Exercise counseling is beneficial for anyone looking to start or improve their current physical activity routine. Our clinical exercise therapists/counselor, can help you prevent or manage:

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• High blood pressure, cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factors

• Diabetes, kidney disease and other metabolic disorders

• Age- and disease-related muscle weakness

• Weight control

• Osteoporosis, arthritis and other orthopedic disorders

• Stress and anxiety

 

When you ask counselors what interventions have the biggest impact on mental health, exercise is likely to be near the top of the list. There are numerous benefits of exercise and regular physical activity can help increase self-esteem, improve cognitive functioning, improve sleep, relieve stress, and increase energy and stamina. This can result in higher morale at work, better quality of work, and decreased burnout. Exercising can help us become more alert, engaged, and effective counselors. Yet counselor education and post-licensure training rarely place emphasis on the value of exercise when it comes to quality of work.

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The obvious physical and psychological benefits of exercise lead us to believe that exercise is at the top of counselors’ personal to-do lists. However, for many clinicians, the demands of work and home life get in the way of prioritizing exercise. In short, we struggle with the same challenges as many of our clients. Exercise is not only about hitting a number weight-wise or fitting into your skinny jeans. Rather, it is a component of a healthy lifestyle with the purpose of improving our body systems so that we may live long, happy, and healthy lives.  The following tips can help set you up for success as you begin planning regular exercise into your life.