Walking briskly out of the sky? Goodbye!

In the parks and community squares in the late summer evenings, the music of the walking teams is getting later and later. The men, women, young and old in the team are full of energy and spirit, and many young people passing by feel ashamed and can't keep up. Many walking enthusiasts not only insist on participating in the daily "group fitness", but also intend to continuously improve their speed and number of steps, believing that the more these values, the better. The faster and farther you walk, the better for your health, and it will strengthen your body and prolong your life!

Heart disease patients often ask me: "Doctor, if I join a walking group when I am discharged from the hospital, will it make my heart stronger?" Here, I want to tell you: Although exercise is good, don't do it in excess!

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01

Life is movement

But it must be "reasonable exercise"

Indeed, long-term and reasonable exercise can not only help recover from heart disease, but also reduce the occurrence of various diseases and even help prolong life. Authoritative research has confirmed that a large-scale study of 1.44 million people in the United States and Europe has shown that active exercise can reduce the risk of 13 types of cancer. For example, esophageal adenocarcinoma is reduced by 42%, liver cancer is reduced by 27%, and lung cancer is reduced by 26%! In addition, exercise can also prevent osteoporosis and control blood pressure. Even walking 4 days a week for 40 minutes each time can reduce the number of colds per year by 25%-50%, and the time to recover from a cold will be shortened by half!

But the key is: not all exercise is "reasonable exercise".

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How to judge whether a sport is "reasonable"?

There are two key elements to reasonable exercise: one is exercise intensity, and the other is exercise type.

No matter what kind of exercise you do, you should consider safety first, then the effect of exercise. That is, choose the appropriate exercise according to your health status and cardiopulmonary exercise. If you exceed your tolerance, it will often damage your health. It is a scientific and simple method to control your heart rate within the "target heart rate" range during exercise. How to calculate your safe heart rate range during exercise?

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1. For healthy people with no physical problems, if they do not exercise regularly, the upper limit of the heart rate during exercise is: 170 - age; for friends who exercise regularly, the upper limit of the heart rate is: 180 - age.

2. For people with underlying heart disease, target heart rate = (maximum heart rate - resting heart rate) × 60% + resting heart rate.

03

The reasons why “walking groups” are not “healthy”

For middle-aged and elderly people, brisk walking is indeed a suitable form of exercise. However, many people really go too far.

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The amount of brisk walking should adhere to the principle of "too much is as bad as too little": most friends insist on 6,000 steps a day, and each exercise is about half an hour. Many "running groups" start with 20,000 or 30,000 steps, and walk for 2 hours. It may not be effective in longevity, but if it causes meniscus or leg muscle damage, you may have to go to the orthopedic hospital first.

We should walk slowly for 5-10 minutes before brisk walking, and the stride should be half of the height. For example, for a friend who is 1.6 meters tall, the stride should be about 80 centimeters. In addition, simple stretching and recovery exercises should be performed after brisk walking to relieve the discomfort caused by strenuous exercise.

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"Longevity" exercise does not necessarily have to be intense

In fact, many sports have been proven to promote longevity. According to a study of 80,000 people published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, racket sports, such as table tennis and badminton, can reduce the overall risk of death by 47% and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 56%, ranking first in the "longevity sports" category; swimming can reduce the overall risk of death by 28% and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 41%, ranking second; in addition, yoga and running are also recommended forms of exercise.

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Author | Zhang Jianbo, attending physician of the Department of Cardiology, Cangzhou Central Hospital

Review | Li Yang, Researcher, Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Sixth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

This article is produced by the "Science Rumor Refutation Platform" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

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