Exercise is very important, but sometimes getting motivated is a real challenge.
We all know how important exercise is. First, it gets you moving instead of sitting. Second, any exercise that you do is helpful.
The key is having a goal to work towards. Your goals may be weight loss or prevention of heart disease, but whatever your goal, exercise is the way to a healthier lifestyle.
Jennifer Mcphee, an exercise physiologist with Stoughton hospital, is here help you find that motivation to start and keep an exercise program that will last you your whole life.
Selected Podcast
Exercise Guidelines and Staying Motivated
Featured Speaker:
Jennifer Mcphee
Jennifer Mcphee is an exercise physiologist with Stoughton hospitals. Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): It isn’t always easy to get and stay motivated to exercise but if you can find a way to make it a part of your life, you can get all the benefits that working out has to offer. My guest today is Jennifer McPhee. She is an exercise physiologist with Stoughton Hospital. Welcome to the show, Jennifer. If somebody wants to just start an exercise program that has not been exercising previously, what do you tell them?
Jennifer McPhee (Guest): I would encourage everybody to be exercising, first of all. It’s very easy to just get out and start walking. With walking, you can get the benefits of aerobic exercise from starting a walking program and somebody can start as easy as 5 minutes 3 times a day walking around their neighborhood and progressing that walking program to the recommended guidelines. The Surgeon General’s Report is 150 minutes per week of moderate intense activity. That would be, I guess, a goal that somebody could start with on their own. If they have any limiting factors such as orthopedic issues, then we would recommend having them see their physician before starting a more intense exercise program.
Melanie: Then, let’s begin an exercise program. What are some of the components you like people to know right off the bat they should consider?
Jennifer: When we talk about an exercise program - or for us prescribing an exercise prescription - there are four components of an aerobic exercise program. We look at frequency, intensity, time and type. An easy way is we call it the FITT principle. That’s how we would start prescribing an exercise program. There are components besides just the aerobic exercise in and of itself. We want somebody to start with a warm up, then do their aerobic exercise, do some stretching, do a cool down and then maybe do some strength exercises. When we talk about an exercise program - when we refer to aerobic exercise – aerobic exercise or activities are activities that are going to use your large muscles in a rhythmic manner and sustain that for a period of time. Those things are like running, walking, biking, stepping, dancing, swimming--those types of activities. We want somebody to start out slowly. When we talk about a warm up, we want somebody warming up initially because that just helps to reduce any risk with exercise. Preparing the body and preparing your heart, slowly dilating blood vessels. You raise that heart rate up, the blood pressure is going to increase slowly. That gets your body and your heart ready for the exercise. Three to five minutes of a warm up to start out and that can be doing the activity that you’re doing. If you’re getting on a treadmill and you’re going to walk, you can get on a treadmill, start out at a slower pace for that first three to five minutes – something that feels fairly light – and then progress into a little higher intensity level for 30-60 minutes. Then, on the back end slowing down again, reducing the workload on the heart, bringing the heart rates back down for a cool down. Then, going into some stretching and then strength exercises.
Melanie: Jennifer, where does strength exercises fit in? What do you want people to know about them?
Jennifer: When we talk about strength or resistance training, we want somebody to be looking at that, first of all, it doesn’t replace aerobic exercise--that 150 minutes that we talk about that the Surgeon General’s Report encourages, or the 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise. That does not include your strength training or your resistance. Our goal, like in cardiac rehab, is allowing somebody to maintain as one gets older – to maintain an independent, active lifestyle. That’s the first goal and then, it’s really assessing somebody’s goals. Is it that they just want to be able to carry their groceries in, put their groceries away, put dishes away? We’re going to start somebody at a little lighter intensity – 8-12 repetitions or 10-15 repetitions. Doing an activity where you are actually building that muscle. The other component of strength training is you want to make sure that you allow for a day of rest in between. That allows the muscle to repair and that’s how you build muscle.
