Balance Archive

Dealing with the emotional effects from a physical setback can be a challenge. These three strategies can help.

The physical repercussions of a major health issue, like surgery, an injury, or a heart attack, are tough enough without having to also confront the stress, anxiety, and depression that often accompanies it. Yet managing your mental health is just as important as your physical health when it comes to making a full recovery.

"There is no question that your state of mind can dictate how quickly you can return from a physical setback," says Dr. Jeff Huffman, director of the cardiac psychiatry research program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

You can do an all-around workout in just five minutes if you focus on intensity and target the main muscle groups.

Growing evidence continues to show that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) offers similar — or in some cases even superior — results compared with longer, lower-intensity workouts. With HIIT, you exercise for a short burst at near-maximum effort followed by a brief rest period, and then you continue to repeat the cycle over the next 10 to 15 minutes.

Small workouts, big gains

The main advantage to HIIT is that it takes less time than the traditional workout of 20 to 30 minutes or longer.

A walking program is good for you; so is resistance or weight training; balance exercises help improve your athletic abilities and keep you independent.

The current U.S. physical activity guidelines emphasize all three aspects of fitness. Here are the recommendations:

The weights add more oomph to your workout, but you'll have to mind some safety rules if you use them.

 Exercises photos by Michael Carroll

Move over, dumbbells; kettlebells are cool again. The little weights with handles have been used by athletes around the world for centuries and gained popularity as the staples of 19th-century strongmen. Today, kettlebells have made it to the mainstream as the featured tools in exercise classes and gyms, with home versions of kettlebells available on the shelves of every big-box store.

What's the attraction? "Kettlebells work multiple muscle groups at one time, so you get a lot of bang for your buck with each exercise," says Nancy Capparelli, a senior physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Whether you walk or run, participating in a local 5K race can be a good way to enhance your heart health and community spirit.

If you're looking for inspiration to get in shape and strengthen your heart, you might think about doing a couch-to-5K program. These free or low-cost coaching plans (available online or as apps or podcasts) are designed to help would-be runners train for a 5-kilometer race, which is about 3.1 miles. They typically feature timed walking and running intervals that gradually phase out the walking over a period of about nine weeks.

"The purpose of a couch-to-5K program is to give you time to acclimate and start to enjoy the benefits of running and the sense of accomplishment of completing a distance safely," says Dr. Adam Tenforde, director of the Running Medicine Program at the Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Network. Running provides many cardiovascular benefits as well as an enhanced sense of well-being, he adds.

Here is why squats may be the most important exercise you do.

 Image: © Antonio_Diaz/Getty Images

More than half of an average person's day is spent sitting — from watching television to working at a computer — and that time tends to increase as you age and become less active.

All that sitting can have a profound impact on one's health, too. In fact, a study in the Oct. 3, 2017, Annals of Internal Medicine, involving almost 8,000 adults ages 45 and older, found a direct relationship between time spent sitting and a higher risk of early death.

In the journals

 Image: © kali9/Getty Images

For the first time in 10 years, the U.S. government has updated its guidelines for regular physical activity. The guidelines, published in the Nov. 20, 2018, issue of JAMA, still suggest adults get at least 150 to 300 minutes each week of moderate-intensity physical activity, and the more you can do, the better. Examples of moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, swimming and cycling.

What is new are specific suggestions for certain age groups. For adults ages 65 and older, the report recommends their allotted minutes include multicomponent activities that offer balance training, aerobic exercise, and muscle strengthening, all of which can help older adults reduce their risk of falls. They noted that many recreational activities like dancing, yoga, tai chi, gardening, or sports often incorporate the multiple types of activity you need.

Ask the doctors

Q. My partner recently had a heart attack. The doctor recommended exercise, but I wonder if it's better to take it easy. I feel like exercise might be dangerous or even cause another heart attack. Is exercising too risky?

A. As counterintuitive as it might seem, exercise is good medicine for heart attack survivors. Provided the doctor gives the green light, about two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week can be beneficial — this is the amount recommended by the American Heart Association. Exercise can start as soon as the doctor gives the okay.

Including stretching exercises in your workout regimen is essential to maintaining good posture and balance.

 Image: © kali9/Getty Images

Whether you're an avid exerciser or spend most of your time sitting in front of a computer, stretching should be part of your weekly routine. While this may conjure images of complicated twists and contortions, the type of stretching you need may be as simple as taking periodic work breaks to lift your arms above your head and to perform some other easy movements.

"Stretching doesn't have to be a particular program. It's just getting out of the posture you spend a lot of time in, taking some deep breaths, and moving your joints through their full range," says Dr. Lauren Elson, an instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.

News briefs

 Image: © Vesnaandjic/Getty Images

You probably know that exercise can help you maintain your balance and prevent falls, which are among the top causes of injury and death among older adults. But if you're worried that being active will wind up increasing your risk of getting hurt, a large study may put your fears to rest. The research, published online Dec. 28, 2018, by JAMA Internal Medicine, analyzed 40 randomized trials that included about 22,000 older adults. People who exercised for one year or more had a 12% relative reduction in falls and a 26% relative reduction in falls with injury, compared with people who didn't exercise. Also: exercising long-term was not associated with an increase in the rate of hospitalization or death (though it wasn't linked to a reduction, either). Researchers didn't determine which kind of exercise was best. However, the most benefits were seen when people exercised three times per week, 50 minutes per session, in programs that included several components, such as balance exercises, strength training for the lower limbs, and aerobic exercise (the kind that gets your heart and lungs pumping, like brisk walking).