CARDIO HELPS BLOOD VESSELS

[FUZO]

TweetPeople of all ages enjoy weight training. Young people like it because it makes them look sexy and buff and helps them play sports such as skiing, biking, volleyball and golf. Weight training helps older people lose body fat, increase muscle mass and strength, maintain bone mass, reduce resting blood pressure and energize flagging metabolisms. Some experts have even gone so far as to say that weight training is the most important exercise for people over 40 years of age. Gym memberships have ballooned to more than 200 million people worldwide, with no signs of leveling off.

Weight training might have a downside. Lifting weights can potentially damage cardiovascular health by stiffening blood vessel walls and decreasing their ability to stretch and contract as the heart pumps blood through them. Even a single weight workout increases blood vessel stiffness. Weight-trained athletes have stiffer arteries than people who don't lift weights.

This can increase the load on the heart when it tries to pump blood. Heart experts worry that years of weight training could have long-lasting effects on the blood vessels and heart. High blood pressure from weight training might also interfere with blood vessel metabolism and increase the risk of deadly blood vessel wall tears called aneurisms.

Scientists have found a way to get the benefits of weight training without damaging blood vessels. Aerobic exercise increases blood vessel elasticity and compliance. Combining weight training and aerobics in the same workout provides the benefits of weight training without harming the blood vessels. A landmark study from Japan showed that doing aerobic exercise immediately after weight training prevented blood vessel wall stiffening.

Weight training enhances health and improves the quality of life, but it might increase stiffness in the blood vessels. Is this dangerous or are some scientists alarming people unnecessarily? What's the truth about weight training and blood vessel health? Is there any way to get the many benefits of weight training without damaging the cardiovascular system ?

Lift Weights Safely Without Blowing Out Your Arteries

Lifting weights provides many health benefits that prevents disease and improves the quality of life. The vast majority of studies show that weight training is important for health and well-being. Strong, powerful muscles promote smooth and easy performance of everyday activities such as carrying groceries, lifting boxes and climbing stairs. They keep the skeleton in proper alignment, prevent back and leg pain and help maintain good posture.

Strength and power mean freedom to the average person. If you lose your balance when taking a shower, you recover quickly if you're strong and powerful, but fall if you are weak and slow. The stronger person can walk up hills while on vacation, lug groceries easily from the car to the house and push a car to the side of the road when it runs out of gas. Sedentary people remain on the sidelines while life passes them by.

Weight training, however, places significant stresses on the blood vessels that could have long-term health consequences:

Weight training causes short-term and long-term increases in the stiffness of the blood vessel walls that can increase blood pressure and the load on the heart.


Lifting weights (particularly heavy weights) causes extreme, short-term increases in blood pressure. High pressures built up in the arteries during heavy weightlifting can potentially damage blood vessels by causing deadly aneurysms or arterial dissections (separation of the aortic walls). An aneurysm is a bulge or sac formed by the thinning of the wall of an artery, vein or the heart. The bulge in the blood vessel (similar to a balloon) may rupture, trigger a blood clot, or cause the layers of the vessel to come apart (dissection). If the wall breaks, your chances of survival aren't very good.


Heavy weight training stresses the cells lining the blood vessel walls (the endothelium), which might interfere with their capacity to secrete nitric oxide (NO). NO is a vital chemical messenger that regulates blood flow, nerve impulses, hair growth, blood clotting and erections of the penis. Low levels promote heart disease, erectile dysfunction and low energy levels.

Weight Training and Blood Vessel Stiffness

Blood vessels are a lot more than tubes that deliver blood to the tissues. They are made of elastic and muscular walls that assist the heart as it contracts and relaxes. High-intensity weight training reduces the ability of blood vessels to stretch as blood is pumped through them (arterial compliance) and increases the stiffness of the blood vessel walls. This increases resistance in the blood vessels, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood.

Japanese studies showed that regular, intense weight training decreased blood vessel function. However, combining weight training and aerobic training had positive effects on the arteries when people lifted weights first and did aerobic exercise second. Subjects either lifted weights followed by aerobics, did aerobics followed by weight training or remained sedentary during an eight-week study. Doing aerobics before weight training did not protect the blood vessels from the damaging effects of weight training, but doing aerobics after weight training caused improvements in blood vessel health. The take-home message is to do 15 to 60 minutes of aerobics after you lift weights if you want the full health benefits of both kinds of exercise.

Another study from Japan by Okamoto and colleagues found that eight weeks of eccentric weight training (lengthening contractions) had no effect on arterial stiffness. Kettlebell exercises are examples of this kind of training. A kettlebell is a weight with a solid iron handle attached. Kettlebell training involves swings, presses and squats with kettlebells ranging in size from 10 pounds to more than 100 pounds. High-repetition kettlebell training also contributes to cardiovascular fitness.

