By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND — If you're looking for a New Year's resolution for next year, getting more physical activity might be a good place to start. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, 80 percent of American adults are not getting enough exercise.
Dr. Jessica Pauly, a physical therapist with Advanced and Progressive Therapy & Sports Medicine in Great Bend, said everyone can improve their health with the right kind of physical activity.
"It's never too late to get moving," Pauly commented. "So I don't even care if you're 80 years old. You can get up and move, and it's just finding that physical activity that is appropriate for you. At any age, you can exercise. It just might look different from someone that's maybe 20 years old to someone's that's 60. There's always a way that you can be physically active with meeting your specific needs."
Pauly said people have a number of excuses for not getting enough exercise. One of the biggest is a lack of time. But Pauly believes that can be overcome with a little bit of creativity.
"Take that ten-minute walk on your lunch break," Pauly recommended. "Think about when you go to the grocery store, park a little bit further away. Little things like that do add up, so you really are looking for a total of about 30 minutes of physical activity. You could do ten minutes in the morning, ten minutes at your lunch break, ten minutes in the evening just getting your heart rate up."
ChoosePT.com is a website that Pauly recommends. It lists the benefits of physical activity and recommends ways to improve your physical health.