What’s An Exercise Prescription, & What Does This Mean For My Health?
I’ve been talking a lot about exercise prescriptions lately and I wanted to give you further clarity as to what it truly is and what it may mean for those that really want to hone in on their fitness and health goals.
In the same way that you receive medicine from your doctor (that is specific to your current condition), an exercise prescription is specifically designed with your current health, abilities and wellness goals in mind.
With the help of a credentialed movement professional, you can get your exercise prescription ‘filled’ with a detailed plan and movement guidelines.
When there is a lot to tackle (e.g. high blood pressure, joint pain, high stress or depression, poor strength/balance, all happening simultaneously), following random directives don’t work.
For example, if you’re on certain medication, this can affect and/or hinder your results or performance. Busy individuals are finding it difficult to schedule exercise and need efficient & evidenced-based interventions that will work with the little time that they have. Finally, one also has to consider their current levels of readiness & motivation, which resistance training exercises won’t further aggravate existing pain, and how frequently does the plan need to be implemented.
So, how do things look without an exercise prescription in place? Let’s use purchasing and renovating a house as an anology:
Here in Norway, the house inspection report is provided within the listing (amazing!). Now, it wouldn’t be advisable to purchase nor start renovations without this report being taken into full consideration. The report outlines important specifications of the house such as its age, remodelling history, and any previous damages. Starting renovations without utilizing this report would lead to unanticipated ‘surprises’, further expenses, and a lot of pain & frustration that surely could’ve been avoided.
The house inspection in this analogy is your fitness & health appraisal or assessment. Without an assessment, your approach towards your fitness goals is merely a guess. It’s like doing structural work on the floors without taking measurements first, or building a 2nd bathroom only to discover halfway through that the walls are full of asbestos. With fitness, it would be like starting a running program and not knowing that your current hip mobility will surely lead to back pain in the near future.
Knowing your exercise prescription gives you precision and power behind your decision to change your lifestyle. The parameters, behaviour modifications & modes of exercise are planned ahead of time and executed in a way that you’re comfortable adhering to.
If you want to read more on exercise prescriptions, I found this great article here on VeryWellFit.com:
https://www.verywellfit.com/the-exercise-prescription-3120270
To start or refine your exercise prescription, let’s start with that detailed assessment. Reach out at info@fitfxtraining.ca to book yours.
