Primary Care

Take charge of your life.

Prevention requires a commitment to a healthy lifestyle that includes good nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction. If in doubt, seek the help of fitness professionals to get you started safely.

Commit to an active lifestyle

• Exercise is like a savings account – the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

• The goal is to improve from wherever you are right now.

• Researchers have found that you don’t have to do strenuous exercise to gain health benefits.

What types of exercises and why?

Endurance or Cardiovascular

• Accumulate 20 to 40 minutes of cardiovascular activity each day. Activities such as walking, sweeping the garage, or walking up stairs.

• The key to understanding what is or is not aerobic is to ask yourself the question, "do you expand energy while performing the activity that causes you to breathe harder?"

Strength Exercises

• Strive to do activities that challenge the major muscles (legs, arms, shoulders, and abdominals) to work harder. You can lift weights or use your body weight (push ups).

• Warm up the muscles you plan to strengthen by any activity that moves them for about 5 minutes to improve blood circulation and decrease the risk of injury.

• Twice or three times per week is enough. Be sure to have a day of rest between sessions.

• Start slow, and progress gradually

Balance and Coordination Activities

• Help prevent falls.

• Practice balancing on one foot or walking heel to toe.

• Find a sport or recreation that challenges coordination (dancing, ball sports, skiing).

Flexibility Activities

• Stretching helps keep the body limber and flexible

• Stretching helps to prevent injuries to muscles and joints.

• Stretch all the muscles that you have used during aerobic and strengthening activities.

• Hold stretches while breathing; never push to the point of pain.