Exercise and physical activity are great for our health, but it’s important to do them safely. A good first step is to quit smoking.
Why? Because smoking is really bad for your body, especially after working out. Your lungs open up more when you’re exercising. By lighting up a cigarette post-workout, you’re exposing your lungs to harmful substances when they’re at their most receptive. Some folks still mix exercise with smoking, and that’s bad news. The 4000 or so chemicals in tobacco slow down your body’s normal processes, making it harder for you to perform at your best.
Think about it this way: cigarette smoke damages your lung tissue over time. Less healthy lung tissue means it’s harder for your lungs to take in and exchange gases, both under normal conditions and during exercise. This means your body might not get the energy it needs to keep going.
Smokers who exercise regularly might not realize the dangers they’re facing. For example, carbon monoxide, a chemical in cigarette smoke, can cause immediate harm. It can trigger breathing difficulties, decrease the oxygen levels in your body, and even increase your heart rate dangerously during physical activity. This mean chemical can also decrease the oxygen-carrying capability of your red blood cells by 15%. Imagine trying to work out with 15% less oxygen than your body needs – it’s not a pretty picture.
Because of these dangers, many smokers are trying to quit in favor of a healthier lifestyle. While quitting is hard, substituting smoking with physical exercise or nicotine replacement therapies like patches or e-cigarettes can help a lot. Evidence suggests that regular exercise helps people quit smoking more effectively than living a sedentary lifestyle. It also improves aerobic capacity, heart health, and helps to repair the damage caused by smoking.
If quitting outright isn’t an option, at least try to wait a couple of hours after your workout before you light up. This minimizes the damage smoking does to your lungs.
Physical activity can be more than just a way to get healthy. It can also help kick that smoking habit to the curb. Exercise reduces the stress and anxiety caused by quitting, and the benefits of improved aerobic capacity can motivate smokers to reduce their consumption. If you combine your desire to quit with regular exercise, before you know it, you might just find the benefits of working out outweighing the need for a cigarette.
So remember, staying active and quitting smoking should go hand-in-hand. Even though the beginning may be tough, replacing cigarettes with exercise can help combat withdrawal symptoms and boost your overall well-being. Keep pushing, and over time, you’ll see the improvements!
