Hello Welcome to the Blog" Health Advise MD " This information is intended for personal use and should not be taken as health advise. Please consult your doctor if you have this problem.
Physical activity is any body movement that works your muscles and requires more energy than resting. Walking, running, dancing, swimming, yoga, and gardening are a few examples of physical activity.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services' "2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans," physical activity generally refers to movement that enhances health.
Exercise is a type of physical activity that's planned and structured. Lifting weights, taking an aerobics class, and playing on a sports team are examples of exercise.
Physical activity is good for many parts of your
body. This article focuses on the benefits of physical activity for your heart and lungs. The article also provides tips for getting started and staying active, and it discusses physical activity as part of a heart healthy lifestyle.
body. This article focuses on the benefits of physical activity for your heart and lungs. The article also provides tips for getting started and staying active, and it discusses physical activity as part of a heart healthy lifestyle.
Outlook
Being physically active is one of the best ways to keep your heart and lungs healthy. Following a healthy diet and not smoking are other important ways to keep your heart and lungs healthy.
Many Americans are not active enough. The good news, though, is that even modest amounts of physical activity are good for your health. The more active you are, the more you will benefit.
Types of Physical Activity
The four main types of physical activity are aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening, and stretching. Aerobic activity is the type that benefits your heart and lungs the most.
Aerobic activity makes your heart beat faster than usual. You also breathe harder during this type of activity. Over time, regular aerobic activity makes your heart and lungs stronger and able to work better.
Muscle-strengthening activities improve the strength, power, and endurance of your muscles. Doing pushups and situps, lifting weights, climbing stairs, and digging in the garden are examples of muscle-strengthening activities.
With bone-strengthening activities, your feet, legs, or arms support your body's weight, and your muscles push against your bones. This helps make your bones strong. Running, walking, jumping rope, and lifting weights are examples of bone-strengthening activities.
Muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities also can be aerobic, depending on whether they make your heart and lungs work harder than usual. For example, running is both an aerobic activity and a bone-strengthening activity.
Stretching helps improve your flexibility and your ability to fully move your joints. Touching your toes, doing side stretches, and doing yoga exercises are examples of stretching.
The level of intensity depends on how hard you have to work to do the activity. To do the same activity, people who are less fit usually have to work harder than people who are more fit. So, for example, what is light-intensity activity for one person may be moderate-intensity for another.
Moderate-intensity activities make your heart, lungs, and muscles work harder than light-intensity activities do.
On a scale of 0 to 10, moderate-intensity activity is a 5 or 6 and produces noticeable increases in breathing and heart rate. A person doing moderate-intensity activity can talk but not sing.
Aerobic Activity
Aerobic activity moves your large muscles, such as those in your arms and legs. Running, swimming, walking, bicycling, dancing, and doing jumping jacks are examples of aerobic activity. Aerobic activity also is called endurance activity.Aerobic activity makes your heart beat faster than usual. You also breathe harder during this type of activity. Over time, regular aerobic activity makes your heart and lungs stronger and able to work better.
Other Types of Physical Activity
The other types of physical activity—muscle-strengthening, bone strengthening, and stretching—benefit your body in other ways.Muscle-strengthening activities improve the strength, power, and endurance of your muscles. Doing pushups and situps, lifting weights, climbing stairs, and digging in the garden are examples of muscle-strengthening activities.
With bone-strengthening activities, your feet, legs, or arms support your body's weight, and your muscles push against your bones. This helps make your bones strong. Running, walking, jumping rope, and lifting weights are examples of bone-strengthening activities.
Muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities also can be aerobic, depending on whether they make your heart and lungs work harder than usual. For example, running is both an aerobic activity and a bone-strengthening activity.
Stretching helps improve your flexibility and your ability to fully move your joints. Touching your toes, doing side stretches, and doing yoga exercises are examples of stretching.
Levels of Intensity in Aerobic Activity
You can do aerobic activity with light, moderate, or vigorous intensity. Moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activities are better for your heart than light-intensity activities. However, even light-intensity activities are better than no activity at all.The level of intensity depends on how hard you have to work to do the activity. To do the same activity, people who are less fit usually have to work harder than people who are more fit. So, for example, what is light-intensity activity for one person may be moderate-intensity for another.
