Moving Your Heart

Having spent my entire career as a warrior in the fight to promote cardiovascular health and fitness, I would like to offer a heart month challenge to all of my fellow warriors. Yes, that includes the entire spectrum from cardiologists to exercise physiologists, to physical educators, and to personal trainers. We have come a long way in the area of lifestyle, behavior change, and prevention. I have recently read several books that describe amazing breakthroughs in nutrition, mental health, and integrative medicine, but the sections on physical activity and exercise are pretty lame. I have been told by personal trainers at my gym that ‘cardio’ is a waste of time, and I there is a health and fitness “guru” on the internet that says people over age 55 should avoid ‘cardio’. Unless cardiovascular physiology has changed since I went to school (and that that would have been pretty big news), the heart benefits from aerobic exercise, which is why it is also called ‘cardio’. I get that any activity is better than no activity, and you should do what you enjoy. No argument here on either point, but we can do better than that. If you just had a heart attack, or have been diagnosed with diabetes or heart failure, or if you spend the majority of your recreation time playing video games, that might not be enough information. How much is enough? How much is too much? Why is it important? What should I be paying attention to? Should I go the weights or the treadmill? What should I do if I have chest pain or get short of breath? Can I do all 150 minutes at one time, or is it better to do 30 minutes per day? These are legitimate and important questions. There is more that one way, and certainly more than one opinion, but we are the experts. So my challenge is to go beyond the basic line of “just do something you enjoy” so that people can benefit from our knowledge and skills.