Exercise & Fitness Archive

Lap swimming is a very effective workout: aerobics, strengthening, and stretching in one activity. Make sure you’re reasonably healthy before diving in, but even if you’re not, or if you don’t know how to swim, aquatic exercises are beneficial, too.

A variety of assistive devices can improve balance, provide support, and prevent further disability.

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If you're recovering from an injury or surgery, struggling with arthritis, or having trouble with your balance, your doctor may recommend one or more assistive devices—simple tools that have been shown to prevent falls and injuries and preserve your mobility. Don't let pride or vanity keep you from using them. "Maintaining your mobility—the ability to move easily around your home and neighborhood, stay connected to your loved ones, and remain engaged in the world—can safeguard your independence," says Dr. Scott Martin, associate professor of orthopedics at Harvard Medical School and medical editor of the Special Health Report Mobility and Independence (www.health.harvard.edu/MI).

Once you begin to shop for an assistive device, you may be surprised at the selection that awaits you. Whichever type is recommended for you, you'll need professional help with "fitting," so that you can use it safely and comfortably.

What do the new government guidelines for exercise and physical activity mean for you? It depends on your age and ability, but overall: move more, sit less.

Exercising may be the last thing you want to do when your joints are stiff and achy. But exercise is a crucial part of osteoarthritis treatment in order to  ease pain and stay active.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic and progressive disease characterized by loss of the cartilage that covers and protects the ends of the bones where they meet at a joint. Without this protective coating, bone rubs against bone, causing irritation and inflammation. The result is pain and stiffness in the joint and often pain in the muscles and ligaments that surround it.

Q. After my heart attack, my doctor told me that damaged heart muscle cannot be replaced. If this is true, why am I walking on a treadmill five days a week? Is this helping repair the heart muscle damage or strengthen what's left of my heart muscle?

A. Your skeletal muscles can repair themselves after an injury — pull your calf muscle and, after a few days or so, it heals. Until recently, it was believed that the human heart didn't have this capacity. But the heart does have some ability to make new muscle and possibly repair itself. The rate of regeneration is so slow, though, that it can't fix the kind of damage caused by a heart attack. That's why the rapid healing that follows a heart attack creates scar tissue in place of working muscle tissue.

Pinpoint the cause and take steps to preserve your mobility and independence.

Muscle weakness is sneaky. It often appears gradually and makes once-simple tasks harder — like having to rock back and forth to get out of a chair or tug a few times on the car door to open it.

More than an inconvenience, muscle weakness has a domino effect on health. It slows your metabolism (how fast your body burns energy), puts more pressure on your joints, hurts your posture, throws off your balance, and limits your mobility.

These desks are tied to both health benefits and risks.

Active workstations aren't just for the office. The desks that enable you to stand, walk, or cycle while working are showing up in schools, libraries, airports, hotels, and even coffee shops. But is an active workstation so important you should use one at home, and is it safe for an older adult?

Why they're popular

Active workstations help people reduce time spent sitting. Prolonged periods of inactivity are linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even an early death. "All of our body functions — including blood flow, blood pressure, heart and lung function, and blood sugar processing — improve when we expend energy with physical activity, but they decline with inactivity," says I-Min Lee, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who studies the role of physical activity in disease prevention.

News briefs

So you spent the first half of your life as a couch potato, and think it's too late for exercise to do any good? Think again. An observational study published online March 8, 2019, by JAMA Network Open links exercise to a lower risk for an early death, even if you wait until middle age to start a regular routine. Researchers analyzed health and exercise surveys from 315,000 older adults in the 1990s, then followed up to see who was still alive in 2011. Compared with people who never exercised, older adults who'd exercised consistently since they were teenagers had a 36% lower risk of dying during the study period. Those numbers were similar to the results for people who'd been inactive in their youth and only began exercising regularly in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. That group had a 35% lower risk of dying, compared with people who never exercised. The findings suggest that it's never too late to start an exercise regimen. Try brisk walking, swimming, or any exercise that gets your heart and lungs pumping.

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Walking or hiking in a natural area may benefit your heart more than working out indoors.

For many people, summer's long days and warm weather make it a great time to exercise outdoors. And that just might be a great way to boost the rewards from your workout, says Dr. Edward Phillips, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.

"When you're moving your body, your heart, lungs, and muscles don't know or care where you are. But your mind does," says Dr. Phillips. And if you're exercising outdoors in a beautiful natural setting, you might be tempted to go a little farther than if you set out to walk for just 30 minutes around your neighborhood, he notes. "Some people say it's hard to rack up 7,000 steps a day walking a familiar route. But they often find they can go twice as far on a hike, especially if there's a nice vista at the destination," he says. If you choose a trail that includes some hills, which will force your heart to work harder, that will also increase your fitness.

Here's why you should add kettlebells to your workouts.

Once considered trendy gym equipment, kettlebells now rank among the most versatile, go-to exercise tools.

Kettlebells look like a ball or bell with a handle on top. They vary in weight from 5 to 30 pounds or more. While they can function similarly to dumbbells, kettlebells have some distinct advantages. Unlike dumbbells, for example, kettlebells have an offset center of gravity.