Why Your Doctor Should Be Prescribing Exercise
by Jen Ahlberg, PhD
If there were a pill that could reduce your risk of heart disease by 40%, slash your risk of type 2 diabetes by 50%, and significantly lower your chances of depression and dementia—all with zero negative side effects—it would be the most profitable drug in human history.
Your doctor would be negligent not to prescribe it.
Yet, this "miracle drug" already exists. It’s called exercise. But for most of us, it’s treated as a "lifestyle recommendation" rather than a clinical necessity. It’s time we stop viewing the gym as a hobby and start viewing it as the most powerful pharmacy on the planet.
The "Polypill" of Human Movement
Modern medicine is incredible at reactive care—fixing things once they break. But exercise is the ultimate proactive intervention. While a statin might target your cholesterol, a squat targets your cardiovascular system, your bone density, your insulin sensitivity and your cognitive function simultaneously.
Metabolic Health: Skeletal muscle is your body’s largest "glucose sink." When you exercise, your muscles pull sugar from your blood, improving insulin sensitivity more effectively than many frontline medications [1].
Mental Resilience: Exercise isn't just about the body; it’s a biological stress-buffer. It increases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), essentially "Miracle-Gro" for your brain, which protects against cognitive decline [2].
The Dosage Dilemma: Why "Just Move More" Fails
Imagine if your doctor told you to "just take some antibiotics" without giving you a dosage, a frequency or a duration. You’d be confused, and the treatment would likely fail.
This is where the medical system often falls short. Telling a patient to "get more active" is a vague suggestion; a prescription is a plan. At Astride, we look at exercise through a clinical lens. We aren't just "working out"; we are administering a specific dose of resistance and cardiovascular stress designed to trigger a biological adaptation.
(Research Note: A landmark study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective at reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress than counseling or leading medications [3].)
Why "Just Move More” Isn't a Prescription
We all know them—someone who has hit the elliptical for 45 minutes, five days a week, for the last ten years. They’re consistent, hardworking and doing exactly what the old-school "just move more" advice told them to do.
The problem? Their body has long since adapted to that specific stress - and the exercise might not be specific to what your body needs. Your program needs:
System-Specific: Cardio is great for the heart, but it does little for your bone density or muscle mass. As we age, we lose muscle (sarcopenia) and bone density (osteopenia) at an alarming rate. An exercise prescription must include resistance training to "medicate" your skeletal system.
Progressive Overload: If you lift the same 10lb weights for five years, you aren't progressing; you're just maintaining. A prescription requires us to dose the intensity—gradually increasing the challenge to force the body to continue getting stronger.
Varied in Intensity: Doing "medium" intensity every day is the fastest way to stall. A professional plan balances Zone 2 (low-intensity aerobic base) with high-intensity intervals and heavy lifting.
At Astride, we move everyone into a structured Training Architecture. We don't just want you to be "tired"; we want you to be capable. We swap a few of those elliptical sessions for squats and rows because we know that while moving more might help you live longer, strength is what determines what you can actually do with those extra years.
Training For Your Future is Prescriptive
Just like we train athletes, we should train our body for what we want in our future. Want to play golf when you’re 75 years old? Train for it, keep your body able to move, swing and create power. Want to get on the floor with your grandkids? Train for it in specific ways! Your health deserves this level of precision.
When you come into the Astride community, we treat your movement like the vital sign it is. If your doctor isn't asking about your deadlift or your zone 2 cardio, they are missing the biggest indicator of your long-term "healthspan."
The Ultimate Preventive Medicine
The goal of a prescription is to keep you out of the hospital. Exercise does this better than anything else. It strengthens the heart, fortifies the bones against osteoporosis, and keeps the immune system "young."
We need to shift the conversation from "I should probably go to the gym" to "I need to fill my prescription." You don't wait until you're sick to start taking care of your health—you build a body that is hard to break.
References
1. Colberg SR, Sigal RJ, Yardley JE, et al. Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. 2016;39(11):2065-2079.
2. Cotman CW, Berchtold NC. Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity. Trends Neurosci. 2002;25(6):295-301.
3. Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R, et al. Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(18):1203-1209.