Physical Activity - The Magic Pill
If there were a way to put exercise in a pill, it would not only be the most widely prescribed medication on the planet, but best of all: it would be FREE!
Exercise plays an important role in the prevention of all chronic disease and “no single intervention has greater promise than exercise to reduce the risk of virtually all chronic diseases simultaneously”.
Slight modifications to your day can elicit a responsive over reactive approach which can be play a significant role on your overall health and wellbeing.
Some of the most common diseases exercise can play a positive role on include:
Musculoskeletal, Arthritis and Chronic Pain
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases
Diabetes
Cancer
Mental Health
The Australian National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend completing a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. It also recommends some form of resistance training on 2 days of the week for extra benefits on muscular endurance and reductions in pain. That averages out to only 30min per day on 5 days of the week at the absolute minimum.
Moderate intensity exercise can take many forms and be completed through:
Swimming
Cycling
Golf
Dancing
Resistance Training
Adding extra structured exercise is not the only way we can achieve this 150min goal per week. Our lifestyle can play a major role on the volume of physical activity per week and we can challenge ourselves through setting up walking groups with friends, attending group fitness classes, parking your car in the car spot furthest from your workplace and so much more. The opportunities to exercise are endless!
So who can help?
An Exercise Physiologist would be a great place to start as they are university qualified allied health practitioners who specialise in using exercise for the prevention, treatment and management of all chronic diseases. To ensure a smooth and safe transition into exercise to achieve the goals you have always wanted, please contact your General Practitioner and/or Exercise Physiologist to get started.
