognition and mood)
Have you ever thought, why do these health benefits occur? Keep reading to learn about:
How exercise reduces inflammation
How much physical activity you should be getting
HIIT (high intensity interval training) and inflammation
How exercise reduces inflammation
Let’s walk through some science. As Kim mentioned in her previous blog post, CRP (C-reactive protein) measures inflammation in the body. Inflammation can be caused by numerous modalities. The higher the CRP, the more inflammation.
*Of note, CRP is only one tool that can be used to assess inflammation.
When you exercise, at that very moment, you are causing inflammation in the body. This is because exercise can induce muscle fatigue, which acts as a stressor. This produces an acute inflammatory response. However, over time (and after regularly exercising) there is a reduction in inflammatory markers within the body, as well as an increased amount of anti-inflammatory substances. As time progresses, exercise reduces CRP, which reduces inflammation.
How much physical activity should I be getting?
The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week with at least 2 days of muscle strengthening. If you do vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, this amount can be decreased to 75 minutes per week. The vigorous-intensity physical activity doesn’t need to be your typical HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes. This type of physical activity could include jogging, swimming or riding a bike at a faster pace.
*If you want to learn more about benefits of physical activity, check out our previous blog post here.
I’ve heard mixed messages about HIIT (high intensity interval training). Can you clear that up?
HIIT (high intensity interval training), per ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), is defined as “training that involves repeated bouts of high intensity effort followed by varied recovery times.”
There are benefits to HIIT, such as:
Increased metabolism post-exercise
Improved body composition
Improved blood sugar management
You may also feel an increase in energy after these workouts, which is due to the release of cortisol, a hormone in the body.
Cortisol, along with adrenaline, gives us that fight or flight response. When you do intense exercise, cortisol is released, which tells your body to “rev up it’s engines.” With the hard efforts and exercise you’re completing, this will lead to metabolic changes.
However, as with many things in life, too much can be a bad thing. When our body has too much cortisol circulating it can lead to:
Weight gain (or inability to lose weight)
Severe fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Changes in mood
Increased anxiety
Decreased immunity
Besides exercise, there is another element that can lead to high cortisol. It is something that many of us feel frequently…stress.
Certain situations can be more stressful than others, which causes an increase, then a subsequent decrease, in cortisol. However, when someone is under constant stress (aka chronic stress), cortisol levels do not decrease as they should. If someone is feeling constantly stressed it may not be in their best interest to complete a HIIT workout. Why? Because even more cortisol will be released, which could have implications (which are discussed above).
If you are not under constant stress, HIIT can be a great way to exercise. You just need to allow your body to rest and recover for your cortisol levels to decrease. This looks like taking the recommended rest from professionals during your HIIT workout, as well as taking rest days, or days off from HIIT training during the week. If you like to partake in HIIT exercises, I’d recommend completing this type of training, at most, 2 times/week. The other days I’d recommend strength training and low-moderate intensity cardiovascular activities. And make sure to take 1-2 rest days per week!
*Are you confused about which type of exercise would be most beneficial for YOU? Reach out and we can make you an individualized plan.
Wrapping it up
Overall, exercise leads to decreased inflammation in the body, granted you are not over exerting yourself. I will be the first to admit that I’m not always the greatest at listening to my body. I like to hit it hard when I workout, and it can be difficult to scale back. Even though I know the science, it can be hard to follow through.
Know that these blogs we write provide recommendations, not requirements. Do I always take my own recommendations? Nope. But that’s the beauty of being human! We can read and hear all the research and decide for ourselves what works best.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 2). How much physical activity do adults need? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 16). Benefits of physical activity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm.
Khazaei, M. (2012). Chronic Low-grade Inflammation after Exercise: Controversies. Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, 15(5), 1008–1009.
Rose, A. (2021, April 14). High intensity interval training and cortisol: Is HIIT backfiring? Healthline. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/the-cortisol-creep#The-importance-of-recovery