Exercise & Fitness Archive

People who are more physically fit in their mid-to-late 40s may be less likely to have a stroke after age 65 than those who are less fit.

Trainers offer extra motivation to meet your fitness goals.

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You always want a good return on your investment, especially when you reach retirement age. That goes for your fitness, too. One of the best moves for a lucrative long-term payoff is to invest in a personal trainer.

"The exercises that worked when you were younger probably are not what you need now and going forward," says Vijay A. Daryanani, a certified personal trainer with Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Outpatient Center. "A personal trainer can identify your needs and formulate the proper routine as well as keep you motivated and focused, all of which can help keep you active."

For people suffering from knee osteoarthritis, one long-standing solution to knee pain was the use of “unloading” shoes. These shoes use stiffer soles and slightly tilted insoles that help to reposition the foot and ‘unload,’ or decrease, the pain on the knee. But a new study revealed that these shoes might not be any better than good walking shoes at relieving pain from knee osteoarthritis.

Before you start any kind of exercise regimen, think safety first. Talk to your doctor before you begin any new routine. Monitor yourself when working out to make sure you don't run into trouble and be sure you know the best way to exercise. Here are 12 tips for exercising safely and effectively.

1. Warm up. Before a full core workout, march in place for several minutes while swinging your arms, or dance to a few songs. It's safe to skip this if you've already warmed up through other activities.

Activity trackers, farmers' markets, and mindfulness aren't just passing fancies. They can help you develop beneficial health habits.

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The word "trendy" has come to refer to a fad or fashion that may have little lasting value, so it can be a turn-off, especially when applied to health practices. But trends can also have lasting health benefits—for example, the trends toward making public places smoke-free or adding calorie counts to fast-food menus. There is increasing evidence that the three trends below fall into the "beneficial" category.

1. Wearing activity trackers

3. Practicing mindfulness

A brief bout of aerobic exercise can help if you need to stay focused on a task and solve problems more efficiently.

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It's not news that exercise is good for your body. You can probably recite the litany of physical benefits of regular activity: Exercise helps control your weight, lowers your blood pressure, and dampens inflammation. It reduces the risk of having a heart attack or stroke or of developing diabetes or certain cancers.

But exercise is just as important for your mind. Not only is regular exercise associated with a reduced risk of depression and anxiety, there is mounting evidence that it slows cognitive decline and may reduce the risk of dementia. "There is good evidence that exercise behaves like medicine to improve brain health and thinking skills. There is a growing body of science behind this," says Dr. Scott McGinnis, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Regular, moderate-intensity dancing may lower the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease. Aside from the exercise benefits, dancing is often a lifelong habit and provides stress-lowering social connections. 

Dancing, playing sports, and even cleaning your house can give you a nontraditional workout that helps maintain good health.

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Exercising is supposed to be a regular part of your daily health maintenance. That can be a problem if you don't have the motivation to get your heart pumping; you raise your risk for weight gain, chronic disease, and an earlier death.

Fortunately, you can get plenty of effective exercise by engaging in recreational or household activities that work your heart and muscles. "There's a real reward in doing an activity you enjoy, such as swimming or playing with your grandchildren. You get a workout, but it doesn't seem like you're exercising, and you may be more willing to keep doing that activity every day because it's fun," says Dawn Rogers, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Get your life back by learning new ways to do once-simple activities that are now challenging.

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Occupational therapy (OT) is well known as part of recovery for people who've had a stroke or surgery: it helps them relearn everyday activities and adjust to doing them differently. But OT can also make a difference for people struggling with the physical changes that accompany aging, such as hand arthritis or hip or knee problems that cause pain and problems with mobility. "We teach people how to approach activities differently so they can keep pain under control while doing what they want to do. It's all about maintaining independence," says Allison Pinsince, an occupational therapist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

How OT works

It appears that four healthy habits—getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, maintaining a body mass index between 18.5 and 27.5, no smoking, and drinking only in moderation—may prevent many cancer cases and death in white people.