| The South Beach Heart Program - South Beach Heart Workout |
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| Written by Dr. Arthur Agatston |
| Monday, 03 November 2008 19:00 |
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Page 6 of 7 The South Beach Heart Workout.
The second part of the workout emphasizes strengthening the core muscles of the trunk of your body. [Your abdomen, lower back, pelvis, and hips], which is essential for properly strengthening your peripheral muscles. The core muscles support all your other muscles and help you maintain good posture and balance. More important, your core muscles help keep you staple. You may wonder why a cardiologist would be concerned about strengthening muscles other than the heart muscle. The answer is simple - you can't keep your heart strong and your body healthy if your other muscles are weak. He made not think of yourself as a risk taker, but being sedentary is as much a risk factor for heart disease as smoking or having high blood pressure. And yet, despite the risk, physical inactivity has become a way of life in the United States. Recent statistics show that 65% of Americans are not active on a regular basis, and 62% of those people are completely sedentary! It's hardly a coincidence that two thirds of American adults are overweight and 32% are obese. Not surprisingly, by the time always couch potatoes reach middle age, their core muscles are so out of shape that they are likely to suffer from a litany of ailments rooted in his weakness. If you sat in on some of my patient interviews every day, you would hear complaints like these: "My back hurts all the time!" "My knee is so sore I can't walk up the steps." "My shoulders so stiff." I take these complaints very seriously. When someone is in pain, that person is less likely to walk or do any exercise, aerobic or otherwise. This, in turn creates a vicious cycle: the less activity you do, the weaker your muscles become and the more prone you are to injury. The weaker your muscles become, the more likely you are to hurt, and then you cut back on your activities even further. This lack of activity means you're not burning many calories during the day, which will ultimately result in weight gain, obesity, diabetes, and potentially a heart attack or stroke. So that's why may cardiologist is so interested in core training! And that's why you should be, too! |
