Cystic fibrosis and exercise.

Being active is part of a healthy lifestyle for many reasons. Activity usually helps you feel better overall. Regular exercise can boost energy levels. It can improve your emotional well-being.

Exercise helps you feel stronger. You’re able to do more. Lung and heart muscles can get stronger. With cystic fibrosis (CF), exercise can help clear mucus from your lungs. This makes it easier to breathe. It helps lower your risk of lung infections, too.

Aerobic exercise is important. But remember that exercise is more than working out in the gym. It’s all types of activity you do.

Talk with your or your child’s CF treatment team before you start an exercise program. Learn the best exercises for you or your child.

Here are a few points to help you or your get more exercise:

• Do activities you or your child enjoy.
• Do aerobic exercise. These are moves that raise your heart rate. Add resistance training. Work out with weights. Do some stretching to stay flexible.
• Exercises that raise heart rate or make you sweat are best. But any activity is better than none.
• Mix it up. You’ll help prevent injury and stay motivated.

If you have an active infection, your doctor may advise you to cut back on exercise or even stop for a time. But overall, make exercise a part of your life with CF.

Ideas for exercises.

Aerobic exercises

• Walking
• Running
• Swimming
• Bike riding
• Dancing
• Water aerobics

Strength or resistance training

• Using body weight or lifting weights
• Using resistance bands.
• Water exercise

Flexibility

• Yoga
• Stretching 

Work with your CF CareTeam and CF treatment center to learn more about how exercise can help improve the quality of life for you or your child. Is your child transitioning to adulthood? Learn about how to best navigate their CF treatment journey.