Summer is the perfect time to reassess your exercise goals and put a plan into action to keep active. The benefits of exercise are countless, and affect every organ system in your body.  

Starting at the top:

Exercise helps your brain. You stay sharp, more easily focused, and have less risk of Alzheimer’s; helps your heart, can improve blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease; improves your breathing; aids digestion and helps fight diabetes.  

Moving down the body:

Exercise may help your joints by keeping them mobile, and helps to prevent injury and osteoporosis. Increased blood flow is, well, increased blood flow.

    When implementing an exercise plan, the three      
    questions you should ask yourself are:

1. What do I need to do?
2. What should I do?
3. What do I want to do?  
   

When it comes to "need" the answer is quite simple — you don't need to do any exercise.  Of course, you won't get any of the benefits derived from exercising and you'll decrease your chances of living a long life. So while you don't need to do anything, you should exercise. Here's what you should do — you should walk.

How do I arrive at that conclusion? Two studies: the first is a study of Finnish twins, and it was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998. The study tracked 16,000 healthy men and women in a national registry of twins in Finland for an average of 19 years. Taking brisk walks just six times a month appeared to cut the risk of death by 44 percent among twins. Even occasional exercisers were able to reduce their risk of dying by 30 percent compared to their sedentary twin. That means just by walking you can basically trump genetics. The second study is based on the Honolulu Heart Program. An article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1988 that showed the positive effects of walking on mortality in non-smoking retired men. In this particular study, men aged 61-81 were studied and the distance they walked was recorded over 12 years. Those who walked less than one mile per day had twice the mortality of those who walked more than two miles per day. Similar studies have been repeated before and after.

So when it comes to exercise there's no "need" to do anything — but you should walk. How often and how much is debatable, but I recommend at least 1.8 miles a few times a week. That's basically just six laps around a track, starting in lane 6 and finishing in lane 1 (if you stayed in lane one you would only do 1.5 miles, and it's a lot tougher to remember how many laps you've done).  

The final question is "What do I want to do?" because for some, walking is not the end all and be all. Clearly, there are also benefits to doing strength training and stretching. And some people like to chase a ball or get their heart rate up. Depending on your age and your medical condition you may need to consult a professional prior to embarking on an exercise program. Under all circumstances, start low and go slow. You can always progress later on, especially if you’re walking because chances are, you may live a long time.