How to Properly Prescribe Exercise for Better Health and Strength
Picture this: you’re at your doctor’s clinic, and happily, the prescription you get isn’t for some fancy, hard-to-pronounce medication, but for exercise. Yes, we’re talking about working up a sweat, pumping those muscles, and hitting your gym mats or the running trail. The idea is not as far-fetched as it sounds. More and more, exercise is making its way into the heart of primary prevention protocols, given its numerous benefits in warding off cardiovascular diseases and improving overall health. However, a big question lingers – how well-versed are our doctors in prescribing exercise, and how should they assess patients to recommend the right physical activities?
Exercise: Assessed, Not Guessed
Imagine doing a round of high-intensity start jumps right off the bat. No, thanks! Don your workout gear and embrace the idea of progressive exercise, where you slowly but steadily increase your fitness capacity and avoid sudden cardiac incidents. That’s what Dr. Thelma Sánchez Grillo, cardiologist, advises. She stresses the importance of classifying patients considering their history, current exercise routine, and presence of symptoms or diseases. By doing so, the right parameters can be set when prescribing exercise tailored to individuals’ needs.
Warning Signs Before You Feel the Burn
Okay, raise your hand if you ever felt a bit dizzy or out-of-breath after a heavy workout. No shame in it! But remember, while discomfort might be a part of fitness progression, some warning signs need immediate attention. Listening to our bodies is key while working out, and if conditions like dizziness, chest pain during exercise, or an abnormal heart rate crop up, it’s time to get things checked.
Prescribing Exercise: Parameters Count!
When prescribing exercise, most of us think about what type of exercise to do and how long to do it. But as Dr. Sanchez reminds us, the key parameters to consider while prescribing exercise are frequency (how often), intensity (how hard), time (how long), and type (aerobic, strength training, or a combination). It’s about appropriate choice and balance, not random guesses.
The Art of Personalising Prescription
Remember that time you borrowed someone else’s workout regimen, and it didn’t work out like magic? Yeah, one size definitely doesn’t fit all in the fitness world. This echoes Dr. Concepción who advocates for exercise recommendations based on patients’ risk and needs. Meanwhile, Dr. Franco reinforces the necessity to proceed cautiously, emphasizing the importance of detailed risk assessment, nutritional status evaluation, and adequate cardiac capacity assessment.
Wrapping It Up: Key Points
- Prescribing exercise, rather than only medications, offers promising benefits in primary prevention and overall health.
- Progressively increasing workout intensity, based on individual fitness capacities, is key to avoid unwanted health complications.
- Paying attention to warning signs during workouts can help diagnose potential health issues early.
- Adequate patient assessment helps doctors to set right parameters when prescribing fitness routines.
- Personalised exercise prescribing is crucial to ensure optimised results adjusting for individual health conditions.
Remember that we’re all wonderfully unique individuals, and what fits one may not suit another. So let’s embrace the newfound power of exercise in primary prevention and get moving without forgetting to seek professional advice regarding our individual fitness path. After all, being healthy really isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being better than you were yesterday!
Source Citation: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996208
