Getting Started: How much exercise is safe for me?

Knowing the many benefits of keeping up physical activity, it's still important to keep a person's limits in mind and ensure one does not go overboard and put themselves at risk of harm. Too much too quickly can damage muscles and tissues, and can put someone off exercising in the long-term. The real benefits of physical activity come from long-term habitual commitment and it's important to keep this in mind. It's important to begin with one or two types of exercises that can be managed and fit into existing schedules, and then more activity can be added as one adjusts to this new lifestyle to ensure that they will stick with it!

In terms of individually, the amount of exercise that someone should be doing depends almost entirely on their unique situation. For some people, muscle-building exercise might mean to them lifting huge amounts of weight at a local gym to keep strong and in shape for hiking or jogging. But for others strength exercising could mean lifting light weights to strengthen arm muscles enough to use a washcloth. Whilst this may seem insignificant in the face of a highly fit person's life, the ability to do this simple task may result in the dignity that comes from being able to wash yourself, instead of someone else having to do it for you. The goal here is to improve from wherever you are right now.

Don't let all chronic disease get in the way!

Whilst most chronic diseases common amongst older adults such as arthritis and diabetes can't necessarily be cured, they can usually be controlled with medication and other treatments. Traditionally people with such diseases have been discouraged from exercising, however more recent studies have found that exercise can actually improve many of the chronic conditions in most older people AS LONG AS IT'S DONE WHEN THE CONDITION IS UNDER CONTROL.

For example, people with congestive heart failure (CHF) tend to have muscles waste away badly leaving them weak and to a point where they can't perform every day tasks. No medicine as of yet has a direct muscle-strengthening effect in people with CHF however often muscle-building exercises (such as lifting smaller weights) can help improve muscle strength in people affected.

Having a chronic disease most likely doesn't mean that you can't exercise. What it does mean is that keeping in touch with your doctor is of great importance if you do exercise.

For example, whilst some studies suggest endurance exercises like brisk walking may improve the health of heart and lungs amongst CHF sufferers, however this ONLY applies to people who are in a more stable phase of the disease. Like most people with chronic diseases, CHF sufferers have periods of worsened and bettered conditions and it's important if you're going to exercise to know how to tell whether your disease is stable enough for exercise. Discuss with your doctor the symptoms that mean trouble or an acute phase in the disease or how you feel when you are in a more stable or under control period.

The key things you should check up with your doctor about before commencing exercise programs are:
In conclusion, if you are a man over 40 or a woman over 50 there is most likely to be little or no reason not to exercise, however for health purposes make sure that you check with a doctor first if planning to start doing vigorous, as opposed to moderate, physical activities, or if you suffer any chronic illness. This doesn't mean you can't exercise, it means you need to make sure you're doing it in the safest way possible!