This is part three of our three part blog series on how exercise can help control chronic pain. Click here for Part One and here for Part Two.

Physical fitness has three essential components. A stable and good program has three legs that allow it stand and not fall. Aerobic conditioning is one of the three components of a good fitness program along with strengthening and stretching. All three activities combined contribute to good health.

The first step is just get started moving in an aerobic conditioning program is to simply get moving. If you have had problems with pain, start slow and get a healthcare professional to help address the pain problems. It may take some time to reach your goals, but start moving. Walking short distances for five minutes multiple times a day can be a beginning point. Sometimes it may be easier to move in a pool if you have arthritis or pain problems. It is important to find something that you can do and continue with all year long.

Exercise and Motivation

Many people find working out with others helps with motivation. Joining a fitness facility that has a variety of equipment and classes may be extremely helpful. A shared experience is often easier to keep one going. Having a workout partner that makes one accountable to another is also motivating. Fitness facilities also have knowledgeable athletic trainers that can help develop a personalized program tailored to appropriate goals.

There are other people who are very self motivated. To them, exercise becomes a passion, it is a way to control one’s own health. Increased activity increases one’s own endorphins which are the body’s natural painkillers. It improves endurance and gives one the ability to make it through the day. The American Heart Association recommends thirty minutes of increased activity a day to for good cardiovascular health.

If you have had issues with pain, whether it is neck, low back, or joints, doing a variety of activities may be the best option. Reducing impact on the body is often important. Low impact activities range from walking in a pool and swimming to even running. Outdoor recreation such as walking and bicycling are also excellent. Running works as long as one changes your style to using minimal sole shoes and landing on the ball of the foot like a barefoot runner would. This is the best form physiologically, as it transfers impact evenly throughout the body and does not stress any joints including the feet, knees, or the back.

Other Ways To Get Aerobic Exercise

Indoor fitness can be achieved in a number of ways. Many people like group activities ranging from dance, Zumba, swimming, and cycling or using a variety of exercise equipment. Cycling, ellipticals, treadmills, and swimming pools can provide excellent sources for low impact on the body conditioning. Raising the heart rate is always the goal. It can be monitored by checking your pulse with a watch to using a fitness tracker that checks your heart rate.

Fitness trackers have become an excellent way to track your fitness. Most fitness trackers have associated apps that work with either a smartphone or computer. On a daily basis, it can help you monitor whether you have met an aerobic conditioning goal. If the tracker can monitor your heart rate, then the goal is to get your heartbeat into the “fat burn zone” for 30 minutes a day. More intense exercise would be raising your heart beat cardiovascular zone calculated by the equation 210 – (your age in years), all multiplied by 0.65. If math is not your strength, charts for the various exercise zones can be found easily on the internet by age groups. The best fitness trackers for most people should track heart rate. Monitoring steps taken in a day may be also helpful and motivating but the magical number of 10,000 steps a day unfortunately has no real scientific basis, although it does keep many people up and moving.

Fitness has three pillars, stretching, strengthening and conditioning. Many people are good at doing one or two components of a program consistently. A lot of people find the time to stand on two legs, but the missing pillar of fitness often is a source of ongoing problems with being healthy. Consistently performing stretching, strengthening and aerobic conditioning definitely helps maintain your health. If you have difficulty with any part of a fitness program, seeing a healthcare provider may be beneficial. If you have had an injury or pain problem, see a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician who can guide you to a management program to become independent in your comprehensive fitness strategy.