With over one-third of Australians reporting low levels of physical activity, it’s safe to say that a lot of us would benefit from some more exercise.
But telling someone “you should exercise more” is one thing; actually guiding them on how they should exercise, and how much, is another.
One of the main roadblocks for people who are new to exercise is simply not knowing where to start. This is especially true for people who have existing health conditions, injuries, or mobility impairments.
This is where an exercise physiologist can come in. They will use their expertise to determine which exercises will be best for you given your current condition. They’ll also be there to guide you and make sure that you’re performing the exercises in a safe manner.
Here’s what you can expect from your health and fitness journey with an exercise physiologist:
When it comes to exercise, everyone has a different starting line. This is important because attempting exercises that are far beyond your current physical capacity can lead to injuries or worsen health issues.
When assessing your fitness levels, they will look into the following factors:
Once the exercise physio has a thorough understanding of your fitness level, they can then start building an exercise program for you.
Here are some of the factors that go into your customised program:
Aerobic conditioning: Improving aerobic fitness and endurance is important for everyone, but is especially key for those with cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic conditions. The exercise physiologist will take into consideration what you have access to (e.g., exercise machines, a pool), as well as chronic conditions that may make cardio exercise difficult, such as breathing difficulties, arthritis, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
Resistance training: Resistance or weight training will help build strength and muscle mass. Not only does this make day-to-day tasks easier, but will also combat the muscle degeneration that happens as we age, and helps improve our basal metabolic rate.
Improving mobility: Just as important as strength and endurance is the ability to move our joints with full range of motion. Injuries, chronic conditions, or prolonged bed rest after surgery or illness can all lead to various mobility impairments. But even just a sedentary lifestyle can gradually lead to loss of mobility in underused joints. Range of motion can be restored over time through joint mobilisation exercises and stretches.
Corrective or adaptive exercises: The exercise physiologist may recommend specific exercise that will help you with certain impairments or lifestyle needs. For example, if you have scoliosis, they may prescribe exercises depending on the curve pattern of your spine (an approach known as the Schroth method). Or, if you use a wheelchair, they may recommend exercises that will help prevent repetitive strain injuries (RSI).
An exercise physiologist can guide those using assistive equipment such as wheelchairs.
Intensity & frequency: Your exercise physiologist may give you a detailed plan for how much of each exercise type you should do (e.g. 30 minutes of brisk walking daily, or 3 sets of goblet squats for 10 repetitions each). These guidelines will help ensure that you’re doing enough exercise to make progress, which is not easy to gauge when you’re new to working out. On the other end of the spectrum, they will also make sure that the patient is getting enough rest and not pushing themselves too hard – not an uncommon scenario for active patients trying to rehab an injury.
It is crucial that exercises are performed with the proper technique. This not only helps prevent injuries (or aggravating any existing ones), it also makes sure the exercises produce results.
The physio will instruct you on the proper form, and tell you which muscles you should be feeling during that exercise. For example, when deadlifting, they will teach you how to brace your core and maintain a neutral spine, and use your legs to push off the floor.
Note that proper form isn’t only important for resistance training. Your exercise physio may also suggest form improvements for cardio exercises like walking, jogging, or cycling to minimise the strain on your joints.
One of the key pillars of effective exercise is progressive overload. This means gradually increasing the intensity or volume of exercise as you progress; in other words, doing more as your body gets better.
This is because our body adapts to physical stress (such as lifting something that’s heavy or continuing to walk when tired). It’s these adaptations that lead to improvements in our aerobic capacity, endurance, mobility, and strength.
That 5kg dumbbell may feel heavy at first, but eventually will feel lighter as your arms get stronger. When that happens, it’s time to increase the weight so you can keep getting stronger.
Similarly, that half hour on the exercise bike, which felt difficult when you were starting out, has gotten easier after doing it for a few weeks. You no longer feel out of breath or fatigued afterwards; your body has gotten used to it. So it may be time to add more minutes, or cycle a little faster, so that your body can be challenged to progress again.
Your exercise physiologist will measure and track your progress on the different exercises and prescribe a safe, gradual amount of progression so that you can keep getting better.
Our expert team of allied health professionals can guide you through your health and fitness journey, regardless of where your starting line is. Whether you’re a beginner trying to improve your overall health, an athlete recovering from an injury, or dealing with impaired mobility after illness or surgery, we can create a custom plan that aligns with your specific goals.
Learn more about our team here. If you have any questions, reach out to us by calling 02 8808 4000. We’ll be happy to hear from you!