Running pumps heart health: being the best doesn?t require enhancements

[thedrifter]

Issue Date: December 08, 2003

Runner?s Life
Running pumps heart health: being the best doesn?t require enhancements

By Christopher Prawdzik
Special to the Times

Several athletes were polled years ago as to whether they would sacrifice a long life by taking an enhancement such as steroids to temporarily be the best in their discipline. Surprisingly, most said they would.
Fortunately, many runners ? particularly the servicemen and women who read this column ? are more apt to be the best they can be without the use of enhancements. If they?re on top, great; if not, they know they?ve done their best.

Less visible benefits add another layer of proof that running can give a determined athlete more years to enjoy the benefits of workouts.

Two benefits are very close to my heart; in fact, they involve the heart.

High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke and heart attack. It is widely known that running not only strengthens the heart as a muscle, it can keep high blood pressure in check.

The type of breathing required in running stimulates the body?s ability to provide the bloodstream with more oxygen. As the heart is able to move more oxygen with each beat, blood pressure drops, reducing the burden on the heart, making it a more efficient organ.

This efficiency isn?t limited to workouts. An efficient heart affects everything from work performance to sleep performance.

But those overall benefits go beyond blood pressure.

While many cases of heart disease can be traced to hereditary predisposition, a choice to run might fend off the development of heart disease, even in some of the highest risk categories.

Late last year, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a comprehensive study touting running and exercise benefits as they relate to heart-disease prevention.

The study focused on 44,452 men, and the results clearly showed runners ahead of the game.

Most striking, the study determined that men who ran for only one hour per week reduced their coronary heart-disease risks by 42 percent compared to those who never pound pavement.

In addition, the report said workout intensity also reduced the risks of heart disease.

Even those who chose low-impact workouts such as walking had positive results.

According to the study, a 30-minute brisk walk each day reduced the risk of heart disease by 18 percent, compared to those who don?t walk for exercise at all.

Many benefits of running are obvious ? reduced weight, improved endurance, increased physical and mental strength and better posture.

If those aren?t enough, however, the knowledge that each workout possibly lends itself to a longer, more healthy life makes it all the more worthwhile.

Christopher Prawdzik is a runner and freelance writer in Northern Virginia. You may e-mail him at cprawdzik@cox.net.

http://www.marinetimes.com/story.ph...PER-2429964.php


Sempers,

Roger