ABSTRACT
The knowledge base around how much and what type of exercise is likely to deliver what type of benefit in which individuals over which timeframe (and with what risk, and how to reduce this risk) is extensive, growing and accessible. We do not necessarily need more knowledge about the health benefits of exercise to deliver large volumes of individual and population health gain. Big improvements in the health and well-being of people with long-term conditions are much more likely to follow from health and social care professionals (and others) using what we already know to help people with long-term conditions become more active. Individually tailoring a physical activity/exercise programme to the needs, wishes and interests of the patient, while simultaneously increasing their readiness to become more active and their confidence about being able to maintain a physically active lifestyle, is a skill set which could and should be in the toolkit of most health and social care professionals. Three basic principles of exercise programming with which health and social care professionals should be familiar are progressive overload, specificity and individual tailoring.
