Dr. Whitaker's Guide to Exercise

Aerobic exercise will strengthen your heart, improve your circulation, and build endurance all at the same time. Try to find any single drug that can do all that, and make you look and feel better as well. Walking is a form of aerobic exercise I can recommend heartily to almost everybody. Unlike many athletic activities, walking doesn't require a lot of fancy equipment or lessons in technique. All it requires is a pair of comfortable shoes.

I recommend you start your exercise program by walking briskly 20 minutes, four times a week. Once you can do this comfortably, it's time to increase your pace. To do this, don't lengthen your stride; instead, increase the number of steps you take per minute. Work up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise four or more times per week.

Strength training (i.e., "weight lifting") will not only strengthen your bones, it will also build lean muscle mass, strengthening the muscles surrounding and holding bones and joints in place. Strength training also can provide many of the same benefits as aerobic exercise, including improved cholesterol levels and enhanced cardiovascular fitness. In the elderly, strength training may actually be more important than aerobic exercise in preventing functional declines. In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine now recommends that sedentary adults over age 65 begin their fitness program with strength and balance training, adding low-impact aerobic exercise later.

If you're just beginning, work with a personal trainer initially to learn the proper way to lift light weights. It's not difficult, and it is rewarding. Try to build in three sessions of weight lifting a week into your exercise regimen.