Tag Archives: athletes

Can 1 Minute of Exercise Possibly be Useful?

You may have noticed (or perhaps soon will) this article from the NY Times earlier today with an enticing headline: Only a single minute of high intensity exercise can replace 45 minutes of moderate exercise. This seems like good news for those of us who are always pressed for time to find time for exercise. But we need to delve into the details of this study before drawing broad conclusions about the optimal duration of exercise.

The study in question showed that an exercise routine using high intensity exercise for one minute of total duration (in a routine that took 10 minutes total including warmup and rest periods) had similar benefits to a longer routine of moderate exercise in this study group of 25 subjects. It suggests that incorporating intervals of high intensity exercise can shorten the amount of time needed to obtain long-lasting health benefits.

I do think this is an enticing concept and it is a very good reminder that adding interval training can be quite beneficial to our health and our fitness goals. But we need to remember why we advocate for physical activity for wellness and disease prevention. Exercise should not be a “bitter medicine” taken as quickly as possible, but should be considered a desired component of our day-to-day lifestyle. Therefore I think that moderate exercise, such as brisk or sustained walking, as well as light jogging, can have much broader benefits, such as improving our mental state, helping concentration and sleep, and of course improving our long-term health and disease prevention.

This article is certainly a useful reminder that adding intervals to exercise, for those of us who are physically able, can help us reach our fitness goals quicker and more successfully. However, these type of programs can also increase the risk of injury or worsen underlying medical conditions. Therefore, high intensity exercise regimens should only be undertaken with the guidance of a fitness professional, and for those with chronic heart or other medical conditions, with the approval of our personal physician or health care provider.

Here is the link to full article.

VIDEO: Which Exercise is Best for Preventing Heart Disease?

Exercise can make you feel younger. . . and function younger!

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Most of us are well aware of the benefits of regular exercise (certainly, regular readers of this blog should be!) While there is plenty of evidence of the the benefits of exercise for our heart and circulatory health, an interesting new study has taken this concept a bit further – it showed that older adults who are regular exercisers were not only healthier, but essentially “younger” – in other words, their bodies had the physiologic and mental attributes of someone who was younger. And, this not only included their athletic endurance, but things like mental acuity and reflexes. This study was in an unusual group of elderly folks who were fairly vigorous cyclists, but there is a good chance these findings would apply to all active elderly adults.

So while some aspects of normal “aging” may be inevitable, studies such as this show that staying active may not only make our bodies and minds feel younger, but possibly function younger! Here is a link to a nice summary of the study in the New York Times:

For some of our tips about starting and maintaining an exercise program see our previous article. And always remember, you should always check with your doctor to make sure that an exercise program is safe and beneficial for your specific health conditions.

HeartHealth Docs Road Show. . .Promoting healthy kids

Exercise – A Great Way to Multitask for Heart Health @CapCityHalf @OhioHealth

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Eight thousand two hundred fifty three runners completed Saturday’s 11th Cap City Half marathon, in addition to participants in the Patron Quarter Marathon and Commit to Be Fit 5K events. It was a great event for Ohio. The HeartHealth Doctors have posted information about heart function and exercise. Exercise such as running can be the ultimate way to multitask for heart health by managing stress, getting to or keeping goal weight, improving cholesterol profile, and reducing high blood pressure. Exercise has been shown to impact diabetes risk and can assist diabetes management. Research shows being more active is key to heart health; walking is an excellent way to exercise. Walking 10 minutes twice daily gets you close to the recommended guidelines for physical activity (150 minutes per week of moderate (means heart rate increases, but you can have a conversation)).

The American College of Cardiology’s Cardiosmart resource has great information about how to Move More. Being active directly impacts numerous risk factors for heart disease.

Heart Health professionals are responding to the evidence of heart health benefits of exercise and athletics. Sports Cardiology is a section of the American College of Cardiology and provides an area for Cardiovascular Specialists (doctors who treat heart and vascular disease) to help people be active. Someone wanting to be active could be a professional athlete, a young person, someone who participated in sports at school and now wants to return to competition, or patients who have completed cardiac rehabilitation programs and want to continue to develop their exercise regimen with the goal of improving their heart health. The membership in the Sports Cardiology section of the American College of Cardiology has grown from 150 in 2011 to > 4000 members. Cardiologists are working to promote the benefits of exercise, balanced with modifying/reducing risks athletes may face.

The half marathon run May 3 had an Ohio feel to it; weather ranging from cool temperature, warmer temperature, intermittent grey skies, intermittent rain, some sunshine. There were great crowds, creative signs for encouragement, good music from bands, DJ’s, and the help of many many volunteers. It was a well run event (!) and sets the stage for the U.S.A. Men’s and Women’s National Half Marathon Championships coming to Cap City in 2016, 2017. You don’t have to be a national champion runner to get benefit from exercise; use a tracker to check your steps (> 22,000 yesterday!), or commit to someone (or a group) who want/s to be more active. Yesterday ~11,955 total event participants at the Cap City Half / Patron Quarter Marathon / Commit to Be Fit 5K – did great heart health multitasking.

The Heart Health Doctors

Promoting heart and circulatory wellness through education