Stress can be an important matter in the course of heart disease. Stress increases the secretion of adrenaline which acts on the blood vessels to narrow them and thereby returns more blood to the heart, increasing the load. It also permits cholesterol to be removed from the tissues into the blood. The reticular activating system (RAS) can be kept permanently active by stress, increasing the tendency to react angrily and the risk of heart disease. Reduction of heart disease risks can be reduced by exercise if managed well.
The natural morphine-like chemicals in the body, known as endorphins, are stimulated by aerobic exercise, which by its definition can be maintained for a length of time. Endorphins cause the arteries to dilate and produce the runners' high which can improve our mood and make us feel upbeat. Aerobic exercise, if performed at around Borg Scale point 13 of perceived exertion, is effective in reducing the risks of cardiac disease. However, squash which involves competitive and sudden bursts of exercise could be counterproductive in terms of increasing levels of stress.
Starting Aerobic Exercise Starting is so easy! And so full of promise yet so full of potentially negative consequences. If we want to be aerobically more fit it is useful to plan the process so we do not run into the barriers straight away. The first thing to think about is our goals as without them how can we know if we have been successful? After all, what does being fitter mean in practical terms? If we are not very clear about what we are trying to achieve and look at the obstacles to our progress before we start we are more likely to fail through motivation, lack of persistence, lack of clarity or injury.
The setting of a clear goal is a first and vital point in the successful planning of an aerobic exercise programme or indeed any activity beyond the most simple. Vague goals are not useful and good goals might be to run continuously for 40 minutes, lose two stone, swim for a mile or cycle for an hour without stopping. Your goals will likely be different but they should be precise enough so that the targets for achievement are clear, you can measure your success against them and that they could just as easily be followed by someone else. The business method of comparing your goals against the SMART standard is useful to see if they are specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time limited. This will make success more likely to occur.
After deciding the goals are SMART the next choice is the form which the aerobic exercise will consist of. Swimming is an obvious good candidate as there is little or no bodily stress due to the support of the water and aerobic training is easily achieved. Cycling can be good in the absence of hip, knee and low back pain. Jogging or running is easy to perform but imposes significant jarring stresses on the body and may not suit all, making fast walking a good choice especially if you are starting off at a lower level of fitness to start with.
The key point is that you should like the activity, or at the very least not dislike it! If someone advises you to go swimming and you don't like swimming in general, you might start off doing it but sometime soon you will give up as your heart's not in it. Choose something you can live with over time, as fitness takes time to develop and needs to be maintained for best effect. That will make it more likely you will stick to it and there will be enough challenges ahead without giving yourself any more.
With experience I have found that the most effective method of managing these difficulties is to use the pacing system of activity and exercise. It is not enough to guess the tissue tolerances of yourself or a patient when you are planning to start or increase their exercise levels. Guessing can lead to mistakes in judging the intensity of exercise and result in soreness, pain or injury. Progress can be continually stymied by this approach and pacing, though simple in idea, needs practice and supervision, covered in another article. - 14130
The natural morphine-like chemicals in the body, known as endorphins, are stimulated by aerobic exercise, which by its definition can be maintained for a length of time. Endorphins cause the arteries to dilate and produce the runners' high which can improve our mood and make us feel upbeat. Aerobic exercise, if performed at around Borg Scale point 13 of perceived exertion, is effective in reducing the risks of cardiac disease. However, squash which involves competitive and sudden bursts of exercise could be counterproductive in terms of increasing levels of stress.
Starting Aerobic Exercise Starting is so easy! And so full of promise yet so full of potentially negative consequences. If we want to be aerobically more fit it is useful to plan the process so we do not run into the barriers straight away. The first thing to think about is our goals as without them how can we know if we have been successful? After all, what does being fitter mean in practical terms? If we are not very clear about what we are trying to achieve and look at the obstacles to our progress before we start we are more likely to fail through motivation, lack of persistence, lack of clarity or injury.
The setting of a clear goal is a first and vital point in the successful planning of an aerobic exercise programme or indeed any activity beyond the most simple. Vague goals are not useful and good goals might be to run continuously for 40 minutes, lose two stone, swim for a mile or cycle for an hour without stopping. Your goals will likely be different but they should be precise enough so that the targets for achievement are clear, you can measure your success against them and that they could just as easily be followed by someone else. The business method of comparing your goals against the SMART standard is useful to see if they are specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time limited. This will make success more likely to occur.
After deciding the goals are SMART the next choice is the form which the aerobic exercise will consist of. Swimming is an obvious good candidate as there is little or no bodily stress due to the support of the water and aerobic training is easily achieved. Cycling can be good in the absence of hip, knee and low back pain. Jogging or running is easy to perform but imposes significant jarring stresses on the body and may not suit all, making fast walking a good choice especially if you are starting off at a lower level of fitness to start with.
The key point is that you should like the activity, or at the very least not dislike it! If someone advises you to go swimming and you don't like swimming in general, you might start off doing it but sometime soon you will give up as your heart's not in it. Choose something you can live with over time, as fitness takes time to develop and needs to be maintained for best effect. That will make it more likely you will stick to it and there will be enough challenges ahead without giving yourself any more.
With experience I have found that the most effective method of managing these difficulties is to use the pacing system of activity and exercise. It is not enough to guess the tissue tolerances of yourself or a patient when you are planning to start or increase their exercise levels. Guessing can lead to mistakes in judging the intensity of exercise and result in soreness, pain or injury. Progress can be continually stymied by this approach and pacing, though simple in idea, needs practice and supervision, covered in another article. - 14130
About the Author:
Jonathan Blood Smyth, editor of the Physiotherapy Site, writes articles about Physiotherapy, back pain, orthopaedic conditions, neck pain, injury management and physiotherapists in Edinburgh. Jonathan is a superintendant physiotherapist at an NHS hospital in the South-West of the UK.
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