How Cardio Interval Training Will Benefit You
November 25th, 2008 | by Clare |
The causes of heart disease can be divided into 2 groups : Those that can be controlled such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc, and those not of our own making such as genes, ages, sex etc. To narrow it down, tests have shown that the highest risk group is male, +35, smoking, overweight, high blood pressure and with a family history of heart problems. In fact, if you smoke your risk is double that of a nonsmoker. With all the above its 5 times higher. So what do you have to do before you find yourself with a triple bypass?
There are only two ingredients required to improve the odds and make your heart work long and well - a healthy diet and exercise. What? no stunning revelation? Yes, this is a simple but proven formula for a happy heart and life, yet the majority of people are too busy to give their health a second thought, and as a result make the sickness industry worth one trillion dollars!
A healthy lifestyle while you are young will see you enjoy a much better quality of life when you are old. Wouldn’t you still like to be independent when you are 70, rather than in a wheelchair or bedridden? And it does not require you to be strict or rigid, just disciplined. All it takes is moderation, which, as far as I am concerned, is the secret to success. Enjoy whatever you like, but in small amounts. Another secret is to remember that you are not immortal, life is but a blink of an eye. I know this sounds all heavy but the correct mindset is so important.
In terms of exercise the best form is the cardio interval training. Your heart is a muscle, or actually a network of muscles, and what keeps muscles healthy and functional? you guessed it, exercise. An interesting test done previously on bus drivers and conductors showed the drivers to have a greater percentage of heart problems than the conductors. Why? Drivers, basically are in one position the whole day while the conductors are moving around the whole day, up the stairs, down the stairs, walking around the bus constantly. Exercise improves blood flow to the heart, and consequently
to the whole body. The effects are obvious - better, healthier all round functionality of your system with less problems and therefore with less chance of breaking down.
The bottom line is that exercise has a direct effect on the state of your heart. Tests have proven that those who do no exercise at all have a 49% greater chance of a heart attack than those who partake in even simple, light exercise. Let me spell that out, forty nine percent! If that does not give you a wake up call you are already dead!
Cardio interval training is rated as the best form of exercise and endorsed by fitness experts such as Craig Ballantyne, regular consultant to Men’s Health magazine. It is basically short, intense, repeated bursts of activity and results have shown it to be much more significant than long, slow, boring cardio workouts. Also why its so highly rated is that its not only great for your heart but also your overall wellbeing.