Exercise Safety Tips to Recognize When Exercise Should Not be Initiated

For older adults, please remember the safety tips below:

• Do not do hard exercise for 2 hours after a big meal.
• Do not exercise when you have a fever and/or viral infection accompanied by muscle aches.
• Do not exercise if your systolic blood pressure is greater than 200 and your diastolic is greater than 100.
• Do not exercise if your resting heart rate is greater than 120.
• Do not exercise if you have a joint that you are using to exercise (such as a knee or an ankle) that is red and warm and painful.
• Stop exercising if you experience severe pain or swelling in a joint. Discomfort that persists should always be evaluated.
• Do not exercise if you have a new symptoms that has not been evaluated by your health care provider such as pain in your chest, abdomen or a joint, swelling in an arm, leg or joint, difficulty catching your breath at rest, or a fluttering feeling in your chest.