In today's life exercising has achieved a lot of importance. Earlier people aged gracefully in their rocking chairs however today the elderly also understand the importance of exercise. They run, jog, walk, swim and do all possible things to keep themselves fit. Exercise is essential for living a healthy life.

There are several benefits of exercising. It helps in preventing many diseases associated with old age. Most of the heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure can all be prevented by doing exercise. Exercise is advised by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the National Institutes of Health and the Arthritis Foundation. By having a half an hour long exercising session thrice a week, you can get rid of the diseases that occur with aging.

Maddi McDonough of Pembroke, Massachusetts is aged 66. She loves to exercise daily to stay fit. She takes around ten thousand steps every day. She has benefited tremendously from the regular exercise. Her cholesterol levels have gone down, her blood pressure is maintained and sciatica which had kept her bedridden has disappeared. She is one of the many people who have snapped pedometers onto their belts and joined the "10,000 steps club". She exclaims as to how she was able to hike up to the peak of Mt. Pilatus when she visited Switzerland. She says "I was able to hike while others just waited at the lodge". She also did white water rafting in Colorado. "I was even tempted to for bungee jumping in Australia, but I didn't do it!" she exclaims. It is important to exercise; the type of exercise doesn't matter much. You need to exercise thrice a week in order to stay fit and healthy.

New developments are being made in the field of medicine. Earlier The Arthritis foundation used to advise rest to the patients of osteoarthritis. However with changing times, this concept also changed. Nowadays you either exercise or get the diseases, the choice is yours. Joints will become inflexible and stiff if you don't use them regularly. Exercise helps to build strong muscles near to the joints, keep the joints flexible. It also helps in reducing the joint pain. However the pain is not relieved completely. In addition to all this, exercise also controls weight, promotes better sleep, increases energy, increases self esteem and decreases depression.

Marilyn Boynton, a 68 year old described herself as an old broad. However things began to change when he started tap dancing at the age of 59. Initially she had a lot of back pain while dancing but instead of giving up she joined a fitness club. Now, her back pain has bettered.

You should not straight away start with strenuous exercises. You should always start with mild exercises and then gradually increase it. You can have some strain or injuries in case you jump to strenuous exercises straight away. To make your exercise successful, follow the following steps advised by the American Heart Association.

* You need to consult your doctor before you start out with any exercise program in case you are overweight, haven't been active recently or have some chronic illness.
* You should do a number of exercises. You will get bored if do the same type of exercise regularly so choose a number of activities.
* You should start with mild exercises and then increase it slowly.
* It can get boring to exercise alone. Find out a friend and exercising will be much more fun!
* You must wear proper clothes and shoes while you are working out.
* You should exercise regularly, however there's no need to worry if you miss it for a day. Indulge in other types of physical activities to make up for it.
* Warming up is extremely important. You can have certain injuries if you don't warm up before the exercise. It is also important to cool down after the exercise.

You need to exercise to keep yourself healthy and fit. It is important if you want to lead a disease free life!