Light- and Moderate-Intensity Activities
Light-intensity activities are common daily activities that don't require much effort.Moderate-intensity activities make your heart, lungs, and muscles work harder than light-intensity activities do.
On a scale of 0 to 10, moderate-intensity activity is a 5 or 6 and produces noticeable increases in breathing and heart rate. A person doing moderate-intensity activity can talk but not sing.
Vigorous-Intensity Activities
Vigorous-intensity activities make your heart, lungs, and muscles work hard. On a scale of 0 to 10, vigorous-intensity activity is a 7 or 8. A person doing vigorous-intensity activity can't say more than a few words without stopping for a breath.Examples of Aerobic Activities
Below are examples of aerobic activities. Depending on your level of fitness, they can be light, moderate, or vigorous in intensity:- Pushing a grocery cart around a store
- Gardening, such as digging or hoeing that causes your heart rate to go up
- Walking, hiking, jogging, running
- Water aerobics or swimming laps
- Bicycling, skateboarding, rollerblading, and jumping rope
- Ballroom dancing and aerobic dancing
- Tennis, soccer, hockey, and basketball
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity has many health benefits. These benefits apply to people of all ages and races and both sexes.
For example, physical activity helps you maintain a healthy weight and makes it easier to do daily tasks, such as climbing stairs and shopping.
Physically active adults are at lower risk for depression and declines in cognitive function as they get older. (Cognitive function includes thinking, learning, and judgment skills.) Physically active children and teens may have fewer symptoms of depression than their peers.
Physical activity also lowers your risk for many diseases, such as coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, and cancer.
Many studies have shown the clear benefits of physical activity for your heart and lungs.
Capillaries, your body's tiny blood vessels, also widen. This allows them to deliver more oxygen to your body and carry away waste products.
Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle. Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture (break open). This causes a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque.
If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block blood flow through a coronary artery. Blocked blood flow to the heart muscle causes a heart attack.
Certain traits, conditions, or habits may raise your risk for CHD. Physical activity can help control some of these risk factors because it:
Vigorous aerobic activity may not be safe for people who have CHD. Ask your doctor what types of activity are safe for you.
For example, physical activity helps you maintain a healthy weight and makes it easier to do daily tasks, such as climbing stairs and shopping.
Physically active adults are at lower risk for depression and declines in cognitive function as they get older. (Cognitive function includes thinking, learning, and judgment skills.) Physically active children and teens may have fewer symptoms of depression than their peers.
Physical activity also lowers your risk for many diseases, such as coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, and cancer.
Many studies have shown the clear benefits of physical activity for your heart and lungs.
Physical Activity Strengthens Your Heart and Improves Lung Function
When done regularly, moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity strengthens your heart muscle. This improves your heart's ability to pump blood to your lungs and throughout your body. As a result, more blood flows to your muscles, and oxygen levels in your blood rise.Capillaries, your body's tiny blood vessels, also widen. This allows them to deliver more oxygen to your body and carry away waste products.
Physical Activity Reduces Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors
When done regularly, moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity can lower your risk for CHD. CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside your coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood.Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle. Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture (break open). This causes a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque.
If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block blood flow through a coronary artery. Blocked blood flow to the heart muscle causes a heart attack.
Certain traits, conditions, or habits may raise your risk for CHD. Physical activity can help control some of these risk factors because it:
- Can lower blood pressure and triglyceride (tri-GLIS-er-ide) levels. Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood.
- Can raise HDL cholesterol levels. HDL sometimes is called “good” cholesterol.
- Helps your body manage blood sugar and insulin levels, which lowers your risk for type 2 diabetes.
- Reduces levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in your body. This protein is a sign of inflammation. High levels of CRP may suggest an increased risk for CHD.
- Helps reduce overweight and obesity when combined with a reduced-calorie diet. Physical activity also helps you maintain a healthy weight over time once you have lost weight.
- May help you quit smoking. Smoking is a major risk factor for CHD.
Physical Activity Reduces Heart Attack Risk
For people who have CHD, aerobic activity done regularly helps the heart work better. It also may reduce the risk of a second heart attack in people who already have had heart attacks.Vigorous aerobic activity may not be safe for people who have CHD. Ask your doctor what types of activity are safe for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment