Every February, your heart is at the center of attention. With Valentine’s Day, the importance of loving, sharing that love and expressing it is reflected in ads from jewelry stores to candy stands and car dealers.

However, without heart health, what good is candy, flowers or that snazzy sports car? This month, why not turn your focus inward, to being your own Valentine and watching over your own heart health? Our parents and grandparents didn’t think much about their cardiovascular health and how to protect it but now, people well into their 70’s and beyond are looking for ways to improve their cardiovascular fitness and help protect this critical, life sustaining organ.

How about we take some confusion out of some basic terms? In its simplest form, the word cardiovascular means ‘pertains to the heart and blood vessels’. Another term you may hear a lot in conjunction with heart health is aerobic, which means ‘with oxygen’; in exercise parlance it’s activity that improves oxygen consumption by the body. When your heart is in top condition, it circulates oxygen more efficiently and supports the other critical body systems effectively. Aerobic exercise supports cardiovascular health and should be a key component in your daily routine.

Since we are all different with individual challenges and needs, the first rule when thinking about an exercise program is to respect your body and use it (like a personal feedback system) to help you determine what kind of aerobic activity, and at what level, is right for you.

Before starting any exercise or activity, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor. He or she can give you specific recommendations regarding heart rate limits and other important information based on your age and physical condition.

When you expend any effort at all, whether it’s walking your child to the bus stop, mowing the lawn, loading groceries in your car or walking up the stairs, you increase the heart’s workload. If you walk with a sack of groceries, the laundry basket or a bucket of dirt for the garden (any external weight), you boost the body’s work. We in the fitness industry called this workload ‘intensity’.

The muscle we call the heart has a workload, too. It repeatedly expands and contracts, drawing blood in and then pushing it out again, like opening and closing your fist. The number of times your heart muscle contracts is your heart rate in beats per minute (frequently abbreviated to bpm). It may now make sense to use your body as that biofeedback gauge, as you realize why your heart beats faster (increased bpm) when you run up a flight of stairs, carry a heavy load to the garage, or shovel snow.

With this newfound knowledge, you can introduce, alter or tune your daily activities to help keep your heart healthy, or reach optimal performance if you already are in good physical condition. If you are new to aerobic exercise, you should focus on staying in the healthy heart range by starting slow with a simple walk. Your heart will be happy! Think of it as a Valentine sent to you!

You can increase the intensity (walking faster, walking up a hill or walking while making big arm movements) if you wish as you improve. Gauge your progress with your internal feedback system, and using the Rate of Perceived Exertion

Be sure you can speak very easily and carry on a long conversation while moving (Fitness professionals call this the talk test). Continued...

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If you are a swimmer, you can easily increase your cardiovascular benefits by foregoing laps and creating fun workouts including sprints, use of fins or pull buoys, trying new strokes and timing yourself – increasing intensity again, by moving faster or using a stroke like the butterfly that employs more muscle strength. Your talk test should leave you able to speak, a bit winded at times.

Intervals are a fun way to spice up your exercise for those in top shape; it keeps the body guessing and you in your heart rate training zone. On an outdoor stroll, try skipping from telephone pole to telephone pole, walking fast with arm swings and running full out for 30 seconds. For you, your talk test results in ability to speak, but not comfortably in a long conversation.

True cardiovascular fitness can be a way of life for everyone. Follow these 3 C’s: self Care, Consistency, and Commitment and you will be well on your way to honoring your heart, this month and for years to come.

Linda T. Gottlieb is a nationally certified personal and cancer exercise trainer, master fitness motivator and author of “No Ifs Ands or Butts -Turing the Top 10 Exercise Excuses into Fitness Triumphs www.fittraining.net www.fitchicksrule.net. She can be reached at Linda@fittraining.net or 203-877-5270.

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Every February, your heart is at the center of attention. With Valentine’s Day, the importance of loving, sharing that love and expressing it is reflected in ads from jewelry stores to candy stands and car dealers.

However, without heart health, what good is candy, flowers or that snazzy sports car? This month, why not turn your focus inward, to being your own Valentine and watching over your own heart health? Our parents and grandparents didn’t think much about their cardiovascular health and how to protect it but now, people well into their 70’s and beyond are looking for ways to improve their cardiovascular fitness and help protect this critical, life sustaining organ.

How about we take some confusion out of some basic terms? In its simplest form, the word cardiovascular means ‘pertains to the heart and blood vessels’. Another term you may hear a lot in conjunction with heart health is aerobic, which means ‘with oxygen’; in exercise parlance it’s activity that improves oxygen consumption by the body. When your heart is in top condition, it circulates oxygen more efficiently and supports the other critical body systems effectively. Aerobic exercise supports cardiovascular health and should be a key component in your daily routine.

Since we are all different with individual challenges and needs, the first rule when thinking about an exercise program is to respect your body and use it (like a personal feedback system) to help you determine what kind of aerobic activity, and at what level, is right for you.

Before starting any exercise or activity, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor. He or she can give you specific recommendations regarding heart rate limits and other important information based on your age and physical condition.

When you expend any effort at all, whether it’s walking your child to the bus stop, mowing the lawn, loading groceries in your car or walking up the stairs, you increase the heart’s workload. If you walk with a sack of groceries, the laundry basket or a bucket of dirt for the garden (any external weight), you boost the body’s work. We in the fitness industry called this workload ‘intensity’.

The muscle we call the heart has a workload, too. It repeatedly expands and contracts, drawing blood in and then pushing it out again, like opening and closing your fist. The number of times your heart muscle contracts is your heart rate in beats per minute (frequently abbreviated to bpm). It may now make sense to use your body as that biofeedback gauge, as you realize why your heart beats faster (increased bpm) when you run up a flight of stairs, carry a heavy load to the garage, or shovel snow.

With this newfound knowledge, you can introduce, alter or tune your daily activities to help keep your heart healthy, or reach optimal performance if you already are in good physical condition. If you are new to aerobic exercise, you should focus on staying in the healthy heart range by starting slow with a simple walk. Your heart will be happy! Think of it as a Valentine sent to you!

You can increase the intensity (walking faster, walking up a hill or walking while making big arm movements) if you wish as you improve. Gauge your progress with your internal feedback system, and using the Rate of Perceived Exertion

Be sure you can speak very easily and carry on a long conversation while moving (Fitness professionals call this the talk test).

If you are a swimmer, you can easily increase your cardiovascular benefits by foregoing laps and creating fun workouts including sprints, use of fins or pull buoys, trying new strokes and timing yourself – increasing intensity again, by moving faster or using a stroke like the butterfly that employs more muscle strength. Your talk test should leave you able to speak, a bit winded at times.

Intervals are a fun way to spice up your exercise for those in top shape; it keeps the body guessing and you in your heart rate training zone. On an outdoor stroll, try skipping from telephone pole to telephone pole, walking fast with arm swings and running full out for 30 seconds. For you, your talk test results in ability to speak, but not comfortably in a long conversation.

True cardiovascular fitness can be a way of life for everyone. Follow these 3 C’s: self Care, Consistency, and Commitment and you will be well on your way to honoring your heart, this month and for years to come.

Linda T. Gottlieb is a nationally certified personal and cancer exercise trainer, master fitness motivator and author of “No Ifs Ands or Butts -Turing the Top 10 Exercise Excuses into Fitness Triumphs www.fittraining.net www.fitchicksrule.net. She can be reached at Linda@fittraining.net or 203-877-5270.

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