Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Unfit patients going for surgery are at high risk for complications and a poorer recovery. An exercise program started before surgery can help patients better prepare physically and metabolically for the stress of surgery. These improvements are even more noticeable in patients that start at lower levels of health (least fit patients improve the most). Surgery causes a big decrease in patients physical and metabolic status, however, this decrease is not ass big in patients who performed high intensity interval training prior to surgery, compared to patients that performed moderate intensity training or no exercise. High intensity interval training before surgery seems to have a protective effect after surgery.