We typically wish for those we love to live their best, most healthful lives. That’s why it can be both frustrating and worrisome when a loved one slips into a more sedentary lifestyle track – one that could be harmful to their long-term well-being. 

You want to help them recommit to exercise and fitness, but you’re not sure exactly how to do it both lovingly and effectively. 

Such outward benefits, of course, include more energy, increased productivity, a more positive attitude and a better sense of well-being. Over the long term, regular exercise improves heart health, lowers blood pressure, helps manage weight, and reduces the risk of numerous ailments and diseases. 

“Let them know you care about their long-term health and well-being, and that you’re there to support them any way you can,” Guillen added. 

Set an Example

Your concern will certainly carry more weight if you regularly exercise yourself. But beyond that, resolve to also set a new wellness goal or try a new activity. People are more likely to be active and try something new when someone close to them is doing the same. 

Do Activities Together

The buddy system works. Exercising and being active together will help you both be more motivated, more willing to try new things, and develop more consistency. 

Make It a Routine

Speaking of consistency, this should be part of any new effort to be more active. Creating a routine is one of the best ways to establish accountability with one another (i.e., a little positive peer pressure) and help ensure the effort is long-lasting. 

Give Healthful Gifts

This can be touchy. However, if you’re both truly on board with helping one another be more active, gifts like a yoga mat, a fitness tracker, a piece of exercise equipment, or a gift certificate to try a new class or activity should be appropriate. 

Just Be Supportive

Re-establishing new routines and habits is difficult, especially if your partner’s been in a rut for a long period of time. Simply offering support, encouragement, a kind word, a listening ear, or a compliment can go a long ways. 

Also, if you discover pain or physical limitations are keeping your loved one from exercising or living a more active life, have him or her see a Physical Therapist. 

Following an initial assessment, a Physical Therapist can uncover the cause of the limitation, then establish a personalized program for treating and/or overcoming the issue in order to help them reach their goals.

Don’t have time for exercise? Perhaps, say physical therapists, it’s time to reframe what true exercise looks like. 

After all, exercise doesn’t require a gym, special equipment or a high intensity. Down to its core, exercise is simply movement, and despite being busy, most of us have plenty of time to move around every day. 

The key, then, is to optimize these moments to your benefit. 

With shorter, cooler days ahead of us and the Holiday Season just around the corner, this is often the time of year when exercise is most likely to take a back seat to other obligations – possibly even disappearing for days at a time. 

But with the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition suggesting adults need at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity each week, people should not underestimate both the long- and short-term benefits of movement … especially this time of year. 

Regular exercise often helps reduce stress and improve focus and energy levels, for instance, while also improving your mood during the shorter, darker days leading into the Holiday Season. 

This, of course, is in addition the more wide-ranging health benefits most people are familiar with. 

What can you do, then, if you find you don’t have time to hit the gym or go for that morning jog? Try the following tips for turning seemingly typical daily moments into opportunities for exercise: 

Take Mobile Meetings 

Walking is one of the best and most inclusive exercises out there. 

So, next time you have a meeting scheduled with a reasonably small group of people, suggest making it a mobile meeting by walking and talking outdoors, through the hallways of your building, or whatever setting is most pedestrian friendly. 

Rethink the Stairs 

It’s a no-brainer that taking the stairs instead of the elevator can offer you a dose of additional exercise each day. 

Beyond this, though, make the stairs part of a greater routine. Even if you have no place to go, burn off some steam by walking the stairs over breaks and during the lunch hour. 

Take Work to the Gym 

While you don’t necessarily need a gym to exercise, it pays to take advantage of the membership — if you have one. But, don’t go there in lieu of work. Go there with work. 

Catch up on reading, emails or other “housekeeping” tasks while walking, pedaling or using the elliptical. 

Pour Yourself into Housework 

Whether indoors or out, don’t underestimate the effectiveness of housework as exercise! Just throw on some music, pick up the pace, and throw yourself wholeheartedly into the efforts of cleaning and maintaining your home.  

Visit a Physical Therapist 

If other factors such as pain, endurance or movement limitations are keeping you from making exercise a priority in your life, or you simply need help finding a regimen that works best for you, visit with one of our physical therapists. 

A physical therapist will assess the source of your limitations or discomforts and provide a path toward leading a more active and healthful life. 

February is American Heart Month, a time when health professionals like physical therapists strive to raise awareness about maintaining and improving cardiovascular health.

The month also serves as a sobering reminder that, as a society, we must do a better job of preventing heart disease, which continues to be the leading cause of death in the U.S.

Stats confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) show about one in every four American deaths is due to heart disease.

Prevention is Key

On the flip side, the CDC also reports that about 200,000 cardiovascular-related deaths each year could have been prevented. If achieved, that would be a nearly 30 percent reduction.

In a lot of cases, heart disease can be traced back to factors that are preventable – things like the lack of physical activity, obesity, high blood pressure and/or cholesterol, an unhealthy diet, smoking and so on. These are factors related to lifestyle, and they’re all things that can be improved by changing habits.

For example, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), fewer than 5 percent of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Yet, daily exercise remains one of the best tools we have in the prevention and control of heart disease.

Getting your recommended 150-plus minutes of exercise each week is key to controlling your weight, lowing your blood pressure and strengthening your heart, all important aspects in the prevention of heart disease.

It also helps improve the way your body reacts to stress, which is another key element.

While regular exercise is critical, the American Heart Association notes that its combination with other preventative measures can pack a mighty punch when it comes to preventing cardiovascular disease. These include:

Heart-Healthy Eating

Nutrition also plays a crucial role in preventing heart disease. One’s risk can be lowered by eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats while cutting back on sodium, saturated fats, processed sugars, and alcohol.

Keeping a Healthy Weight

The more body fat you have and the more you weigh, the more likely your chances of developing a number of issues including heart disease. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9 represents a healthy weight.

Managing Stress

Chronic stress can contribute to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular risks. Exercise is a great way to help manage stress, but see your physician for other treatment options.

Quitting Smoking

This is a no-brainer. If you smoke, you simply must quit.

These are all key in keeping a healthy weight, managing stress and warding off potential disease.

If there’s something keeping you from regular activity – something like pain, disability or other movement limitations – consider visiting a physical therapist for a solution to living a healthy, active life.