Exercise Deserves a Prescription — So Let Me Give You One

Article at a Glance:

Most people are simply told to “exercise,” but that advice lacks the structure required for real change.
Strength training is the most comprehensive and efficient form of exercise for improving nearly every system in the body.
If exercise is going to be treated like medicine, it needs to be prescribed with intention, not guesswork.

If a doctor handed you a prescription that said only “Take a drug,” you’d either laugh or be concerned, ultimately walking away with more questions than answers. What drug? How much? When? For how long? Is it safe to take with food? Should I take it forever? It wouldn’t be a prescription at all, it would be a vague suggestion.

This is exactly how most people are told to exercise.

The phrase “get some exercise” sounds nice, but it isn’t useful. And while doctors and health professionals mean well when they say things like “go for a walk” or “try to move more,” those suggestions don’t hold up to the complexity of the human body or the challenges people face.

If we’re going to take exercise seriously — as something that can improve quality of life while preventing and even treating common diseases — then we have to prescribe it seriously too. That means being specific, knowing what form of exercise delivers the greatest benefit for the effort, as well as acknowledging that not all exercise is created equal.

What’s The Best Bang For Your Buck Exercise Modality?

The World Health Organization has stated that everyone needs all three domains of fitness: strength, aerobic capacity, and balance. While the guidelines don’t prioritize one over the others, both research and real-world results suggest that one is uniquely equipped to support all three.

If your foundation is weak, it doesn’t matter how far you try to walk or how well you can stretch. Without the strength to move well, every other form of exercise becomes riskier and less effective.

That’s why, if I could give one prescription to the average person looking to improve their health, it wouldn’t be walking. It wouldn’t be stretching. It would be strength training.

Perhaps I’m biased due to my years spent in a gym working with personal training clients, but progressive resistance training improves nearly every domain of health. It builds muscle and bone density, improves blood sugar regulation, supports cardiovascular health, and enhances mobility, power, balance, and even cognition.

This isn’t just anecdotal. A research review on resistance training found that individuals — both young and old — with lower baseline fitness levels experienced meaningful improvements in cardiovascular health, comparable to those typically seen with aerobic training. And, when done consistently, strength training improves heart and lung function while building muscle at the same time.

While cardio undeniably supports endurance and heart health, it can’t build strength or preserve fast-twitch muscle fibers — the ones that keep us powerful, resilient, and able to react quickly to prevent a fall. As we age, this loss of strength and speed increases our risk of instability. And when cardio is the sole focus during weight loss or aging, it often leads to even greater muscle loss. Without the balance of resistance training, lean mass tends to decline faster, not slower. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle.

Mobility work, stretching, and yoga absolutely have value as they help open up your joints and improve how freely you move. But using resistance through a full range of motion doesn’t just match those benefits; it can amplify them. Strength training reinforces mobility by making it active, stable, and usable. You’re not just gaining flexibility; you’re gaining control and capacity within that range.

And when it comes to making the most of your time and effort, that kind of versatility matters. If time, energy, and motivation are limited — and for most people, they are — then the most responsible and effective place to start is the modality that moves the needle in the most areas. That’s strength training. It is the only form of exercise that improves strength, cardiovascular health, balance, active range of motion, and even mental health simultaneously. It is the most efficient form of exercise we have.

Strength Training’s Impact Extends Further Than Most People Realize

The benefits of strength training go beyond the gym, far from what most people have been told, as it’s not just about muscles or movement. Consistent strength training has been shown to reduce the risk and severity of some of the most pressing health issues we face today.

Take mental health, for example. Meta-analyses show that strength training reduces symptoms of depression with an effect size comparable to antidepressants, particularly in people with mild to moderate symptoms. It also improves self-esteem, confidence, and cognitive performance — with emerging evidence suggesting it may help delay or prevent age-related cognitive decline and dementia.

From a metabolic standpoint, resistance training helps regulate blood sugar, improves insulin sensitivity, and decreases visceral fat. Which makes it a powerful countermeasure to Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome — conditions that often go overlooked until they’ve already done damage. What’s more, it does this without the wear and tear that high volumes of aerobic exercise can impose on older or deconditioned individuals.

Then there’s the preservation of physical function. Strength training prevents and reverses sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and dynapenia (loss of strength and power). It maintains muscle mass critical for balance, reaction time, and functional independence.

And because resistance training demands coordination, attention, and neuromuscular control, it stimulates the brain in ways that passive forms of exercise simply can’t. This “neuroplasticity effect” helps sharpen executive function, improve mood regulation, and strengthen the connection between mind and body, all of which contribute to healthier aging.

When you zoom out, the case becomes undeniable: strength training isn’t just one tool among many. It’s the foundation that supports nearly every other domain of health.

All of this leads to the obvious question: what should actually be prescribed?

Rx: Progressive Resistance Training

Dosage: 2-3 full-body sessions per week, each lasting 30-60 minutes. Use resistance (bodyweight, bands, dumbbells, or machines) that challenges you to perform 8-12 repetitions per set with good form. Perform 3 sets per exercise.

