Exercise for a Healthy Heart
Louise Roach

Do you exercise every day? If you want to live a long, healthy life, maybe you should.

A recent study by Timothy Wessel, a physician at the University of Florida, indicates one of the strongest risk factors for developing heart disease is inactivity even more so than being overweight. During the four-year study of 906 women, Dr. Wessel documented those who were moderately active were less likely to develop heart disease than sedentary women, no matter how much they weighed. The study concluded: These results suggest that fitness may be more
important than overweight or obesity for cardiovascular risk in women.

In January, the updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines strongly urged that everyone should take part in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days, above whatever activities they do at home or work. To loose weight or to avoid gaining weight as we age, 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended. And those who have already lost weight and are attempting to keep weight off need 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise.

A study of 9,611 adults by the University of Michigan Health System, found that people in their 50s and 60s who participated in daily exercise were 35 percent less likely to die within the next eight years than their inactive couch potato counter parts.

Convinced that its time to add exercise to your day?

The Basics — Make Exercise a Life Priority:

– If youre not use to exercising, check with your doctor before beginning any strenuous fitness routine.

– Start slow. If 30 minutes of exercise is too much, start with 15 minutes and add a few minutes each day.

– If you dont have time for 60 minutes of exercise, break it up into two 30-minute sessions throughout the day.

– Schedule a specific time to exercise everyday then keep to your schedule!

– Take part in more intense activities that can improve your heart health, such as: running, dancing, swimming, cycling, and climbing stairs.

– Find exercise that you enjoy. You will be more likely to continue and improve your daily performance if you look forward to a favorite activity.

– Wear proper clothing and footwear. This has two functions. Clothing and shoes that are suited to your activity will enhance performance and offer the right kind of support for your body and feet. They will also place you in a better frame of mind for exercise. When you wear your favorite running outfit and slide into your special running shoes, your mind says its time to get out the door and put my feet in motion!

– Add everyday activities to increase your overall fitness level, such as gardening, housework, walking to the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and raking leaves.

– Always drink lots of water.

– If you feel discomfort or pain after an activity, use ice therapy immediately to reduce swelling and numb pain. Always have a cold pack in your freezer, ready and waiting. Most aches and pains attributed to exercise respond well to icing and will melt away within 24 hours after applying ice for several 20-minute sessions. Using cold therapy reduces down time, getting you back on schedule fast. (If the pain does not lessen within 48 hours after using ice therapy, is intense or becomes worse, see your doctor.)

Exercise every daytake care of your heartlive long!

Disclaimer: This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment or consultation. Always consult with your physician in the event of a serious injury

About the Author

About the Author: Louise Roach: health and fitness editor,
marketing specialist, product development consultant. Helps others find pain relief through the use of SnowPack Cold Therapy products. Learn more about the benefits of cold therapy at http://www.snowpackusa.com/ Sign up for *free* health/fitness e-newsletter at: http://home.netcom.com/~newsflash/

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Most people realize that to lose weight they must take in fewer calories than they burn. If they are bringing in more calories than they burn those excess calories are being stored as fat.

To accomplish that goal many people will try to exercise harder. The more cardio they get, so goes the theory, the more weight they can lose. To a point that is true… only to a point though.

You see, you will still need to get enough of the right types of foods into your daily diet if you want to keep your body functioning at it’s optimal level.

Just trying to use exercises to lose weight fast while thinking you can still eat whatever you want is a recipe (pardon the pun) for disaster.

If you eat crappy low value food on a regular basis you aren’t providing your body with the nutrients it needs. That means you will only be working your body hard but not giving it adequate fuel.

Think of it like this: you wouldn’t want to take your car to the local race track without giving it enough oil, would you? Of course not. When it comes to our bodies we often treat them worse than we would our vehicles (which is kind of dumb when you think about it).

Along with the cardio, you should also implement some weight training. This will pay dividends in a few ways. For one thing, you will increase (I said increase, not bulk up) your lean muscle mass.

Lean muscle will increase your metabolism all day everyday. That means that no matter you are doing you will be burning more calories. That means even when you are sitting on your bottom in front of the t.v. or fast asleep in your bed your body will be burning more calories.

Another benefit of lean muscle mass is that it will make you look thinner. It kind of acts like a full body girdle. You will look tight and toned.

In order to gain lean muscle mass you will need to incorporate some light weight training into your fitness routine. It doesn’t have to be some extreme, intimidating workout. just a little bit of weights a few times a week (along with a good eating plan) can make a lot of difference.

So, the bottom line, is to get the most out of your weight loss efforts, for most people, you will need to combine the best of both worlds: eat right and get some exercise.

Of course, before you start any type of exercise program make sure your doctor is on board and gives you her ok. You don’t want to risk making your existing condition worse by overdoing the exercise side of things.

You will want to get plenty of exercise and there are many exercises to lose weight fast that you can use in conjunction with a good eating plan. Combining the two will help you get the most out of all your efforts.

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