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Journalism of Courage
Written by Dr Hemant Madan
As a practising cardiologist, my discussion with patients often hovers around how they should exercise to get to their desired weight and cardio-vascular functioning. Many ask me if physical activity only counts if you do it for long periods of time. Some even over-stretch themselves. Fact: You don’t need to be active for long periods to stay fit.
I find that if a patient pushes himself to extreme levels of exercise, his motivation level quickly dies down and he kind of gives up easier than a patient who indulges in moderate levels of exercise. But exercise five to six days a week. You could include about 30 minutes of exercise per day. The period of exercise can further be divided into a warm-up phase of about 10 minutes followed by an intensive exercise phase of about 15 minutes and then a cooling down phase of about five minutes. So the total duration could be as low as say 30 minutes in a day. You could break it down to 10 minutes or 15 minutes twice a day.
The level of exercise should definitely be enough to push up your heart rate to around 110-120 bpm (beats per minute). If you are a regular exerciser, then push it up to 130 or 140 bpm. This peak level of exercise should last not more than 10 minutes of your total exercise schedule. A good level of exercise should be enough to make you break into a sweat but then not so intense that it leaves you tired.
The blood pressure and heart rate tend to go up. However, after you stop exercising, the heart rate and the blood pressure come down and go below the level recorded at the beginning of the exercise. Over time, there is a more sustained response in the form of lower blood pressure. This beneficial effect may last for as long as eight to 12 hours after exercise.
Exercise causes vasodilation, which is a process of opening up the blood vessels so that they can supply blood to tissues better. As for lungs, their capacity increases as you breathe heavier and deeper during exercise. More air, and therefore, oxygen, goes into the body. Moderate exercise lowers the blood pressure in the lungs, enabling oxygen exchange. Gut motility improves too. The happy hormones that get released during moderate exercise are good for brain health.
Do not exercise or walk in a group or take office calls as these activities can take your mind off exercise and slow you down. Don’t be so slow that your activity becomes boring.
(Dr Hemant Madan is Director & Regional Clinical Lead, Cardiology [North], Narayana Hospital, Gurugram)