Weight Training Causes Explosive Increases in Blood Pressure

Weight training, particularly when you lift heavy, creates extremely high pressures in the arteries. A Canadian study showed that blood pressure could go as high as 480/350 mmHg during heavy weightlifting. Blood pressure is the force of blood against the arteries (the blood vessels leaving the heart that supply blood to the tissues).

The pumping action of the heart is responsible for blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 (millimeters of mercury). Physicians treat people for high blood pressure (hypertension) when their levels exceed 140/90.The high blood pressures that occur during weight training greatly exceed the levels that result in treatment by physicians. Fortunately, the arteries withstand these high pressures only during the 1 to 5 seconds it takes to complete most weight-training exercises.

Large blood pressure spikes may damage the blood vessels over time. Some physicians worry about the downside of weight training. They fear that high pressures built up in the arteries during heavy weightlifting can damage blood vessels by causing deadly aneurysms or arterial dissections (separation of the aortic walls). Do you risk blowing a blood vessel and dying every time you do a heavy set of squats or bench presses? Yes and no. Yes, if you have a weakness in one of your arterial walls, but probably not if you don't. Aneurysms are at the bottom of the list as causes of sudden death during exercise. For example, in a French study of 29 people who died during exercise from heart-related problems, only two died from aneurysms.

Sudden cardiac death during exercise doesn't occur very often. The majority of cases in young, active people are due to congenital heart abnormalities (defects present at birth) and usually don't show up during medical examinations. In people over 35 years of age, most causes of sudden death during exercise are caused by heart attack or cardiac arrest triggered by coronary artery disease.

Aneurysms are a serious concern for middle-aged men and are one of the top 10 causes of death in men over 50.The disease killed 32,000 Americans last year. Family history of the disease increases your risk. If one of your relatives died from an aneurysm, you should probably consider not lifting heavy weights until a cardiologist (heart doctor) checks you out. Also, don't lift heavy weights if you have an aneurysm. You are also at increased risk if you smoke or have high blood pressure.

Many physicians are worried about the risk of heavy weight training on the heart. Only recently have so many men over 30 lifted heavy weights. In the old days, most of them would have taken up fishing or golf and were not concerned with developing monster squats or bench presses. These physicians argue that many aging men have weakened arterial walls and that lifting heavy weights is tempting fate.

The conservative approach is not to lift heavy weights. People who take this position argue that you should lift light weights (about 15 reps)– enough to build muscle tone and get some of the benefits of weight training without unduly stressing the arteries. Breathe during exercise and never strain– this will minimize explosive increases in blood pressure. Rest at least 30 seconds between sets. This will allow blood pressure to approach normal resting levels. On the other hand, aneurisms are extremely rare, so the benefits of intense training are greater than the possible risks to your blood vessels.

As discussed, a good strategy for preventing arterial damage from weight training is to do aerobic exercise after you lift weights. Aerobics increase the elasticity and compliance of the arteries and prevent the stiffening effects of weight training.

Weight Training And The Inner lining of Blood Vessels (Endothelium)

The endothelial cells line the inner wall of the blood vessels. They release NO, which controls blood flow throughout the body. High pressure, abnormal blood fats, poisonous chemicals (e.g., nicotine) and poor blood sugar regulation can reduce the capacity of these cells to release NO, which results in poor metabolic health. Poorly functioning endothelial cells make you feel chronically tired, physically unfit, and ruin your sex life. Unhealthy blood vessels are the leading cause of erectile dysfunction. Viagra, the erection-promoting drug, works by increasing NO production. The drug is unnecessary if you have healthy endothelial cells that produce enough NO.

While high blood pressure (hypertension) harms blood pressure health, most studies show that weight-training programs (eight weeks to 14 months) improve the metabolic health of blood vessels. For example, an Australian study showed that blood vessel function was improved following 14 months of weight training in middle-aged men and women with type 2 diabetes.

Weight Training and Cardiovascular Health

Weight training increases muscle mass, helps reduce fat, improves metabolic health (e.g., blood sugar control), increases muscle and helps maintain bone mass. Some, but not all studies showed that weight training could cause increased stiffness in the arteries. You might prevent this by doing 30 to 60 minutes of aerobics, such as walking briskly or working out on a treadmill, elliptical trainer or stationary bike after you weight train.

[Sal Paradise]

TweetI just browsed over this until later when I can sit and read it but does it allude to wieght training and not being able to get it up???

I am going to startt cardio ASAP if that's the case!!!


Sal

[BIGMOFO]

Tweetgood read