Health & Fitness
Exercise, who needs it? You do.
MICHAEL S. FENSTER, MD, FACC, FSCA&I, PEMBA
Published: January 20, 2011
BROOKSVILLE - Now that you've been persuaded you need an exercise program and you're committed to doing it, where do you start? The first thing I do when creating an exercise prescription for a patient is to have them answer the 5 following questions:Published: January 20, 2011
•Why are you doing this?
•What is your overall goal?
•What is your first milestone, your first achievable goal?
•What is a reasonable schedule for you?
•What adjuncts would you include in your program?
The very first thing to recognize is your reason for undertaking this program. Are you training for weight loss? Are you training for cardiovascular fitness? Are you training for a specific sport or event like football, soccer or a marathon? Identify the reason(s) for training.
The next step is to define you overall goal. Is it a 25 pound weight loss, to run a marathon, increase your strength, etc.? Once you achieve this overall goal you may increase the bar or change the focus. If your original goal was to lose 25 pounds and you achieved it; now you might want to lose 5 more pounds, or run a marathon. Set an overall goal you want to accomplish in 6 or 12 months.
Then set your next achievable goal like a 5 pound weight loss in 3 weeks, a 5K run in two months. Make sure it is a realistically achievable goal in a reasonable time frame. This functions as a milestone; it is your next target by a certain date. Once you achieve your first milestone, set the next one as you work your way toward your goal. It is important that these are achievable, the positive feedback from these accomplishments is critical to a mental outlook that allows you to continually move forward. Once you reach the target, redefine it and move on to the next - keep going!
In situations like this, a trainer can be a great asset to help you develop a program that you can accomplish, and can continue to grow with you as needs and goals change. Trainers can also help prevent injuries and damage. If you have an injury or a limitation they can help you safely work around it. Recent studies have suggested that jumping off the couch and trying to run a marathon can result in more harm than good. While it may seem common sense, the weekend warrior syndrome is, unfortunately, very much a real issue. Proceed with vigor, but with caution and realistic expectations as well.
Michael S. Fenster, MD, an Interventional Cardiologist with Hernando Heart Clinic, is also a Chef and host of What's Cooking with Doc. Visit his website at www.whatscookingwithdoc.com