Heart Exercise

May 30, 2007

Heart ExerciseThe hardworking heart

Perhaps busier than the busiest executive is the heart. Contracting 100,000 times a day and pumping five to six litres of blood each minute, the heart is undoubtedly the most important organ in the body. What is more, it pumps 20 times the normal volume when you exercise.

Why exercise?

You could ask, why work the
heart when it’s already working so hard? The heart like any other muscle works better and more efficiently when it is in shape. And there’s no better way to keep it in shape than regular exercising. As you exercise, your heart rate (the number of times your heart beats per minute) increases and more blood is pumped to muscles all over the body. With regular exercise, the heart muscles enlarge and you will require less effort for doing ordinary things like walking up a flight of stairs or running for the bus.

Hey, isn’t regular activity enough?

You may think that the daily grind at your workplace or home would suffice for your exercise needs. But that’s far from true. Regular aerobic exercises when performed adequately condition the heart and lungs. You don’t need to train like a marathon runner to become physically active; just incorporate an exercise regime you are comfortable with in your daily routine. In the beginning you could start with 30 minutes of exercise, three to five times a week.
Your heart protection exercise regimen:
Work out an exercise plan for your heart. Try to get enough cardio activity to burn approximately 900 to 1200 calories a week.

Pick from these options.

• Simply walk: Just put on your walking shoes and walk anywhere, anytime, as convenient. Calories burned: 300 an hour.

• Walk uphill: This increases
walking intensity and shapes the legs and hips. Calories burned: 400 an hour.

• Swim: Challenge your muscles in water. A safe, low-impact exercise that works the whole body. Calories burned: 400 an hour.

• Cycle: Outdoor cycling is a great exercise for toning the lower body. Calories burned: 350 an hour.

• Play tennis/ squash/ Badminton: Calories burned: 400 an hour.

• Skip/speed jog (interval): Burn more calories in 25 minutes by interval training. Skip for two minutes. Jog (fast jog) for three minutes. Repeat for 25 minutes.
Calories burned: 300 in 25 minutes.

• Jog on a trampoline: Bounce on a trampoline. Calories burned: 300 an hour.

• Run: Pick up pace, feel the power in movement. A great exercise high! Calories burned: 400 an hour.

• Punch and kick: Buy a punching bag or speed bag and gloves. Punch using arms and kick using legs. Calories burned: 400 an hour.

• Go Dancing: Try salsa, rock-‘n’- roll or even belly dancing. Or just pick your favourite music at home and move to the beat. Calories burned: 300 an hour.
Some No – No’s If you are looking to keeping your heart healthy, stay far away from these

• Smoking

• Obesity

• Stress

• Diabetes

• No exercise

• High Cholesterol

• High blood pressure

Preventing heart disease:

A regular exercise regimen will keep your heart muscles strong and will ensure that the blood vessels will work smoothly. As you exercise regularly, your body will get more resistant to stress, heart attacks and other heart diseases.

Exercise requires skill

You could develop your own exercise method — like choosing to walk the stairs instead of the elevator, cycling to the nearby store instead of taking the car. You don’t need a new year for a resolution to keep healthy. Make your resolution right now and do it for your heart’s sake. Happy exercising!

Blowing exercise myths

• Exercise is tiring — Far from tiring you, exercise can reduce the fatigue and stress levels in your body making you feel energised after your workout.

• Exercise takes time — Busy as you may be, just 30 minutes of your time can make wonders for you. Even if you may not be able to devote that time at a stretch, you could break that session into two 15 minutes sessions.

• All exercises give you the same benefits — Different exercises give different benefits. Regular aerobic exercises will improve the efficiency of the heart and burn calories, resistance training exercises will improve your body’s strength, and flexibility exercises will increase overall suppleness.

• The older you are, the less exercise you will need — Age is no factor at all. Exercise is for one and all. You could ask a trainer to devise an exercise regimen based on your goals, preferences and even any medical condition that you may have.

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