Walking for Fitness

Effects of chronic exercise on the heart and circulatory system with aerobic exercise over at least 6 weeks

1. Can increase the size of the heart and make it stronger (Athlete's heart-larger, strong heart may result.) 2. Promotes collateral circulation - "EXTRA" blood vessels. This gives the heart more blood for its own use. 3. Increases cardiac output - more blood pumped per unit of time 4. Lowers the resting HR - heart works less, therefore it rests more. This places less stress/strain on the heart. 5. Increases the efficiency of the heart - more blood, less work 6. Increase the stroke volume - more blood per heartbeat 7. Increases the muscle tone of the heart 8. Increases blood volume, therefore red blood cells, therefore the oxygen pumping capacity of the heart. 9. Increases the number of capillaries available for use in the muscles, therefore a person can work harder, longer, with less strain. 10. Can burn up fat in the blood, causing less fat to be deposited in the arteries, thereby reducing the triglyceride and/or cholesterol levels in the blood.

How to reduce risks of coronary heart disease

1. Reduce your cholesterol - cut back or eliminate red meat from your diet 2. Avoidance of behavior pattern A (this person hates to wait, is impatient, aggressive, excitable, etc.) 3. Chronic aerobic exercise for a lifetime 4. Quit smoking 5. Watch your weight, especially your body fat content - Obesity may be the leading cause of death in the US in the future.

Exercise - Duraration

30-40-60 minutes per session - some new guidelines say that we should be exercising 60-90 minutes per day - This means minutes of exercise, not including the stretching, warming up and cooling off. Again, you should work up to the appropriate time so as not to injure yourself.

Exercise - Intensity - target Heart Rate

= 220 - age X .75 is a quick and easy way to estimate how hard you should exercise. Another, perhaps better method is 208 - (.7 X age) and then exercise hard enough to get your heart rate between 55% and 90% of that number. You want to try to keep your heart rate at approximately this rate while you are exercising. If you keep it lower, you may not get the training effect you seek. If you keep it higher, you may put too much strain on your heart. If you can't carry on a conversation while you are walking/running, the intensity is too high for your current level of fitness

Age and Heart Disease

A study was made of some of the dead soldiers brought back from the Korean War. The average age was 22. More than 77% of these men had arteriosclerosis. One study said that EVERYONE over the age of 12 in the United States has at least one coronary heart disease factor that is already significantly developing. This includes you. What are you going to do about it?

Aerobic vs Anaerobic Exercise

AEROBIC exercise is more efficient than ANAEROBIC exercise. In other words, one can exercise or work longer if he is working aerobically.

Physically fit

Being physically fit will NOT necessarily mean that you will live longer. You might get run over by a car. But being physically fit will give you a better chance of living longer. And, what life you have, will usually be of a higher quality, since you will feel better. Smoking will not NECESSARILY give you lung cancer. But, you will have a better chance of getting it if you do smoke. The same principle works with being fit. You will have a better chance to live longer if you are fit.

Principle of Progression

Don't try to get "in shape" overnight. Start light and work your way to more vigorous exercise

Theories of Heart Disease - Fibrin Deposit Theory

Fibrin is a sticky, thread-like substance that is important in the clotting of blood. It is also thought to be important in the development of coronary heart disease. Fibrin is thought to help the cholesterol "stick" to the walls of the blood vessels. Exercise is thought to reduce the build up of fibrin, making the blood LESS sticky or at least keep it from doing so much damage. One article stated that this might be the reason so many heart attacks happen in the morning. The blood tends to clot easier earlier in the day. For this reason, the article cautioned smokers to reduce or eliminate smoking earlier in the day, since smoking also tends to cause the blood to clot easier

Cumulative Effects of Exercise

More recent research has indicated that daily exercise is cumulative - that is, you don't have to exercise 30 minutes at a time to have a beneficial effect - 10 minutes of exercise, 3 times a day will also help your physical condition, thereby helping your chances of living longer. This type of exercise will probably NOT use fat as the energy source, since the exercise doesn't last long enough... however, according to some of the recent statements, it will have a beneficial effect on your health. It's SO important to do SOMETHING. It's been said, "It's better to wear out than to rust out."

Weight Loss

The ONLY way to lose weight naturally is to burn off more calories that you are taking in. There are actually three ways of doing this.