Melanie: What about staying motivated and keep going and making a healthier lifestyle? That seems to be one of the biggest barriers or obstacles to exercise programs for people, Jennifer, is the motivation to do it. What do you tell people every day about that motivation?
Jennifer: You’re right. It is. That is probably the hardest part for a lot of people. One thing we encourage is developing a habit – statistics say it's 30 days to develop a habit. Trying to stick with it for at least 30 days is important. Everybody is different. I talk with people and find out what’s motivating to them. Is it that they need to vary their routine to avoid boredom or are they structured people that need to actually do it at the same time every day? Do their exercise at the same time each day, every other day, or five days a week and really putting it in their calendar. It may be that somebody needs to challenge themselves to a new activity to, again, replace any boredom. Maybe it’s in the summer you sign up for a couple of local walks or events that get you motivated to stick with it. It may be that you find an exercise buddy. It may be a friend. It may be a spouse. It may be your kids. But, find somebody that you are going to establish a time to exercise with them. It’s a little harder to say “no” if you’re going to have to tell somebody else you’re not going to exercise with them. So, finding an exercise buddy is also helpful. Setting realistic goals – short and long term goals. That’s also helpful. Rewarding yourself. Maybe it’s, “I really want to buy these new pair of shoes.” You’re going to spend three weeks walking so reward yourself. Buy yourself those new pair of shoes. I think probably one of the biggest questions we’re asked is, “What’s the best activity I should be doing?” First of all, your heart doesn’t know what it’s doing for exercise. It knows it has to work harder. Finding an activity or an exercise that you enjoy is really important. Intervals can also make it more exciting for people – varying the intensity of your exercise throughout the exercise period. That can make it more fun. Doing different activities. Maybe you want to bike, you want to run, you want to swim. All of those different activities also help to reduce workload on joints by allowing you to use different muscle groups. That also helps to prevent injury and can prevent boredom. So, those are just some of the reasons I would say that can help people to stick with their exercise program.
Melanie: You’ve given such great reasons and that is so important. When you mention a reward – some people reward themselves with food if they exercise. What do you tell them about that? They say, “Well, I just walked a mile so now I can stop and have that latte that’s 10,000 calories.” What do you tell people about that?
Jennifer: That’s exactly right. A lot of it is education. What people don’t realize is, if you really look at how many calories an average person at 150 pounds in a 30 minute period walking at a moderate pace is probably not going to burn more than 350 calories in that session. 350 calories doesn’t go very far when you’re rewarding yourself with food. 3500 calories is equal to a pound. When you think about how much activity it’s going to take you to actually burn off a pound, sometimes just that in and of itself allows people to realize, “Wow. I’m going to have to exercise a lot to burn 3500 calories just to take off a pound. It’s not worth rewarding myself with food.” We generally, yes, do not recommend that you reward yourself with food. That’s not the best reward and best outcome.
Melanie: No, certainly not. In just the last few minutes here, Jennifer, give your best advice for starting and keeping with an exercise program and why listeners should come to Stoughton Hospital for their care.
Jennifer: We have a great program, actually, here at the hospital. We have our cardiac rehab program, which is an insurance based program based on different ways of how they are going to get into that. But, also, we have a preventative exercise program. If somebody is interested we have them give us a call. We will get in touch with their physicians and get a referral to get them started. It’s kind of a great program. They can come and we will put them actually on an EKG monitor, so we can actually watch their heart rates and heart rhythms the first session that they exercise with us. Then, we’ll get them started with an exercise program. What comes with that appointment also is a free month here at our program – our cardiac rehab wellness center. That would give them time to get into an exercise program, get assistance from the staff, progressing their exercise, and then, they can decide do they want to take that information and exercise on their own or another facility or they can stay and join that program and stay with that program as well. It’s kind of a nice program that we offer here through the hospital. I just encourage people – the benefits of exercise far outweigh any risk. The benefits are so important for our health. Really, it’s getting into that consistent aerobic exercise program, monitoring intensities, making sure they’re exercising at an appropriate level, warming up, cooling down, doing some flexibility and stretching, adding strength training and just making sure you find something that you like to do so you can stick with it.
