Health and Fitness > Your Heart and Exercise Go Together Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Gene D. Millen
Your heart and exercise are best friends! The heart has an amazing ability to adapt to exercise. "It's the same as when you work out your biceps, says Dr. Michael H. Crawford, chief of cardiology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. "Everything gets bigger; the size of the chambers, the thickness of the walls.
The heart is basically a muscle, and it will get bigger when it's confronted with having to work more." Cyclist Lance Armstrong gave us a good example of this recently by winning the grueling Tour de France an astounding seven times in a row in spite of a battle with cancer.
Armstrong's heart can pump nine gallons of blood per minute, compared to five for the average person and his lungs can absorb twice as much oxygen. His training, experience and commitment also entered into the success equation but the point is he developed an exceptional heart.
The heart and exercise work together. We can develop cardiovascular conditioning within weeks... but unfortunately it can vanish just as fast. In a study of endurance athletes the size of their heart increased by 23% in the first week of training and the volume of blood the heart pumped increased by 33%. Heart and exercise conditioning can disappear just as quickly.
Six cross-country runners, who had been training for at least 3 months, took 3 weeks off. By the end of the 3rd week of inactivity their average left ventricular mass was down 38%, and their average stroke volume was down 23%.
What about the heart and exercise for people with heart disease? Does the experience of athletes relate to those of us who exercise for heart health? You bet it does!
A long-term study by the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that the harder a person works out, the healthier he will be and the longer he will live! Exercise will develop more blood flow to the heart.
According to Cardiologist Marianne J. Legato, M.D. "When someone exercises regularly over a long period of time, the heart exercise often develops extra vessels to make room for the increased blood flow that exercise requires. During a heart attack, these vessels can compensate for a blocked artery and prevent death."
So what's the best heart exercise? The most effective way to supercharge your cardiovascular system is to utilize the principles of interval training with short, quick bursts of high intensity.
We believe in using a variety of equipment, but our favorite is the rowing machine. Covert Bailey, author of numerous books on exercise, tells us that, "Twelve minutes on the rowing machine is equivalent to 40 minutes walking."
Minneapolis cardiologist, Dr. Barry J. Maron who has studied the hearts of various athletes, says that rowing is like running and lifting weights at the same time. Maron says, "Rowing involves probably the most complete mixture of strength and endurance training in sports, producing some of the most exceptional hearts ever studied." So "row, row row" for good health!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The cardiologist looked up from the treadmill report and grimly stated, "You are a walking time bomb. You need to go to the hospital immediately." Two days later a heart surgeon sawed open Gene Millen's chest and stitched in bypasses to six clogged arteries.
"A six way heart bypass isn't a record" said Gene, "but it's not bad for a skinny 59 year old with normal cholesterol and blood pressure. The villains and heroes in the heart attack melodrama may surprise you as they have me."
Gene Millen reviews new research on heart attack risks that are more dangerous than high cholesterol... and how natural supplements and heart vitamins can send them packing! Check out The Heart Health website at http://www.heart-health-for-life.com
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