Good Health Tip: Thinking about Exercise

[Editor's Note: The following was submitted by our Employee Wellness team.]

The evidence is overwhelming: physical activity is vital not only to a healthy body but to a healthy mind. If you’re now thinking about starting to exercise regularly, congratulations! You’ve taken the first step toward improving your overall well being.

Many people can jump right into a basic exercise program, but depending on your age and your health history, you might need to talk first with your doctor.

A new exercise routine doesn’t have to be intimidating. Try recruiting a friend, or a group of friends, or some workplace colleagues to join you on a daily lunchtime walk or a twice-a-week exercise class. The key is to start slowly and build on your success.

Work toward achieving at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week, whether you’re working on your abs at the gym or working on the garden in your backyard. Once you begin to see the benefits of exercise, you’ll be encouraged to stick with it.

Why? It’s simple: exercise helps you stay physically fit and mentally alert. In short, exercise helps you feel good. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office cites physical activity as one of the best ways to prevent disease. With regular exercise, for example, you can avoid becoming overweight or obese, a chronic problem in America today and a condition that leads to many illnesses.

Consider what regular exercise can do for you:

• Reduce your blood pressure and prevent the onset of high blood pressure.
• Strengthen your cardiovascular system, in part by preventing the buildup of plaques in your arteries.
• Reduce the risk of cancer of the colon, prostate, uterine lining, and breast.
• Coupled with a healthy diet, reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by lowering your blood sugar.
• Help prevent osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones; this is especially true of strength-training exercise, such as lifting light weights. Any weight-bearing exercise, even walking, will help you preserve and possibly strengthen your bones.

The benefits of regular workouts are not limited to your physical fitness. Exercise reduces feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress, and can help you sleep better. Just be sure to work out more than three hours before your bedtime.

But living a longer life may not even be the primary goal. Many people exercise not to add years to their life, but to add life to their years.

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