What is Involved in Getting a Physical?
Are you thinking about starting a new fitness program? If you are, you may want to go see a doctor especially if it has been a long time since you exercised or if you are in not that great of shape.
Depending on your age and fitness level they may order additional test to best assess your health.
Having a physical to begin your fitness program is a great place to begin any program because you find out what type of shape you are in before you begin any program and you can compare it to where you end up.
An important thing that you need to remember when first going to see a physician is be sure to tell them exactly what you plan to do.
What type of exercise program are you planning on beginning? How intense is the program? What do you hope to get out of the program? How often do you plan on exercising and for how long each time? These are important things to know in the beginning.
When you first go into get your physical your doctor will most likely begin by asking you about your family history.
He is doing this to assess your primary risk factors for heart disease.
He will also ask about your diet, whether you smoke, your stress and activity levels, weight, age, and gender.
Once you get past the question part, you will undergo a standard physical.
During this part your doctor will take your blood pressure and resting heart rate.
After evaluating these basic items, your doctor will decide if you need any additional testing to find out your exact heart health, such as an electrocardiogram (EKG) also known as a stress test.
An EKG monitors the changes in your heart as you exercise.
You will be placed on a treadmill and connected to a machine that tracks your heart rate.
The test is broke into three parts and will gradually increase in speed and incline.
The idea is to walk until you reach your maximum heart rate or until you cant continue.
You could be possibly stopped if the monitor that you are connected to detects an abnormality.
After the test you will lie down so the medical staff can continue to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure.
That's all there is to this test.
After you have completed the entire test the doctor will discuss it with you, and you will probably have a complete test in two to three days.
This is a simple way to find out where you are before you begin any exercise program.
Depending on your age and fitness level they may order additional test to best assess your health.
Having a physical to begin your fitness program is a great place to begin any program because you find out what type of shape you are in before you begin any program and you can compare it to where you end up.
An important thing that you need to remember when first going to see a physician is be sure to tell them exactly what you plan to do.
What type of exercise program are you planning on beginning? How intense is the program? What do you hope to get out of the program? How often do you plan on exercising and for how long each time? These are important things to know in the beginning.
When you first go into get your physical your doctor will most likely begin by asking you about your family history.
He is doing this to assess your primary risk factors for heart disease.
He will also ask about your diet, whether you smoke, your stress and activity levels, weight, age, and gender.
Once you get past the question part, you will undergo a standard physical.
During this part your doctor will take your blood pressure and resting heart rate.
After evaluating these basic items, your doctor will decide if you need any additional testing to find out your exact heart health, such as an electrocardiogram (EKG) also known as a stress test.
An EKG monitors the changes in your heart as you exercise.
You will be placed on a treadmill and connected to a machine that tracks your heart rate.
The test is broke into three parts and will gradually increase in speed and incline.
The idea is to walk until you reach your maximum heart rate or until you cant continue.
You could be possibly stopped if the monitor that you are connected to detects an abnormality.
After the test you will lie down so the medical staff can continue to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure.
That's all there is to this test.
After you have completed the entire test the doctor will discuss it with you, and you will probably have a complete test in two to three days.
This is a simple way to find out where you are before you begin any exercise program.
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