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| Seven steps to go from 0 to 30 |
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by Kory Zimney, PT - June 10, 2011
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Most of us know that the recommended amount of cardiovascular exercise should be 30 minutes, 5-6 times per week. We know it has benefits in helping maintain a healthy weight, reducing stress and giving us a better-looking midsection. Some of us also know it can boost the body’s immune system, by increasing the circulation of natural killer cells that fight off viruses and bacteria, so we are less likely to catch the flu or a cold. Not to mention it reduces risk for stroke by 27%, diabetes by 50%, high blood pressure by 40%, mortality from breast cancer by 50%, colon cancer by 60%, Alzheimer’s disease by 40%, and decrease depression as well if not better then the best medications on the market.
Unfortunately though, for some of us finding five extra minutes a day may seem impossible. Or walking five minutes at a moderate pace seems like more work then worth it. So how does one go from nothing to 30 minutes?
Here are 7 steps to make it happen in a healthy way:
1. Set Goals – Decide what you want to accomplish with your exercise program and find a program that will help you meet your goals.
2. Get Ready – Assess your current level of fitness and understand how to exercise safely by meeting with your physician and physical therapist if needed.
3. Do what you enjoy and do it with others. You need to find activities that you enjoy and doing it with others will help you stick with it.
4. Make it a Priority – You need to hold yourself accountable to your goals and make a commitment that the time spent exercising is non-negotiable. Self-care needs to come before you can properly care for others.
5. Start Slow – Variety & Keep it simple. Many of us want to get our fitness back quickly, but realize we probably did not get out of shape quickly. Also trying to get fit faster often will lead to injury. Gradually add appropriate increase to activities as fitness improves over time. Going from 0 to 30 minutes probably needs to start with 5 minutes.
6. Log activity – This is an important step to make sure you are reaching your goals from step #1. Also it holds you accountable to make sure you are doing step #4. Lastly it helps measure that you are doing it correctly by slowly adding challenge as your fitness increases in step #5.
7. Celebrate progress – As you achieve your goals from step #1 reward your hard work and then set new goals to work toward.
Kory Zimney is a practicing physical therapist in Iowa. He focuses on helping people move forward with their health and function through movement and exercise. This and other articles by Kory can be found at his blog: http://koryzimney.blogspot.com/
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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