Remember the old Chinese proverb:
“One step is the beginning of a ten thousand mile journey.”
Start your new, excithm journey toward Heart Fitness. One yard is approximately the longest step you can take. Now, step off 25 yards … or 50 yards … or 75 or 100.
Any one of these distances can be your initial run. If you have not been exercising, make your first run 25 to 50 yards. Run or jog whatever distance you choose as a starter. After you have made the run, walk three times this distance. Walk briskly, breathing deeply, head up, shoulders back, arms swinging. Deep breathing is important. Remember the reason you are doing this exercise is to give your heart more oxygen.
When you jog every day, the sustained pressure on the circulatory system adds elasticity to the blood vessels, in-creases their contracted capacity and therefore pennies a Heater and easier flow of blood. A simple thing … but a positive step toward ridding yourself of unwanted cholesterol. One great heart specialist in London told me that any person who will jog 15 to 30 minutes daily for a year could expect to double the capacity of their main arteries. This is the way to build a powerful heart.
A sound heart, like a sound car, can be driven far and fast without harm … but periods of rest and recovery are needed. As we live longer this need generally increases, but not as much as most people imagine. Like that ithund car, regular maintenance and sensible use can keep the heart functioning in an “as new” condition even when it’s reached vintage age. I come in the vintage class, as I am more than three wore and ten. But I keep running every day and my heart gets stronger and stronger. I start my running program each day by running 100 yards … then I walk 100 yards … and run 100 yards again. After I get warmed up I run 200 yards … then 300 and 400 … always walking the same distance I run. This kind of running never puts a strain on my heart.
THE SECRET OF A STRONG HEART IS GOOD CIRCULATION
When any part of the circulatory system is seriously impaired, the billions of body cells it serves are deprived of their oxygen and nourishment. With their blood supply cut off, these cells will automatically break down. The damage may occur in the heart itself, in the brain, the lungs, kidneys, akin or other parts of the body. Just remember . . . if you do not use the body you lose it!