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• The Center for Health Promotion & Wellness

Exercise & Fitness: An Overview

Exercise is one of the best ways to increase your energy and lower your stress level. It’s also an effective way to maintain a healthy weight and strengthen your muscles and bones. In fact, regular exercise benefits nearly every aspect of your well-being, from boosting your mood, memory, and metabolism to strengthening your immune system and improving your sleep.

Exercise Your Way

Many people automatically envision competitive sports or crowded gyms when they think about exercise, but physical activity doesn’t need to be traditional to be effective. The most important thing is that you do something you enjoy. You’ll never maintain an exercise routine if you dread doing it, so choose an activity you genuinely like. If you love being outside, go for a hike or try mountain biking. If you love to dance, sign up for a salsa class or get a group of friends together for weekly dance parties. Maybe you get bored easily, and you need to vary your routine every week. Whatever the case, do something that gets you moving, keeps you entertained, and makes you feel good.

Getting Started

Don’t get all worked up about working out. If a regular fitness routine is as foreign to you as sleeping 10 hours a night, start small, and work your way up. In fact, you may be surprised by how much you’re already moving. Wear a pedometer to count your steps as you walk across campus, and challenge yourself to walk more each week. Brainstorm simple ways to add more activity to your daily routine, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car a little further away than normal.

For a broad perspective on integrating exercise into your life, read about the stages of change on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site. This helpful overview breaks down the steps you need to take to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Mind over Matter

Simply being more aware of your daily activity may lead to better physical results. A recent study* showed that a group of hotel maids who began thinking of their strenuous jobs as serious exercise reaped greater physical benefits (weight loss and lowered blood pressure) than a similar group of maids who had not been told to think of their activity as exercise. Since both groups reported similar levels of activity, these results seem to indicate that people who are mentally engaged and focused during physical activity may benefit more from exercise than individuals who exercise mindlessly. Read more about how mindfulness can help you reach your health goals.

*Crum, A.J., and Langer, E.J., 2007, Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect, Psychological Science, v18, 165–171

How MIT Medical Can Help

MIT Medical offers a variety of programs and resources to help get you motivated and moving, including:

Wellness and fitness classes: The Center for Health Promotion & Wellness sponsors wellness and fitness classes throughout the year for all levels of experience. Classes usually run for six to ten weeks.

Fitness centers: Members of the MIT community have access to the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center (“Z” Center) in Cambridge and the Lincoln Laboratory Fitness Center in Lexington.

getfit@mit: Every winter, MIT Medical runs the getfit@mitfitness challenge, open to all members of the MIT community, including family members. Participants say that the three-month, team-oriented program motivates them to exercise regularly during the colder months, when physical activity is often more difficult.

Independent Activities Period: The Independent Activities Period (IAP) is a special four-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month. During IAP, members of the MIT community can participate in a wide variety of activities, including health and fitness classes, lectures, and workshops.

Health educator consultations: If you don’t know where to start or you’d like to speak with someone to clarify your wellness goals, MIT health educators are available for consultations in person or over the phone.

Information and Education

MIT Medical’s Center for Health Promotion & Wellness (CHPW) has compiled a number of pamphlets and articles that you can pick up in room E23-205 or download (below). CHPW’s Multimedia Library is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Physical fitness 101 (PDF)
Aerobic fitness (PDF)
Weight training (PDF)
Exercises for abdominals and core (PDF)
Flexibility and stretching (PDF)
Monitoring exercise intensity using your heart rate (PDF)
Monitoring exercise intensity using perceived exertion (PDF)
Hydration (PDF)
Tips for athletes with amenorrhea

Other Resources

For more information about exercise and fitness, check out these web sites:

Go Ask Alice!
Mayo Clinic.com
MedlinePlus Health Information
National Women’s Health Information Center
National Institutes of Health (NIH)