Melanie: Great advice. Such great information. You’re so well spoken. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for being with us today. You’re listening to Stoughton Hospital Health Talk and for more information you can go to StoughtonHospital.com. That’s StoughtonHospital.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): It isn’t always easy to get and stay motivated to exercise but if you can find a way to make it a part of your life, you can get all the benefits that working out has to offer. My guest today is Jennifer McPhee. She is an exercise physiologist with Stoughton Hospital. Welcome to the show, Jennifer. If somebody wants to just start an exercise program that has not been exercising previously, what do you tell them?
Jennifer McPhee (Guest): I would encourage everybody to be exercising, first of all. It’s very easy to just get out and start walking. With walking, you can get the benefits of aerobic exercise from starting a walking program and somebody can start as easy as 5 minutes 3 times a day walking around their neighborhood and progressing that walking program to the recommended guidelines. The Surgeon General’s Report is 150 minutes per week of moderate intense activity. That would be, I guess, a goal that somebody could start with on their own. If they have any limiting factors such as orthopedic issues, then we would recommend having them see their physician before starting a more intense exercise program.
Melanie: Then, let’s begin an exercise program. What are some of the components you like people to know right off the bat they should consider?
Jennifer: When we talk about an exercise program - or for us prescribing an exercise prescription - there are four components of an aerobic exercise program. We look at frequency, intensity, time and type. An easy way is we call it the FITT principle. That’s how we would start prescribing an exercise program. There are components besides just the aerobic exercise in and of itself. We want somebody to start with a warm up, then do their aerobic exercise, do some stretching, do a cool down and then maybe do some strength exercises. When we talk about an exercise program - when we refer to aerobic exercise – aerobic exercise or activities are activities that are going to use your large muscles in a rhythmic manner and sustain that for a period of time. Those things are like running, walking, biking, stepping, dancing, swimming--those types of activities. We want somebody to start out slowly. When we talk about a warm up, we want somebody warming up initially because that just helps to reduce any risk with exercise. Preparing the body and preparing your heart, slowly dilating blood vessels. You raise that heart rate up, the blood pressure is going to increase slowly. That gets your body and your heart ready for the exercise. Three to five minutes of a warm up to start out and that can be doing the activity that you’re doing. If you’re getting on a treadmill and you’re going to walk, you can get on a treadmill, start out at a slower pace for that first three to five minutes – something that feels fairly light – and then progress into a little higher intensity level for 30-60 minutes. Then, on the back end slowing down again, reducing the workload on the heart, bringing the heart rates back down for a cool down. Then, going into some stretching and then strength exercises.
Melanie: Jennifer, where does strength exercises fit in? What do you want people to know about them?
Jennifer: When we talk about strength or resistance training, we want somebody to be looking at that, first of all, it doesn’t replace aerobic exercise--that 150 minutes that we talk about that the Surgeon General’s Report encourages, or the 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise. That does not include your strength training or your resistance. Our goal, like in cardiac rehab, is allowing somebody to maintain as one gets older – to maintain an independent, active lifestyle. That’s the first goal and then, it’s really assessing somebody’s goals. Is it that they just want to be able to carry their groceries in, put their groceries away, put dishes away? We’re going to start somebody at a little lighter intensity – 8-12 repetitions or 10-15 repetitions. Doing an activity where you are actually building that muscle. The other component of strength training is you want to make sure that you allow for a day of rest in between. That allows the muscle to repair and that’s how you build muscle.
Melanie: What about staying motivated and keep going and making a healthier lifestyle? That seems to be one of the biggest barriers or obstacles to exercise programs for people, Jennifer, is the motivation to do it. What do you tell people every day about that motivation?
