Exercise and Your Heart Health?
Your health and how much you exercise should be something to consider no matter what stage you are in life. If you think about it in a way that a body in motion, stays in motion – it makes perfect sense. As you start to age, it becomes more difficult to keep a great physique, but that does not mean that it is impossible.
Age Doesn’t Matter
Age does not really have anything to do with exercising because to say that an elderly person should limit their exercise is a fib. For those individuals over fifty – they should honestly exercise as much as they can. This does not have to be huge, grueling workouts as if they were training for an Ironman Race – but daily activity is great! It will keep the blood flowing and heart rate elevated, help burn calories – but also will help anyone’s mood improve. They will feel much happier because exercising releases endorphins.
Aerobic Exercising and Physical Activity
Hey, housework and walking fit under this category, and who can say they don’t grocery shop or clean? Maintaining the yard, parking a little further away from the store, or perhaps going on a bicycle ride around the neighborhood for twenty minutes a day is something that one can squeeze in. There are many ways to incorporate light exercise into and daily regimen without making someone feel like they are ‘working out.’
Strengthening Muscles
Swimming and lightweight lifting can help reduce inflammatory diseases like arthritis and can greatly reduce the chance of diabetes, obesity, or osteoporosis. Exercise bands are a consideration as well because they come in a variety of resistance levels for different individuals.
Stretching and Breathing
Learning new stretching and breathing techniques is another thing that everyone should consider. Not only can they teach you how to become one with yourself, but you can also reduce stress, anxiety, build lung capacity, as well as tone the body and increases mobility/flexibility.
The question should never be how much should I exercise, rather than how can I readjust my daily regimen to incorporate more exercise to maximize my health both physically and mentally.
Giovanni B. Ciuffo, MD – Director, Minimally Invasive and Bloodless Heart Surgery Program
Dr. Ciuffo’s expertise in Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery and Bloodless Heart Surgery is the result of a career dedicated to the development and improvement of these techniques. He currently runs a busy Cardiothoracic Surgery practice and directs a dedicated Minimally Invasive and Bloodless Heart Surgery Program at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, OH.
