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November 21, 2005
The Third Great Exercise Secret For Building An Attack-Proof Heart
The third great secret to building an attack-free heart is to learn the art of controlled intensity.
Intensity simply refers to how hard you exercise. Intensity is what you should be monitoring and changing as you become fit. Remember, for any exercise program to continue to work over time, you must change something. If you perform the same exercise in the same way for more than a couple of weeks, your body has already adapted to the increased demands. You will cease to make any progress unless you challenge yourself further.
Many people increase the duration of exercise as they become more capable of exercising longer believing that they are building a stronger heart, but think about it. Your heart already has the ultimate endurance challenge –- it must beat all the time, even when you’re sleeping. Instead of working longer, strive to make your heart learn to pump more blood faster and harder for a short period of time.
You can use this principle safely as long as you increase the intensity in a controlled and gradual way. As your cardiac capacity increases, you can do more work without feeling any additional strain. If you walk or jog on a treadmill, about once a week you should pick up the pace a little or increase the slope by a little. If you’re pedaling a bicycle, you need to pedal a little faster or add a little resistance.
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Posted by james at November 21, 2005 6:22 AM