Exercise: Quanity vs. Quality
by Dr. Susan Deusinger, P.T., Ph.D.

    Life, today, can be stressful. With job worries, kid’s schedules and taking care of a household, it seems that we’re always doing for others and not taking time for ourselves.  Quantity vs. quality – understanding these two concepts regarding our lifestyle is really important. These recommendations about the quality and quantity of your exercise can be simple and easy to follow:
• Regular exercise can promote an improved quality of life.
• Try to engage in a total of 60 minutes of physical activity/exercise each day.
• When exercising, don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.
• Find quality ways to spend your free time.
    Regular exercise and physical activity can promote improved quality of life, both now and in the future. Better quality of life comes from being able to function more freely and having better health. Being physically fit will improve your ability to perform functional tasks, including walking, climbing stairs, getting into and out of the bathtub and putting on your shoes. You will be more likely to participate in fun activities such as riding a bike, dancing or shooting a basketball.
    In addition to increasing function, regular physical activity and exercise can decrease your risk for various diseases. Exercise and weight management can help prevent or fight Type 2 diabetes, reduce the stress on joints and the risk for — or symptoms of — osteoarthritis, and lower your blood pressure by enabling greater cardiovascular efficiency and effectiveness. However, you cannot expect immediate results. Dedicating yourself to a long-term perspective of good health, functional independence and improved quality of life will pay off over time.
    Quantity of exercise: Start slowly and accumulate time gradually, adding a little more each day. Your goal is getting a total of 60 minutes per day of physical activity/exercise. Remember, to achieve the benefits of exercise you must make a daily commitment to exercising and being physically active.
    Time constraints affect us all. The solution to being too busy to exercise is to plan your day around the essential commitment to move your body. You can accumulate your total quantity of 60 minutes in 10-minute segments throughout the day. A few simple ways to add physical activity to your day include: taking the stairs instead of the elevator; parking further away from a building rather than searching for the closest spot; and walking while you talk on your cell phone.
    What about quality? It is important to use good body control and posture, and to resist the urge to rely on momentum. Doing fewer repetitions or exercising for a shorter time — especially at first — may reduce your risk for injury. Correcting the way that you move will save energy and reduce stress on your joints — which you will appreciate later in life. Once you are able to move correctly, and without pain, you can begin adding time or intensity to your exercise program.
    Be sure to set realistic goals for both duration and control of the exercise movement. Your goals should be sufficiently challenging, yet achievable. Once you achieve your current goals, set some new, more challenging goals.
    To enhance your efforts in achieving an improved quality of life, it is important to evaluate the ways in which you spend your free time. With our hectic schedules, it is tempting to spend free time lying on the couch, watching television, but TVs, computers and other things that cause you to be sedentary can be risks to your health status. The good news is that there are ways to spend your free time that are not only relaxing, but can help improve your physical fitness as well.
    Try these suggestions. Walk around the Botanical Garden, peruse the Art Museum, or explore the St. Louis Zoo. Take someone with you on your healthful outings — you can combine the wonderful effects of a purposeful activity and catch up with a friend.