Exercise

Why is Exercise important?

There are multitudes of physiological and psychological benefits that are derived from an exercise program.  Most importantly, exercise keeps the functioning of the body from declining with age and helps to improve functional capacity.  Specific benefits of exercise include:

• Improved cardiovascular function
  • Decreased heart rate
  • Decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure
  • Increased cardiac output
• Prevention of chronic disease
  • Cardiovascular disease - heart attack and stroke
  • Cancer - breast and colon cancer
  • Degenerative diseases
• Improved muscular function
  • Muscular strength
  • Muscular endurance
  • Muscular mass
• Increase bone density
• Decrease body fat
• Decreased risk of fall or injury
• Increased sense of well being

Four types of exercise that should be included in an exercise program are: aerobic (cardio) exercise, resistance exercise, flexibility and balance.  Each of these types of exercise will be addressed in your fitness testing and exercise consultation portion of the Executive Health Evaluation. 

What should I expect during the fitness testing and exercise consultation portion of my Executive Health Evaluation?

During the fitness testing and exercise consultation portion of the Executive Health Evaluation at the Life Center, we will test your aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and balance.  An individualized exercise program will be developed for you based on the results of this testing and your personal goals and preferences.  

Aerobic capacity - VO2 test will be used to evaluation our aerobic capacity.  During this test, you will ride a stationary bike while we measure your heart rate and your body's ability to use oxygen.  The higher your fitness level, the more efficiently you body will utilize oxygen and the longer you can ride the bike.

Muscular strength and endurance - A good measure of your muscular strength and endurance is how well you can move your own body weight.  To measure, this we use push-ups, curl-ups and plank test.  Push-up test is how consecutive many push-ups you can do in an unlimited amount of time without a break in motion.  This measures the muscular strength and endurance of your arm, chest and back muscles.  Curl-up tests is how many curl-ups you can do in one minute.  This measures the muscular strength and endurance of your abdominal muscles.  Plank test is a measure of how long you can hold the plank pose and measures the muscular endurance of your core muscles.

Flexibility - Is a measurement of your body's range of motion.  To measure flexibility, we use a sit-and-reach test.  This test gives you information about the flexibility of your lower back, hamstrings, and gluteus muscles and is a good indication of your overall flexibility.

Balance - A good measurement of balance is the amount of time you can stand on one foot with your eyes closed.  During this test, your body depends on the proprioceptors in your joints, rather than your eyes, to give your brain information about the location of your body.   The longer you can hold this position, the better your balance.

Based on the results of these tests, we will work with you to develop an exercise program specific to your fitness goals, personal preferences, time availability, and equipment availability.  You will also have access to your exercise/nutrition consultant for follow-up throughout the year.