Olympian Heart Health: Would You Get a Gold Medal?

Should you be an Olympian to have a healthy heart?

With the 2008 Beijing Olympics underway, American audiences can’t help but be awed by the obvious fitness of the athletes. The high level of performance achieved by these young athletes is truly inspiring.

Should you follow their example in order to look good, feel good, and have a healthy heart?

The secret to a successful exercise program

High levels of achievement and fitness are, thankfully, not necessary to achieve high levels of heart health.

The amount of fitness and exercise required to impact significantly on heart health is actually quite modest. It won’t get you to the finish line in an Olympic event, but it can reduce likelihood of heart attack a good deal.

With exercise for health, I ask everyone to take a practical, long-term perspective and answer the following question:

“What sorts of physical activities can I perform and stick to for the next 30 years And, enjoy doing it?”

The key is not the form or intensity of effort. The essential ingredient is that you derive some form of enjoyment from the activity.

If you force yourself to pedal 5 miles a day on your stationary bicycle in your basement, but despise every moment of it, you’re unlikely to succeed over the long run.

But people who discover enjoyment and satisfaction in their exercise will stick to their program even when stressful distractions crop up in other parts of their lives.

For some people, solitary activities that provide quiet moments for contemplation might be desirable, such as walking a treadmill, riding a stationary bicycle, or using an elliptical machine. Others prefer the camaraderie and sense of shared experience that is only possible in groups: aerobic classes, group yoga instruction, “spinning” classes and other organized group activities might be best. Still others might most enjoy the close company of a partner on walks, tennis, golf (no drive cart!), etc.

Maybe you need to be mentally stimulated: You’re bored easily and struggle to exercise more than a few minutes. If you prefer visual stimulation, you might do better by watching the news on TV while pedalling your stationary bike. If you prefer auditory stimulation, listen to some of your favorite CD’s, the radio, or your MP3 while you walk a treadmill. You might vary your choice of exercise over the course of a week: Bike once a week, walk twice a week, swim once a week, play tennis once a week.

Some people (especially men) don’t like activity without purpose (other than exercise itself); they need to accomplish something. That’s great, too, but for fitness and health purposes, it does require an elevation of heart rate and to break a modest sweat to achieve the heart benefits. So raking leaves, clearing yard debris, or sanding wood would fill this requirement, but not painting, light gardening, or doing laundry.

The point is to succeed by enjoying yourself. Do things you like and you might even look forward to it.