How much exercise do I need?

September 25, 2023

old person's exercise

Old Person's exercise

How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?

I recently spoke to a 62-year-old woman who came in to see me because she had pain in both shoulders that was getting increasingly worse over the past 2 years.

She tried some stretches but still got her low-grade ache at night.

It was one of those pains that wasn’t keeping her from doing things she wanted but kept creeping back up. Highlighted by the time she was out dancing for a few hours and her shoulders hurt for weeks and have been getting sorer and sorer ever since.

After enduring 3 months of this, she decided to have it looked at.

During our evaluation, we found she has really good movement in her shoulders. But because she works at a desk and doesn’t do any consistent exercise she was really weak in her shoulders.

When I told her the area of biggest improvement is going to be strengthening her shoulders she asked me a question I hear very often.

“How much exercise should I be doing?”

Exercise throughout our life is important.

Exercise, as we get older, becomes VITAL.

As we get closer to retirement, and especially during retirement, our physical health determines what we can and can’t do.

Some of our favorite patients to work with are the ones who tell us they are going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip that requires them to walk, navigate stairs, and lift luggage overhead. And when they are able to go, they send us photos of the places they were able to see and the experiences they were able to have.

Here is a link to the CDC website I quote to answer that question.

This site describes the minimum of physical activity as getting 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as a brisk walk. A simple example of what that looks like is 30 minutes of walking 5 days a week.

Sadly, this is where a lot of people’s exercise routine stops.

What I love about this recommendation is it highlights the importance of resistance and balance training.

At least 2 days a week should include resistance training for legs, hips, core, shoulders, arms, and neck. Some balance activity should be done every day you do exercise.

 

 

Read Our Blog: How Much Exercise Do Older Adults Need: Essential Exercise Recommendations for Older Adults

Read Our Blog: Benefits of Working Out at Home

Watch our Youtube Video to learn more: Try this stretch to improve your posture, stretch your shoulders and increase your mobility!

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Nick Hunter, PT, DPT
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