Create Your Ideal Cardiovascular Fitness Program: Moving the right way can keep your heart healthy

"If you are ready to start an exercise program, aerobic fitness is the place to begin," says Ellen Wilson, Physical Therapist and Director of Therapy Services at UCLA. "If you're already exercising and ready to pick up the pace, aerobic activities will improve the quality of your life and may even extend it."

Those wise words apply directly to longevity because aerobic activity can help reduce heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women.

Aerobic activities strengthen your cardiovascular system (heart, lungs, veins, arteries) through movement that is demanding enough, lasts long enough, and is performed often enough. All those "enoughs" are relative to your starting point. In general, the National Institute on Aging says that older adults should exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, five days a week. Aerobic activity, also called cardiovascular fitness, makes you sweat and gets your heart pumping. A good rule of thumb is that while you're doing the activity, you should be able to talk but not sing.

No matter your age, the body responds positively to exercise. If you're new to exercise, start slowly and build up. Sure, it can take some doing to get motivated. But it's worth it. Cardiovascular activities are a one-stop shop for a wide variety of health benefits, including increasing the efficiency of your vascular system, improving lung capacity, lowering blood pressure and blood sugar, reducing stress, improving mobility, and helping with weight management and cholesterol control. That's a lot of health benefits from just one type of activity.

Walking costs very little and can be done indoors or out. What's vital is having a good pair of shoes that are lightweight, provide cushion under the ball of the foot and the heel, room in the toe box, and some treads at the bottom to provide surface grip. Try shoes on at the end of the day, when your feet have naturally expanded a bit.

To make walking "aerobic" it needs to increase your breathing and heart rate. So, while a walk in the park is nice, you'll need to pick up the pace. Moving your arms helps increase your heart rate. Think brisk. A study from Stanford University found moderate-intensity walking can be just as beneficial as running (and it's easier on your joints). If you're on a treadmill, moderate is considered 3.0 to 3.5 miles per hour. Your pace may be more or less depending on your current fitness level. The 10,000-step program motivates millions of people to walk every day. Pedometers (step trackers) are inexpensive and great way to keep track of your progress.

Many things that you can do on land you can also do in a pool and water workouts have the benefit of being gentle on the joints. But don't be fooled by how simple it may appear. The resistance of water requires balance and helps build muscle tone, too. Most water classes are held in the shallow end of the pool, so knowing how to swim is not required. YMCAs offer a wide variety of pool programs, water aerobics, and aqua Zumba, and some have special underwater bicycles (Hydroriders) providing you with all the benefits of land-based spin classes, plus the bonus of balance and coordination needed to ride a bike underwater.

When it comes to heart-smart physical activity, anything goes, so long as you do it consistently and increase your heart rate. You can play doubles tennis one day, walk the next, and swim after that. It may take a few weeks for a new habit to stick, but give it a good chance. The body loves movement. You will feel better, stronger, and more positive for having moved in a way that is challenging and joyful to you.

"Create Your Ideal Cardiovascular Fitness Program: Moving the right way can keep your heart healthy." Healthy Years, Sept. 2018, p. 5. Health & Wellness Resource Center,http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A551870911/HWRC?u=pwpls_remote&sid=HWRC&xid=95222f34. Accessed 19 Apr. 2019. Adapted.

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