Quantity: Ongoing, with progressive overload (increase weight/resistance every 1-2 weeks as strength improves). Sig: Focus on compound movements:

Squats or lunges (lower body push)
Rows or pull-ups (upper body pull)
Presses (e.g., overhead or bench press, upper body push)
Deadlifts or hinges (posterior chain)
Warm up with 5-10 minutes of light activity. Move with control through full range of motion. Rest 1-2 minutes between sets. Track progress in a journal or app. Combine with other activities like walking if desired, but prioritize this as the foundation.

Route: Whole-body application, performed in a gym, home, or suitable space.

Refills: Unlimited, as long as tolerated and enjoyable. Reassess every 4-6 weeks for adjustments.

Additional Notes: Benefits include improved muscle/bone density, cardiovascular health, blood sugar regulation, balance, mobility, mental health, and prevention of age-related decline. Start slow if new to training; consult a professional if you have pre-existing conditions. No side effects beyond temporary fatigue/soreness. Support recovery with adequate protein (e.g., 20-25g per meal) and sleep.

Why Has This Prescription Been Missing?

With all this evidence, it’s fair to ask: why hasn’t anyone told you this?

The uncomfortable truth is that most doctors simply aren’t trained to prescribe exercise. Fewer than 20% of medical schools require even a single course on physical activity. And once students graduate, pass their board exams, and enter clinical practice, that gap in education becomes a blind spot in treatment.

The result is a healthcare system that overwhelmingly favors drugs and surgeries — even when lifestyle interventions like exercise often work better and carry no side effects beyond a bit of post-workout fatigue. Many strength researchers — like Dr. Robert Sallis, former president of the American College of Sports Medicine — have long argued that exercise should be prescribed just like any other treatment. No one questions the use of medication to prevent strokes in high-risk patients. But recommending barbell squats to an aging adult? That still sounds radical.

This isn’t just a failure of individual doctors. It’s a failure of the system. As Marcas Bamman, a leading resistance training researcher, was quoted in the book entitled Stronger, “Until exercise-focused questions are on the board exams, I don’t think anyone will ever care.” And until exercise is treated like medicine, patients will keep getting vague advice while proven solutions sit unused.

Don’t Like Strength Training?

If lifting weights isn’t your thing, you’re not alone. However, you’re also not off the hook because the research is clear. Strength training delivers benefits that no other form of exercise can. It improves heart health, blood sugar regulation, balance, muscle mass, and mental health — all at once. That’s why it’s the best place to start, and the best baseline to build from.

While I’ve tried to make a compelling argument, I don’t want you to think it’s the only thing you should do, or that it has to be all-or-nothing.

If you love walking, jogging, yoga, dance, or group classes, keep doing them. Movement you enjoy is movement you’ll stick with. Just make sure you’re also doing some form of resistance training, even if it’s just a few bodyweight sessions per week. You don’t need to love it. You just need to respect what it can do for you.

The most effective plan isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency. Find what fits your life, and build strength into it.

LiveComplete Takeaways

Doctors routinely prescribe medications with precision, but when it comes to exercise, most offer little more than vague encouragement.
Strength training is the most effective, well-rounded, and efficient form of exercise that improves nearly every system in the body.
This article provides the prescription you should have received: clear, actionable guidance rooted in research and real-world results.

Strength training isn’t just one option among many — it’s the plan most people should’ve been given from the start. While doctors often default to vague advice, hopefully I provided you with something better: a clear, research-backed prescription for the kind of exercise that strengthens nearly every system in the body. If you’ve been waiting for someone to tell you exactly where to begin, this is it.

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Sources:

Ozaki H, Loenneke JP, Thiebaud RS, Abe T. Resistance training induced increase in VO2max in young and older subjects. European Review of Aging and Physical Activity. 2013;10(2):107-116. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11556-013-0120-1
Bull FC, Al-Ansari SS, Biddle S, et al. World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Br J Sports Med. 2020;54(24):1451-1462. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
Gordon BR, McDowell CP, Hallgren M, Meyer JD, Lyons M, Herring MP. Association of Efficacy of Resistance Exercise Training With Depressive Symptoms: Meta-analysis and Meta-regression Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018;75(6):566-576. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0572
Strasser B, Arvandi M, Siebert U. Resistance training, visceral obesity and inflammatory response: a review of the evidence. Obes Rev. 2012;13(7):578-591. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.00988.x
Garry, Joseph P. MD; Diamond, James J. PhD; Whitley, Theodore W. PhD. Physical Activity Curricula in Medical Schools. Academic Medicine 77(8):p 818-820, August 2002.
WebMD. Exercise Prescriptions: Your Personalized Plan to Get Moving. WebMD. Published April 12, 2024. Accessed August 7, 2025. https://www.webmd.com/fitness/story/exercise-prescriptions
Gross MJ. Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives. Penguin Random House; 2025. (found on page 440)