Why Less Exercise May Be Enough Exercise

-
Finding it hard to squeeze in your workout or your walk this time of year? Don't sweat it. Sometimes, less still cuts the mustard.
As long as you pick up the pace, that is. In a study, people who cut back on their walks but turned up the burn when they did get out there still boosted their cardiovascular endurance.

Keeping the Pace
Sure, frequent exercise is still better for you -- for a bunch of reasons, ranging from better cholesterol levels to better weight control. But the new research shows that you can cut back a little on frequency and still keep yourself in pretty good shape if you make some adjustments. And it's a good idea to do so, because then your body will be ready, willing, and able to do more when you get more time.


No Time? No Excuse
Why should you care about your cardiovascular endurance, anyway? Because a 5-year study showed that a mere 10 percent improvement lowered people's risk of mortality by 15 percent, compared with no cardiorespiratory improvement. So don't chuck your workout altogether this holiday season. Cut back if you must, but work harder. Or chunk your 30-minute walks into three 10-minute sessions. Your heart will thank you in the New Year.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Low-Cal Game Day Snacks

-
Combine 1 month of holiday feasting with 1 football season of noshing on high-calorie snacks, and what have you got? Double the size in belly, hips, and thighs. But cheer up! We've got diet snack solutions to help. That's right. Game day food makeovers that look and taste like the originals. Your guests won't even know they're low in fat (and you'll stay in your skinny jeans till baseball season). Lite Wings: Cut the saturated fat and sodium with these cornmeal-crusted boneless buffalo wings. Serve them with a light blue-cheese dip. Pizza-to-go: For maximum calorie control, make it yourself. If convenience is a priority, order a thin-crust veggie pizza from Domino's, Pizza Hut, or Papa John's. All three can deliver a pizza that weighs in at less than 250 calories a slice. Chips and dip: Serve baked chips with a Greek-yogurt-based fat-free dip. At about 15 calories a tablespoon, you can have more than a handful.   Chocolate fix: Make y
Read More>>

Best Way to Stay Healthy? Call In Sick

-
Next time you get a sore throat and sniffles, here's what you need to do to avoid can't-get-out-of-bed misery later: stay home. Research shows that people who report to work sick are much more likely to get laid out flat by an even nastier bout of illness down the road. Sick at Work People who came to work sick at least six times within the previous year were 50 percent more likely to need extended sick leave later on -- as much as two or more weeks off within the next 18 months. Why is punching the clock when you're sick so bad? Researchers speculate that when people don't take time to rest and recuperate, the body gets more and more run down -- to the point where it can't keep a little illness from ballooning into big trouble.    Healthy Solution Okay, so sometimes you might feel like you really just don't have time to be sick. Or maybe you don't have the luxury of copious sick days. If you can swing it, stay home. But also try these
Read More>>

6 Reasons to Get a Flu Shot This Year

-
Did you decide to skip your flu shot this year? If so, you might want to rethink that. Here's why: Getting the shot is the single best way for nearly everyone to prevent the flu, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So, what's stopping you? Here are 6 common excuses, and why you should reconsider: It's too late. It's true, getting a flu shot early in the season offers the best protection, but the shot is effective anytime, even if you wait until December. Flu activity typically peaks in January or February and can last as late as May. I'm healthy. The flu vaccine is especially important for high-risk people (pregnant women, young kids, older folks, and anyone with a compromised immune system), but the rest of us need it, too. Having the shot will prevent you from wasting precious vacation days or (worse!) going to work sick and sharing the virus with your coworkers. I had a flu shot last year. Smart move! Get ano
Read More>>

Adsense