Health-and-Fitness online information.

DON'T LET A time-crunched day prevent you from doing your cardio. A recent Irish study showed that short bouts of cardio throughout the day can be as healthy as one long session. Participants--21 sedentary middle-aged men and women--either walked briskly (70 percent to 80 percent of maximum heart rate) for 10 minutes three times a day, or walked once a day for 30 minutes straight. They did this five days a week for six weeks, rested two weeks, then followed the other walking routine for six more weeks. Both walking patterns resulted in the following benefits:

* A slight drop in total cholesterol and an increase in HDL ("good") cholesterol.

* Reduced body fat (which can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease).

* Decrease in diastolic blood pressure.

* Reduced tension and anxiety.

* Improved aerobic fitness (in fact, maximal oxygen uptake actually increased more with the short-bout pattern than with the long).

INTERESTINGLY, people with the lowest levels of fitness who begin a walking program will show the greatest improvements, according to researcher Marie Murphy with the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, Northern Ireland. Also, the fitter you are, the more brisk your pace will have to be for you to reach 70 percent to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate (approximated by subtracting your age from 220). These two findings support those of Kenneth Cooper, M.D., the father of modern aerobics, who has compiled such data for 30 years.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:35 AM