Use It or Lose It: How to Start Exercising

Start slow and gradually start challenging yourself, say experts

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

 

You know the phrase: use it or lose it. You know you need to exercise regularly for your health and wellbeing. But how to get started is often left out of the conversation.

“Consult with your physician who can take into account your medical history that will take into bearing any injuries or conditions,” said Nancy Alexander, physical therapist and credentialed fitness professional at Professional Movement Solutions in Canandaigua. “A physical therapist can help you figure out what to do.”

Instead of mentally beating yourself up, she encourages just starting simply by walking a little more every day. Walking costs nothing and adds a low-impact, weight-bearing workout to your day. Performing weight-bearing exercise helps protect your bones.

Walking requires no special equipment, just a good pair of comfortable shoes. Bringing along a walking buddy — whether human or canine — can help keep you motivated. Many communities have a fitness center at the high school available for little to no money. But to get more motivation to go to the gym, sign up for personal training or a class at a commercial gym. Accountability will draw you back. (“Where were you last night?”)

“See if your gym has classes,” said Taylor Wood, physical therapist at Wellness 360 in Rochester. “That’s a great place to start. Look into beginner classes and ask about low-impact classes to get everything moving.”

But she warned against activity that’s high-impact as it can more readily cause injury. It’s not that at this age you can’t do activity that’s strenuous. But you need to work up to that point if you have not been exercising all along or you’ll likely get injured, laid up and moving even less.

YouTubers who are 65 and working out like maniacs at the gym have been working out all their lives.

In addition to walking, low-impact activity could include biking, yoga and light weights. Over time, increase the difficulty, like hiking in an area with a few hills, adding weight to a pack during a hike or lifting slightly heavier weights.

“Start with manageable goals that won’t overwhelm your system or make you susceptible to injury,” said Kali LaRue, physical therapist at STAR Physical Therapy in Fairport. “If you want to walk a 5K, maybe start with 10 minutes of walking.”

In addition to working out, you need to plan rest. That doesn’t mean remaining completely inactive the next day but alternating the type of movement or the area of the body that has worked. This allows the body time to strengthen muscles and recuperate. Staying completely inactive can lead to greater stiffness.

“Pay attention to the signals your body gives you like joint pain,” LaRue said.

She said that if you feel no soreness the next day, work a little harder next time. If you wake up the next day feeling sore but the pain resolves within 24 hours, try to maintain that level. But any pain that does not resolve within 24 hours warrants seeing a healthcare provider as well as dialing down the workout intensity.

“Vary your activity,” LaRue said. “It’s good to change the types of stresses on your body. Keep your goals in mind. Those goals may change the shape of your routine.”Varying the activity can also help you stay interested and find something you like to do.

“If you do it only because you know it’s good for you, there’s tension in your body,” said Staffan Elgelid, professor in the physical therapy department at Nazareth University. “You should look forward to it. After you do it for a while, you realize you want to do more.”

Above all, don’t expect to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in a month or two (or ever). Building muscle and stamina and losing flab takes time and a moderate calorie, healthful diet. Instead, focus on how you feel and function.

Pushing yourself too hard, especially right away, can cause serious injuries.