Get Active Tips
Is Physical Activity Safe for Me?
Most healthy adults can increase their physical activity without a medical exam.However, if you can answer yes to any of the following questions, please call your healthcare provider before increasing your physical activity.
- Has your doctor ever restricted you or told you not to engage in exercise or physical activity?
- Are you extremely breathless after only mild activity?
- Do you take medications for high blood pressure or a heart problem?
- Do you have a medical condition that might need special attention if you increase your current activity level, such as diabetes or back problems?
- Are you middle-aged or older, physically inactive, and planning a fairly vigorous exercise program?
Benefits of Physical Activity
- Feel better
- Look better
- Lose weight
- Have more energy
- Have greater stamina
- Improve overall health
- Reduce chance of injury
- Live longer
Regular physical activity can also help prevent many diseases and help people already living with conditions, such as:
- Cardiovascular disease
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Osteoarthritis
- Back problems
- Depression
Aerobic Activity
Aerobic activities build endurance and keep the heart pumping at a steady but elevated rate for an extended period.Practicing them regularly can enhance cardiac function, boost HDL (the “good”) cholesterol levels, strengthen bones, and lower the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer.
Aerobic exercise also trims body fat and can improve one’s sense of well-being.Examples include jogging, swimming, cycling, stair climbing, and aerobic dancing. As little as one hour a week is helpful, but three to four hours per week are optimal. Because it is so natural and convenient, brisk walking is an excellent and easy way to accomplish aerobic activity.
Strengthening Activity
Where aerobic exercises focus on endurance, strengthening activities focus on muscle strength. Adding 10 to 20 minutes of modest strength training two or three times is important for a balanced exercise program.
Strengthening activity is beneficial for everyone. In fact, strength training becomes even more important as one ages, because after age 30 everyone undergoes a slow process of muscle loss which can be reduced or even reversed by adding strengthening activities to an exercise program. Please note, people at risk for cardiovascular disease should not perform strengthening exercises without checking with a physician.
Any heavy object that can be held in the hand, such as a plastic bottle filled with sand or water, can serve as a weight. Heavy rubber bands or tubing are excellent devices for resistance training; they are inexpensive, come in various tensions, and are safer and more convenient than free weights for exercising all parts of the body.
Flexibility Activity
Flexibility training uses stretching exercises to prevent cramps, stiffness, and injuries. It also ensures a wider range of motion (the amount of movement a joint has). Yoga and tai chi, which focus on flexibility, balance, and proper breathing, may even lower stress and help to reduce blood pressure. Experts now recommend performing stretching exercises for 10 to 12 minutes at least three times a week.
When stretching, extend the muscle to the point of tension – not pain – and hold for 20 to 60 seconds (beginners may need to start with a 5 to 10 second stretch). Stretching is appropriate for the cool down period after exercise but not for warming up, because it can injure “cold” muscles.
Avoiding Injuries
The following are some things you can do to make sure you are exercising safely:
- Start slowly. Build up your activities and your level of effort gradually. Doing too much, too soon, can hurt you, especially if you have been inactive.
- Use appropriate safety equipment, such as helmets, knee and elbow pads, and eye protection, to keep you from getting hurt.
- Be sure to drink plenty of water when you are doing endurance activities that make you sweat. Many older people tend to be low on fluid much of the time, even when not exercising.
- When you bend forward, bend from the hips, not the waist. If you keep your back straight, you’re probably bending correctly. If you let your back “hump” anyplace, you’re probably bending from the waist, which is the wrong way.
- Make sure your muscles are warmed up before you stretch, or you could hurt them. For example, you can do a little easy biking, or walking and light arm pumping first.
- None of your activities should hurt or make you feel really tired. You might feel some soreness, a slight discomfort, or a bit weary, but you should not feel pain . . . in fact, in many ways, physical activity and exercise will probably make you feel better.
