Wednesday, January 06, 2010

In 2010, exercise could save your life

This year, Stroke of Faith will offer a series of common-sense-approach entries about stroke prevention, awareness and myths.

First, some stroke prevention ideas.

One tool of prevention is exercise. You don't have to run a marathon or bicycle across the country to help prevent a stroke. Instead, here's some good advice from the National Stroke Association:

A brisk walk for as little as 30 minutes a day can improve your health in many ways, and may reduce your risk for stroke.

Try walking with a friend; this will make it more likely that you'll make it a habit.

If you don't enjoy walking, choose another exercise or activity that you do enjoy, such as biking, swimming, golf, tennis, dance, or aerobics.

Make time each day to take care of yourself by exercising.

And as always, especially if you haven't exercised recently, check with your doctor before you start. If you're looking for something more indoors, check out the offerings available through a Nintendo Wii and the accessory Wii Fit.

As a long-distance runner for years - pre-stroke and post-stroke - I'm convinced that my fitness level helped me survive. From the Stanford Stroke Center: "Experts recommend at least 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three to four times a week in order to achieve and maintain an improved level of fitness."

The time is a great investment - maybe even an investment in your survival.

(Photo from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

1 comment:

Net Explorer said...

Exercise is looked at by lot of people as a tool for muscle building but today, exercise has become a tool for survival. People need to be educated more about the right weight training exercises