The Role of Physical Activity

By Harmony Rosenberg RN BSN

Exercise – that means run a 5K tomorrow, right?  Not really, thank goodness. 



Exercise has the following benefits:

  • Lowers your blood sugar and allows your body to use glucose more efficiently
  • Helps reverse the insulin resistance that can come from being overweight
  • Helps control blood pressure and cholesterol
  • Makes us stronger and gives us more energy
  • Help cope with stress more effectively
  • Help us lose weight
  • And much, much more

You may be saying to yourself, how do I even start an exercise plan? My answer is….just start! The hardest part of an exercise routine is getting started. I have a few steps to help get started and stay motivated. 

  1. What are you interested in? If you don’t like to run, DON’T run.
  3. Find a partner. Having that other person to push you when you get tired can be very motivating.
  4. Set goals. If we don’t see results, we won’t continue. Set short and long-term goals. If I have a patient who hasn’t exercised in years, but would like to start, I encourage them to start small and from where they are capable, then increase a little each day. It won’t seem like much at the start, but they may feel motivated to keep going once they reach each goal. One key thing to remember is, reward yourself for accomplishing those goals!
  5. Track your progress. Again, if we don’t see results, we won’t continue. If we write down our progress, we are able to see even the smallest improvement.

