Exercise is truly your best medicine

“You never slow down, you never grow old”. – Tom Petty

A simple song lyric, but it’s a phrase that I firmly believe in. Exercise is medicine. As a sports medicine physician and doctor to Olympians, it’s a natural mindset but it is also backed by scientific research.

In the United States and according to the CDC, heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death. It’s been well known that exercise has cardioprotective effects, including lowering blood pressure. Regular physical activity is also associated with a lower risk of many cancers, including breast, prostate, colon, endometrium and pancreatic. Exercise can also improve your mood, confidence, social interaction and coping skills, and should be used as a first line treatment for mental health concerns like anxiety and depression because it can be as effective as medication. Exercise has also been shown to have a positive effect on immune function, keeping you healthier.

Twenty-one minutes and 24 seconds per day — or 150 minutes per week — along with two strength sessions per week is the basic recommendation. The hardest thing is to figure out how to start.

1. What is your goal? While not everyone is training for the actual Olympics, there is a reason why you want to be healthier and that is your own personal Super Bowl. Maybe you want to be able to keep up with your grandchildren. Maybe you want to sleep better. Maybe you want to be able to stop some medications. Whatever the goal is, write it down. Make it your mantra. Remind yourself of it often. That goal will help sustain you. As one of my favorite people says: you don’t have to, you get to, and it is a not a burden but a privilege to be able to move your body.

2. How will you make it happen? While 21 minutes of moderate intensity activity per day isn’t that much, it can sometimes seem impossible to get it to fit into a busy day. Professional athletes and Olympians have the luxury of activity built into their daily schedules, but you can do the same. Add your exercise time into your phone’s calendar and set reminders until it becomes part of your routine. Be sure to get medical clearance from your physician to start.

3. Where are you starting from? Establish your baseline. It can be as simple as timing yourself walking a few blocks, seeing how far you can run in 10 minutes or how many push ups you can do. It is important to have a baseline to monitor your success and see how far you have come.

4. How do you start? Start tiny and remain positive. I always encourage patients to start with five minutes. If you feel great, keep going. Those five minutes are better than nothing and are helping you get healthier. In general, sit less and move more and remember that all physical activity helps. Eventually you can work up to 21 or more minutes per day.

I often get the question, what is the best exercise to do? My answer is quite simple. It’s the one that you will do. If you enjoy social exercise, look into community recreation programs or classes. Consider a brisk walk with the family as the temperatures cool in Arizona. Even think about doing jumping jacks during the commercial breaks of your favorite TV shows because every minute counts. You will feel better and move better as well.

To get your own personalized exercise prescription, schedule an appointment with Midwestern Clinics. Visit mwuclinics.com/az for more information.