Exercise

Stay Active with RWJBarnabas Health

Exercise is essential to maintaining your health and can also improve your overall sense of well-being. Even low-to-moderate intensity activities, for as little as 30 minutes a day, can be beneficial. These activities may include:

• Pleasure walking
• Climbing stairs
• Gardening
• Yard work
• Moderate-to-heavy housework
• Dancing
• Home exercise

However, more vigorous aerobic activities, that you do three or four times a week for 30 to 60 minutes, are best for improving the fitness of your heart and lungs. Regular, aerobic activity increases your capacity for exercise and helps prevent cardiovascular diseases and even certain cancers. Aerobic exercise may also help to lower blood pressure.

These activities may include:

• Brisk walking
• Running
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Roller skating
• Jumping rope

Why Is Exercise So Important?

Exercise isn't just beneficial because it helps us maintain our weight, it can have many additional health benefits as well. The American Heart Association has identified various positive effects — both physical and mental — of maintaining a routine exercise regimen.

Just some of these benefits include:

• Improves circulation
• Prevents high blood pressure
• Prevents bone loss
• Controls weight
• Improves/maintains cholesterol levels
• Releases tension/Reduces stress
• Increases energy level
• Increases muscle strength
• Improves quality of sleep
• Helps counter anxiety and depression

Get Motivated to Move

By definition, a healthy lifestyle includes exercise. Exercise burns calories and builds muscle. It's also good for your heart and lungs and can help improve your mood. Try to watch fewer than 10 hours of TV per week. When you do watch, try to exercise during commercial breaks instead of snacking, or walk on a treadmill while you watch.

Stay motivated by trying new activities, such as dancing, hiking or martial arts. If you don't always have time to exercise, you can still find plenty of opportunities to burn calories: Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk briskly rather than strolling. Any additional activity you can add to your day will make a difference.

Create a Routine and Be Consistent

Creating a routine exercise program for yourself can help ward off serious health complications later in life as well, including stroke and heart attack. Maintained consistently over time, exercise can help adults stay independent and active as they become older, as well.

The same can be said for children who are introduced to healthy, active lifestyles early in life. These children have a better chance of avoiding obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health complications.

For more information about the benefits of exercise and how to incorporate fitness into your life, speak with your health care provider at RWJBarnabas Health today.