Your Heart, Your Health ? Living Well @ UHN

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It?s the beginning of a great month so if January has been a struggle, HAKUNA MATATA it can only get better from here! We?ve had nice weather (knock on wood), we?ve been focused or working hard at our fitness and health goals for a whole month now, and to top it off, February is heart month! ?There couldn?t be a better time to amp up your physical activity, eat more fruits and vegetables, try new healthy recipes and exercise classes, and lastly compete against or bond with your co-workers for the most motivation this month!??

For February we are offering a lunch time walking group Mondays and Wednesdays, and for a little higher intensity, your one and only will be teaching Group Strength and Boxercise classes once a week. For more information, contact the wellness center! ?BONUS, when you attend the walking group 75 % of the time or 12 of the 16 walks you get a FREE water bottle! ? ? So, now who wants to get moving?!

Yes, I am trying to persuade you into trying new things, and to raise awareness on the benefits of being healthy and fit especially the benefits for your heart. ?By making these healthy changes you?re decreasing your chances of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and many other risks. You are helping improve your bodies metabolic efficiencies, such as putting less stress on your heart every beat, decreasing or normalizing blood pressure, decreasing the stress on bones, joints and ligaments, improving your posture, decreasing the chances of low back pain, improving your body image, self- esteem, having better sleeps, improving you mood and many, many more, the list could go on forever! ?

But what specifically is it about staying healthy that benefits your heart? ?Well, I?ll explain the effects of exercise to you!

• #1 exercise ? your cardiovascular system pumps blood through your body with oxygen and nutrients which gives you energy and is especially important because:??
• ?Improved circulation is one plus! A nasty problem with decreased circulation is varicose veins. ?Yes, those weakened veins through your lower legs that some of us get. ?Exercising helps prevent this by pumping the blood back up to your heart instead of letting the blood pool in your calves. ?Try doing calf raises to help this! ?Also with poor circulation you?re more likely to have blood clots, cold feet and hands, and numbness and more susceptible to infections in different areas of your body.??
• You should get your blood pumping because when you improve your cardiovascular fitness eventually you decrease your resting, and submaximal heart rate. ?This is great because your heart doesn?t have to work as hard to get the blood pumping throughout the body at rest or during exercise (therefore you won?t feel so tired!), and in the long run can help decrease your chances of a heart attack or stroke.??
• ?Another reason to be exercising and training is to get strong! Not only do your muscles look nice, and daily living becomes easier, but your muscles become more efficient including your heart! ?Meaning that when you increase the size of your heart, you allow your heart to pump more blood by having more forceful contractions, with a lower resting heart rate.

Basically the heart is how we?re living, so we need to cherish it and by starting today, we?re all working towards a better, healthy heart. ?

Next week, I?m going to be blogging about what has worked for me in the past, and what steps I needed and still do need to succeed. ?So please everyone, let me know what has been saving you for the past month! ?I?d love to hear from you! ?Hopefully some of my successes can be yours! Also, food tips, and what?s better for a healthy heart will be shared next week as well! Stay Tuned!

p.s. Really, the body is amazing and if you?re interested in knowing more about your heart and how to improve your cardio, leave me a comment, and we can go over what?s most important to you, and how you can help your body.

Bye for now!

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Source: http://livingwellatuhn.com/2012/02/06/your-heart-your-health/

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