I spent the majority of my sophomore year in high school cutting gym class. Actually, I spent my entire school career trying to skip it, but it wasn't until the 10th grade that I perfected the art of getting away with it. Sadly, things like dodge ball and the Presidential Fitness Test so completely turned me off to the concept of sports and "fitness" that I not only risked detention and parental punishment - but, ultimately risked my own good health. Thankfully, a healthy metabolism burned off the fast food of my youth kept me from piling on the pounds. And age has brought with it better eating habits and a healthy respect for the value of activities like yoga and Pilates to avoid back pain, increase my strength and reduce muscle tension. But not long ago, while straining and panting up some hills with my pooch, it became painfully clear that I had neglected working-out the most important muscle of all - my heart!
So I did a little investigating and uncovered some sobering facts like - more Americans die from heart disease than from anything else! More specifically, 2 out 5 Americans will die of heart disease this year. That's approximately 2,500 people every day! And while your chances of developing heart disease are in part determined by heredity, you do have control over several other risk factors. And exercise is one thing you can do to keep your heart healthy. What exactly can regular exercise do for you?
Strengthen your heart and lungs and make them work more efficiently.
Burn excess calories that may lead to obesity (one of the risk factors for heart disease).
Prevent or delay the onset of high blood pressure (hypertension) and may reduce existing hypertension.
Lower "bad" cholesterol and raise "good" cholesterol levels.
Reduce your heart's need for oxygen - which doctors say is an important thing, especially for people who already have heart disease.
Diet, smoking, cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and perhaps even vitamin C intake can all impact your risk of developing heart disease.
