24 Apr 2012 Give thanks for a healthy heart

Posted at 3:28 PMh in Health & Beauty by

by Karl Lenser

Of all of the muscles in your body, the heart is the most important one because it pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout your body and also removes a lot of waste products from your blood stream.

Having a well conditioned heart and lungs provides you with a greater supply of energy in addition to lowering the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other diseases. Your heart is somewhat similar to other muscles within your body because the only way to get the heart stronger is by exercising it. Walking, cycling, swimming, jogging, kickboxing, Zumba, elliptical machines and rowing machines are all classic examples of cardio-based exercise. 

Simply stated, “Use it or lose it.”

I always like comparing the human body to an automobile. Even though a car may have a rusted and dented exterior, the key to the car lays under the hood in the engine. Your heart is, in essence, your engine. Treat it properly and you can add many more years to your life.

Here are some facts about the heart that you may find interesting:

It is the size of your fist and weighs less than 16 oz.

Blood vessel highway – The average human body has 60,000 miles of blood vessels that help provide oxygen to your muscles and also take away waste products. A typical resting heart rate is 70 beats per minute. By the time you reach 65, your heart will have beaten 2.5 billion times.

Thin is in. Your capillaries are your smallest blood vessels and are 50 times thinner than the finest human hair.

Extra weight = extra work: If you are 25 pounds overweight, you have nearly 5,000 extra miles of blood vessels. This creates a greater demand on your heart since it has to pump more blood through a greater mass.

“Air supply.” In the course of one day, you will inhale about 3,500 gallons of air.

True colors. Arteries are red in color and full of oxygen-rich blood. Veins return deoxygenated blood back to the heart.

Varicose veins. Veins have valves that help pump the blood back to the heart. When the valves do not function properly, the blood pools and has a difficult time returning back to the heart.

On demand. Your body will adjust to the stresses that it undergoes. These adjustments are what exercise professionals call the “training effect.” Example: When a walk/run program culminates into a “run only” program, you are the beneficiary of internal adjustments within your cardio system.

Recipe for success: Move your body and you will reap the many benefits. Everyone has different goals, but the key to everyone is consistency. Find some activity that you enjoy and stick with it.

Stuck in an exercise rut? Break out of the plateau by adding a different activity or adding some interval workouts to “shock” your system. Many exercisers fall into the “SOSO” (same old same old) trap. Doing the same thing month after month and year after year may result in stagnation and a possible weight loss stalemate (more on this in another issue).

Your body is a well designed machine that was created to move. Movement is health. Use your muscles or you will suffer the consequences. Find an activity that you like and stick with it. If you get bored with a routine, CHANGE it! Variety is the spice of workouts. Make an appointment with yourself to exercise. Find a workout partner or explore some group exercise classes. Take care of your body, and it will take care of you.

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