Back To School and Back To Health Part 3 - Exercise

Staying physically active is vital to staying healthy especially as we age.

Cardiovascular Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise - sometimes called aerobic exercise - is needed to keep your heart healthy. Remember your heart is a muscle and needs to be exercised to be kept strong. You should talk to your doctor before starting any sort of exercise program first though.

Basically cardiovascular exercise works by strengthening your heart so that it contracts more strongly and can pump more blood with each heart beat. This way your heart doesn't have to beat as many times per minute.

Examples of cardiovascular exercise include walking, running, swimming and jump roping. Anything that gets your large muscles moving and your heart working harder.

Many people buy heart rate monitors such as those by Polar to keep track of their heart rate. They usually consist of a band you place around your chest and come with a wrist band that displays your heart rate. by using a heart rate monitor you can keep track of how hard your heart is working when you exercise.

Strength Training

Strength training is also an important type of exercise to stay healthy. As people age we tend to lose muscle mass so it is important to keep our muscles working.

If you enjoy going to a gym they are a great way to get access to many different types of exercise equipment to strengthen your muscles. If not, there are many other ways to engage in strength training exercise at home.

Some people buy equipment for home use like the Total Gym, which you see advertised on T.V. a lot. Less expensive options include using free weights or exercise bands or tubes.

If you need help using this equipment many local community recreation centers have personal trainers with affordable rates. For many people 3-5 sessions is all that is needed to help you to set up a strength training program personalized for your needs.

Flexibility

It is also important to do some type of stretching or flexibility exercise. Good examples of these include yoga and tai chi. These help to keep you more flexible, can improve balance and are relaxing to the mind and body.

Now that you are sleeping better, eating right and have established a fitness routine - relax!

Trisha M. has a B.S. in Psychology and a M.S. in Biochemistry and writes about numerous topics in health and science. She maintains and writes a ideasforwomen.com/news Women's Health blog at her site ideasforwomen.com IdeasForWomen.com.