Theories of Heart Disease - Collateral Circulation Theory

The heart needs blood and oxygen in order to function. It receives blood for its own uses during the resting phase of its cycle. If the main arteries of the heart are clogged up with fatty build up, the amount of blood and oxygen will be reduced. (This is why some people have to have bypass surgery, to bypass these blockages.) If a person exercises at the right intensity and over a long enough period of time, it is possible for his heart to develop "extra" small arteries which help to deliver more blood and oxygen to the heart. This is important especially when the heart is under stress, due to exercise, stress or any other such situation. The main arteries may be partially closed up and the heart may still be getting enough blood due to these extra arteries

Weight Loss - Combination of dieting and exercise

This is the best method of losing weight. The weight you lose will be mostly fat, especially after the first few weeks. You will lose little, if any, of your muscle mass. Therefore, you will not get flabby. However, most weight loss programs are not successful. This is due to the fact that one must change their behavior over an extended period of time. Notice how many people lose weight, and then gain it back again. They start doing the same things they were doing that got them fat in the first place, not exercising and eating too much. The behavior must be permanent changed in order for the weight loss to be permanent. If a drug user is put into a treatment program, he or she may be able to get off drug. You didn't get fat in one week; you won't get slim in one week either. Take your time; get some PROFESSIONAL advice, perhaps even medical advice before you start on some type of drastic, expensive diet. As stated above, the BEST method of losing weight is to BURN OFF MORE THAN YOU TAKE IN. This is BEST accomplished by a combination of DIET AND EXERCISE.

Exercise - Intensity

You need to work at your target heart rate

Atherosclerosis

a type of arteriosclerosis where fatty deposits build up in the blood vessels. This can cause several problems, one of which may be that a piece of fat may break off and clog up or block the blood flow in a vessel

Health Related Components - Cardio-Respiratory or Cardiovascular Endurance

ability of heart, circulatory system and lungs to continue to supply body with blood and oxygen

Health Related Components - Muscular Endurance

ability to continue to exert force, either a continuous force or a repetitive force over a period of time

Exercise - Frequency

an absolute minimum of 3 times per week - some new guidelines say that we should exercise 7 days a week for fitness and weight reduction. You should work up to it slowly so as not to have overuse injuries

Framington, Mass. Study

another important study, classified men as to their physical activity. The less active group had almost twice as high an incidence of coronary heart disease as the group who were at least moderately active. Brunner conducted a study at a kibbutz in Israel. In this study, the sedentary people had 2.5 to 4 times as high a rate of coronary heart disease as the active people. Most variables were the same except for exercise. Prominent epidemiologist Dr. Ralph Paffenbarger's classic study examining Harvard University alumni and their exercise habits gave the public even more information on the effects of exercise and heart disease. His research showed that Harvard alumni who expended 2,000 or more calories a week exercising had 39 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease than their less active classmates (look at study guide)

Weight Loss - Diet

by eating less, you are taking in fewer calories. Therefore, if you maintain your current level of activity, you will lose weight through eating less. HOWEVER, when you lose weight this way, a lot of the weight you will lose will be water, plus you will lose some protein. In other words, you will lose some of your muscle mass. If you gain it back, which people usually do, you will probably gain back fat. This is why people who continually diet and gain it back get flabby. Also, water loss is easily gained back. Look at the football player who may lose 20-30 pounds in a game, and then gains it back overnight

Anaerobic Exercise

exercise performed at such a rate that the heart and lungs CANNOT supply the body with enough oxygen for aerobic metabolism, so the body switches to anaerobic metabolism. This metabolism creates 2 molecules of ATP per cycle. This type of exercise does NOT promote a lowered resting heart rate, lower respiration, increased cardiovascular endurance, etc., as does aerobic exercise

Aerobic Exercise

exercise performed at such a rate that the person's heart and lungs CAN supply the body with enough outside oxygen to continue aerobic metabolism. This metabolism creates 32-33 molecules of ATP per cycle. The body uses this ATP as its most immediate energy source

Arteriosclerosis

hardening of the arteries. The arteries get hard, and are not flexible. Inflexible arteries tend to make the blood pressure go up and cause other problems. They can rupture more easily than flexible arteries

Intensity of the exercise

how hard you are working

Duration of the exercise

how long it lasts

Principle of Use and Disuse

if you don't use it, you'll lose it. You MUST continue to exercise in order to maintain your conditioning. If you don't continue to exercise, your muscles will start to atrophy or shrink. This can occur as soon as one-and-a-half weeks after a person stops training or being physically active. Within two weeks of stopping an exercise program, an individual can lose up to 80 percent of his/her gains.

