Introducing the Exercise Explorer MD

“Yes, but what type of exercise should I try?” is a question I am asked on almost a daily basis by my patients. In my work as a physician at Ironwood Family Practice for the past 16 years, I am daily extolling the virtues of exercise.

It has been shown to be helpful for weight loss and improving energy and longevity as well as preventing falls and fractures and even for mood and depression.

But we already know that exercise is good for us, don’t we?

The point of this column is not to convince you of the benefits of exercise, but rather to explore that follow-up question I often get.

When I am asked by patients what type of exercise is best for them, I try to tailor my health advice to the individual patient in front of me. As a family physician, I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. I often start by asking them what sort of activities they might enjoy.

I also try to ascertain what sorts of exercise they have done in the past and what their specific health goals are. Is there someone they can exercise with as an accountability partner to increase their chances of success? And, do they have any health issues or limitations that would prevent certain types of exercise?

Finally, are there certain types of exercise that they absolutely have no interest in trying? In this way, we often can arrive at a personalized recommendation for them to help start or renew their exercise journey.

My own fitness journey has similarly led me to try out many different types of exercise over the years, with mostly positive and sometimes comical results.

I have personally done everything from rowing crew to triathlons to Pilates with many different stops in between. I enjoy exploring new forms of exercise, both as a way to attain my own health goals and also to be a more informed guide to my patients.

I want to be able to give them a good recommendation based on personal experience and have a sense of what might work best for them. Out of that experience and the desire to continue learning more and being open to new experiences, this column was born.

Having grown up here, I am amazed at all the options for exercise that are available to us here in North Idaho, with more opportunities being added all the time.

So, what I am planning to do is to bring you on a journey with me every other week to sample as many forms of exercise as are available here in North Idaho and write about them with candor and some guidance of who might benefit from the different options.

This should be fun!

I hope you will join me on this journey and perhaps along the way you may even be inspired to try some new exercise that you just might love and thereby find more happiness and health in your own life.

If you have comments or want to suggest a type of exercise for me to try and then feature in a column, feel free to email me at exercisexplorermd@gmail.com.

Dr. Emry is a family physician and partner at Ironwood Family Practice in Coeur d’Alene. Exercise Explorer MD will appear every other week in The Press and Dr. Emry can be contacted via email exercisexplorermd@gmail.com.

© 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license.