Jennifer: You’re right. It is. That is probably the hardest part for a lot of people. One thing we encourage is developing a habit – statistics say it's 30 days to develop a habit. Trying to stick with it for at least 30 days is important. Everybody is different. I talk with people and find out what’s motivating to them. Is it that they need to vary their routine to avoid boredom or are they structured people that need to actually do it at the same time every day? Do their exercise at the same time each day, every other day, or five days a week and really putting it in their calendar. It may be that somebody needs to challenge themselves to a new activity to, again, replace any boredom. Maybe it’s in the summer you sign up for a couple of local walks or events that get you motivated to stick with it. It may be that you find an exercise buddy. It may be a friend. It may be a spouse. It may be your kids. But, find somebody that you are going to establish a time to exercise with them. It’s a little harder to say “no” if you’re going to have to tell somebody else you’re not going to exercise with them. So, finding an exercise buddy is also helpful. Setting realistic goals – short and long term goals. That’s also helpful. Rewarding yourself. Maybe it’s, “I really want to buy these new pair of shoes.” You’re going to spend three weeks walking so reward yourself. Buy yourself those new pair of shoes. I think probably one of the biggest questions we’re asked is, “What’s the best activity I should be doing?” First of all, your heart doesn’t know what it’s doing for exercise. It knows it has to work harder. Finding an activity or an exercise that you enjoy is really important. Intervals can also make it more exciting for people – varying the intensity of your exercise throughout the exercise period. That can make it more fun. Doing different activities. Maybe you want to bike, you want to run, you want to swim. All of those different activities also help to reduce workload on joints by allowing you to use different muscle groups. That also helps to prevent injury and can prevent boredom. So, those are just some of the reasons I would say that can help people to stick with their exercise program.
Melanie: You’ve given such great reasons and that is so important. When you mention a reward – some people reward themselves with food if they exercise. What do you tell them about that? They say, “Well, I just walked a mile so now I can stop and have that latte that’s 10,000 calories.” What do you tell people about that?
Jennifer: That’s exactly right. A lot of it is education. What people don’t realize is, if you really look at how many calories an average person at 150 pounds in a 30 minute period walking at a moderate pace is probably not going to burn more than 350 calories in that session. 350 calories doesn’t go very far when you’re rewarding yourself with food. 3500 calories is equal to a pound. When you think about how much activity it’s going to take you to actually burn off a pound, sometimes just that in and of itself allows people to realize, “Wow. I’m going to have to exercise a lot to burn 3500 calories just to take off a pound. It’s not worth rewarding myself with food.” We generally, yes, do not recommend that you reward yourself with food. That’s not the best reward and best outcome.
Melanie: No, certainly not. In just the last few minutes here, Jennifer, give your best advice for starting and keeping with an exercise program and why listeners should come to Stoughton Hospital for their care.
Jennifer: We have a great program, actually, here at the hospital. We have our cardiac rehab program, which is an insurance based program based on different ways of how they are going to get into that. But, also, we have a preventative exercise program. If somebody is interested we have them give us a call. We will get in touch with their physicians and get a referral to get them started. It’s kind of a great program. They can come and we will put them actually on an EKG monitor, so we can actually watch their heart rates and heart rhythms the first session that they exercise with us. Then, we’ll get them started with an exercise program. What comes with that appointment also is a free month here at our program – our cardiac rehab wellness center. That would give them time to get into an exercise program, get assistance from the staff, progressing their exercise, and then, they can decide do they want to take that information and exercise on their own or another facility or they can stay and join that program and stay with that program as well. It’s kind of a nice program that we offer here through the hospital. I just encourage people – the benefits of exercise far outweigh any risk. The benefits are so important for our health. Really, it’s getting into that consistent aerobic exercise program, monitoring intensities, making sure they’re exercising at an appropriate level, warming up, cooling down, doing some flexibility and stretching, adding strength training and just making sure you find something that you like to do so you can stick with it.
Melanie: Great advice. Such great information. You’re so well spoken. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for being with us today. You’re listening to Stoughton Hospital Health Talk and for more information you can go to StoughtonHospital.com. That’s StoughtonHospital.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.