Principle of Specificity

if you want strength, you must work on strength activities. If you want endurance, you must work on endurance. Think about it, you don't get better in history by studying math. ☺

Obesity - Overeating

is associated with obesity in 3.2% of cases examined

Obesity - Inactivity

is associated with obesity in 67.5% of cases examined

Reducing emotion stress

is very important in preventing coronary heart disease. This is why people are urged to slow down and "smell the roses" every so often. Stress can kill you just as dead as a gun. It doesn't have to be the tremendous, life-threatening situations that cause deadly stress. For the most part, it is the little, everyday items that cause the stress that will kill you. Be careful. Slow down. You may have seen articles about this "Type A" personality and heart disease. However, this doesn't mean that if you are "laid back" that you won't have heart disease. There are a multitude of factors involved in heart disease

Theories of Heart Disease - Lipid Deposit Theory

lipids are liquid fats in the blood such as cholesterol and triglycerides. They are known to stick to the insides of the blood vessels and cause problems. Exercise, along with the correct diet, can reduce the amount of lipids in the blood, with a corresponding reduction in the chance for heart disease. One study showed that 6 months of exercise (walking, in this instance) reduced the level of triglycerides in the blood by 40%

Health Related Components - Muscular Strength

maximal amount of force that can be exerted one time

Morris Study

one of the most famous studies concerning physical exercise and its relationship to coronary heart disease. He looked at bus drivers and bus conductors on the London bus system. He also compared the postmen who walked and delivered the mail and those who stayed in the post office and stuffed mail into boxes. The more active people had significantly less heart disease than their sedentary counterparts

Health Related Components - Flexibility

range of motion at a given joint. Authorities are beginning to think that flexibility is more important than strength in preventing injuries. This might be the most overlooked fitness component, since you cannot see flexibility

Examples of Anaerobic

sprinting, jogging fast, bike riding fast, etc

Theories of Heart Disease - Oxygen Pump Theory

the heart serves as a pump, to pump oxygen to the rest of the body. The better shape we can get our heart, the more oxygen it can pump. In this manner, it can better meet our normal needs and most emergency needs

Health Related Components - Body Composition

the percentage of your body that is fat. This puts many different kinds of stress on your body, especially the heart. The Height-Weight Charts that you have seen are NOT really good indicators of how fit you are. This is just an estimation based upon some possibly questionable statistics. A man who is 6'3" and weighs 270 would be grossly overweight according to these charts. Yet, the man's percent body fat could possibly be less than the average man's, and in this case, Randy White, a former defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, was in the lower part of the "ideal" body fat percentage for men. It is not how heavy you are, it is how fat you are. A person could be "underweight" and "over-fat". A person could be "overweight" and actually have so little fat that he could be unhealthy. There is some concern that the "body builders" you see on television have lost too much fat off their bodies

Weight Loss - Exercise

through exercise, you will burn off more calories. Therefore, if you maintain your current caloric intake, you will lose weight through burning off more calories. This weight will be mostly fat, but it is a longer process, since fat is burned off at a fairly slow rate, unless the exercise is fairly strenuous. But, you will not get flabby.

Examaples of Aerobic Exercise

walking, jogging, bike riding, etc

Physical condition of the subject

what is aerobic to a fit person may be anaerobic to a person who is less fit

Chronic Exercise

will usually have positive benefits on your blood pressure also. Usually the blood pressure will come down. But if it doesn't come down, it will usually at least stay the same or not rise as fast. People with high blood pressure are usually instructed to lose some weight, reduce their intake of salt and exercise aerobically

Theories of Heart Disease - Protective Protein Theory

you have VLDL's, LDLs and HDL's in your blood. They are Very Low Density, Low-Density and High-Density Lipo-proteins. Studies show that the HDL's are the "GOOD GUYS" and are better for you, since they carry less cholesterol. The HDL's tend to be carried to the liver where they are metabolized or burned up. The LDL's tend to be deposited in the blood vessels where they can cause damage by building up fat deposits. One can usually reduce the amount of VLDL's and LDL's in the blood through exercise and diet restriction, although in some cases drugs may be required. Exercise tends to increase the levels of HDL's in the blood

Theories of Heart Disease - Loafer's Heart Theory

you have two components of the autonomic nervous system, 1) Sympathetic - serves to excite or raise the levels of various organs in the body 2) Parasympathetic - serves to lower or inhibit the functions of various organs. If the heart is "ruled" by the sympathetic component, as is the case in unfit people, it will be affected more by an (look at SG)

Overload Principle

you must put more stress on your body than it is normally used to, in order for your body to adjust to the exercise. If you quit exercising, you will lose part and possibly ALL of your conditioning