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Health Barriers
Barrier: I have a health problem (Diabetes, heart disease, Asthma, Arthritis) that I do not want to make worse.
Solutions:
Talk with your health care professional. Most health problems are helped by physical activity. Find out what physical activities you can safely do and follow advice about length and intensity of workouts.
Start slowly. Take it easy at first and see how you feel before trying more challenging workouts. Stop if you feel out of breath, dizzy, faint, or nauseated, or if you have Pain.
Barrier: I have an injury and do not know what physical activities, if any, I can do.
Solutions:
Talk with your health care professional. Ask your physician or physical therapist about what physical activities you can safely perform. Follow advice about length and intensity of workouts.
Start slowly. Take it easy at first and see how you feel before trying more challenging workouts. Stop if you feel pain.
Work with a personal trainer. A knowledgeable personal trainer should be able to help you design a fitness plan around your injury.
What can I do to break through my roadblocks?
What are the top two or three roadblocks to physical activity that you face? What can you do to break through these barriers? Write down a list of the barriers you face and solutions you can use to overcome them. What’s next?You have thought about ways to beat your roadblocks to physical activity. Now, create your road map for adding physical activity to your days in the following three steps. 1. Know your goal.
Set up short-term goals, like walking 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week, and try to build up to at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week—or preferably, every day of the week. Moderate-intensity physical activity makes you breathe harder, but you should still have enough breath to carry on a conversation. You may need to be physically active for more than 30 minutes a day to help you lose and keep off extra weight.
Track your progress by writing down your goals and what you have done each day, including the type of activity and how long you spent doing it. Seeing your progress in black-and-white can help keep you motivated.
2. See your health care provider if necessary.
If you are a man and over age 40 or a woman and over age 50, or have a chronic health problem such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, or Obesity, talk to your health care provider before starting a vigorous physical activity program. You do not need to talk to your provider before starting an activity like walking.
3. Answer questions about how physical activity will fit into your life.
Think about answers to the following four questions. You can write your answers down on a sheet of paper. Your answers will be your road map to your physical activity program.
What physical activities will you do? List the activities you would like to do, such as walking, energetic yard work or housework, joining a sports league, exercising with a video, dancing, swimming, bicycling, or taking a class at a fitness or community center. Think about sports or other activities that you enjoyed doing when you were younger. Could you enjoy one of these activities again?
When will you be physically active? List the days and times you could do each activity on your list, such as first thing in the morning, during lunch break from work, after dinner, or on Saturday afternoon. Look at your calendar or planner to find the days and times that work best.
Who will remind you to get off the couch? List the people—your spouse, sibling, parent, or friends—who can support your efforts to become physically active. Give them ideas about how they could be supportive, like offering encouraging words, watching your kids, or working out with you.
When will you start your physical activity program? Set a date when you will start getting active. The date might be the first meeting of an Exercise class you have signed up for, or a date you will meet a friend for a walk. Write the date on your calendar. Then stick to it. Before you know it, physical activity will become a regular part of your life. Source: Weight-Control Information Network Additional Resources & Information:
Active At Any Size
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