Exercising New Year’s Resolutions

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Many people dream of a healthier life and create New Year’s Resolutions that include vigorous exercising, which match their unrealistic expectations.

Genesis Healthcare Cardiologist Kunal Shah talked about exercising without overdoing it and finding ways to become more physically fit without going broke.  

“We usually recommend as far as exercise from a heart standpoint 150 minutes a week, about 30-minutes five-times-a-week of moderate intensity exercise,” Shah said. “Moderate, meaning you can talk but you can’t sing or 75 minutes or more of vigorous, where you can’t really talk. And you can start off slow if you’re not used to that level of activity, starting off slow and just taking one step at a time. All activity is good.”

People at different stages of life should begin at their comfort level and any movement that creates an elevated heart rate for 30 minutes per day such as walking or repeatedly rising from your chair can be beneficial.   

“You can definitely start out slow, of course it doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor to go for exercising,” Shah said. “You can always… You know walking is free. Walking is the best exercise probably. You don’t have to start at a very strong pace. You can gradually increase as far as your comfort level. And it’s so important to know how you feel. If you do an exercise out of nowhere and you’re miserable afterwards, it’s going to dissuade you from wanting to do it again. So you definitely want to take it slow. There’s no rush to the finish line.”

As people age they lose strength and stamina that is often taken for granted. Exercising is an important component of slowing down the effects of aging and lessening the chances of life-altering events such as heart attacks and strokes.