Heart Health Month
Here in Canada, February is heart health month: perhaps it is in
the U.S., as well. We know that we need to work to keep our heart
and lungs functioning well. We know that heart disease remains
prevalent in both our countries. Sadly, with growing levels of
obesity in both Canada and in the U.S., the number of people
afflicted with heart disease is likely to increase even more by the end of this decade.
Cardiovascular fitness may be more difficult for caregivers to achieve - particularly if they are housebound much of the time. However, the good news is that there are things you can do at home that require no equipment, and very little time, that will help to keep your heart healthy.
When people think about walking, they think of the outdoors, or perhaps a mall, or an exercise track at a fitness club. But you can walk at home in any room where there is sufficient space to march in place and take a few steps forward, back and sideways. Let me explain what I mean, and provide you with a simple, sample program.
Here is the program:
1. March at an easy pace for about 5 minutes - letting your arms swing as they normally do when you walk. Stand tall, back strong, pull in your belly button.
2. Walk forward 4 steps, then backward 4 steps. Repeat this Fwd/Bck movement 3 times.
3. Step out to the side with your right leg, then bring the left foot to meet the right. Then step to the left and bring your right foot together with the left. Repeat this movement 3 times.
4. March again for a count of 12 (each time your right leg raises, count 1)
5. Do alternate gentle forward leg kicks: Do 12 (each right leg, then left leg kick counts as 1).
Tuck your tummy and keep your hips under your shoulders as you kick.
6. March again for a count of 12
7. Knee Lifts: raise your right knee as high as you can, then lift the left knee., counting each 2 lifts as one. Remember belly strong, back long, hips under shoulders.
8. March again for a count of 12
Continue to repeat the above motions. By now you should have warmed up a bit, and heart rate has probably increased. You are ready to work a bit harder. To do that increase your pace, and put more power into your movements.
Variations to make the movements more intense:
- Take wider and/or lower sidesteps
- Take double side steps: 2 to the right; then 2 to the left
- Perform the leg kicks a bit higher
- On the knee lifts touch the OPPOSITE knee with your hand as you lift the knee (this works your abdominal muscles)
- On the marching phase, raise both arms overhead, then down. Repeat (Works shoulders)
- Push both arms forward at chest level, pull back, repeat (this is a chest press)
- Pump your arms as you march (biceps)
- Do a wide leg stance march (gluteal muscles, hip adductors and quads)
- Add hamstring curls from the wide stance (keeping your knee pointed toward the floor, lift your foot toward your butt - alternate legs)
Cool-Down: Slow your pace, use less force in your movements to allow your heart rate to return to normal. Keep the kicks and other movements small.
Stretch: Take a wide stance, abdominal muscles tight, back tall. knees slightly bent. Circle your arms wide above your head. Exhale as you bring your arms down – Do this 2or 2 times. Reach both arms forward at chest level, interlacing your fingers, to stretch your middle-upper back. Open your arms wide to the sides at shoulder height, palms up. Rotate your arms so that your palms are down. Again, open your arms wide to the side. This time wiggle your fingers.
If you can do this program at least three times a week, it will help you to build or maintain heart health. You will achieve even more heart health, if you can manage to do it 4 or 5 times a week. You can control the level of difficulty, and the length of the workout. Ideally, you want to do it for 30 minutes. But start at whatever level feels comfortable. Any time that you feel out of breath or uncomfortable, you can return to the simple march. Perhaps you can only manage 10 or 15 minutes to begin with. That’s fine: just try each week to add a few more minutes to your routine until you are able to do 30.
Good for you – You did it !
