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Exercising Safely In The Summer Heat

Safety Tips on how to beat the heat when exercising out of doors.


The statistics clearly show that your reduced risk of dying of cardiovascular disease from regular exercise is much greater than any increased risk you might incur while exercising.

This having been said, let's be sure you go about it safely, especially if you're out of shape. If you overdo it enough to be sore the next day, you're in pain due to inflammation in the muscles that strikes following microscopic injury to the muscle fibers. This inflammation then triggers the release of cytokines—inflammatory mediators—that cause the blood to become more "sticky" and more likely to clot. This slightly increases your risk of heart attack if you have pre-existing artery disease. If an arterial plaque ruptures and your blood is stickier than usual due to muscle inflammation, you could suffer a complete blockage when a clot lodges in a coronary artery. Another marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein (C-RP), is also produced in response to overexercising; high C-RP levels are associated with the rupture of artery plaques.

A diet high in omega-3 fats (best sources: fish and flaxseeds), vitamin E, and the herbs ginger, turmeric, and garlic help reduce blood "stickiness" and combat inflammation. (You can take ginger, turmeric, and garlic in concentrated supplement form if you prefer; use standardized extracts.) Arthur Siegel, M.D., a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of internal medicine at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, is a well- known expert on the health risks of strenuous exercise. He recommends the following:


• Don't suddenly increase the intensity or duration of your exercise program. Slow and steady wins the race! Definitely increase both intensity and duration as you make fitness gains, but do so very gradually, over a period of weeks.

• If you have cardiovascular risk factors and plan to do an extra-long or tough workout, or if you plan to compete in an athletic event, check with your doctor about taking a low-dose aspirin (81 mg) on the day before and the day of the event.

• If you're out of shape and just getting started on a program, get thoroughly screened for hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Depending on your level of risk, you may end up having a treadmill test with an EKG to determine your safest intensity level.

• Use a heart rate monitor to maintain the right intensity. These can be bought at most sporting-goods stores. If you're exercising so hard that you can't carry on a conversation, or you're sweating profusely, you may be pushing it a bit too hard.

If you need help keeping your workouts challenging but not too challenging, the help of a personal trainer can be invaluable. You don't necessarily need to have one at every workout; just call on him or her when you're bored and want to take your program up a notch.


About the Author

To learn more about how Dr. Mindell can help you get into the best shape of your life, visit: keith.freelife.com.






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