[Babybird]

Boosting immune system part 6​

You don’t need to go cold turkey and
implement changes at once. Keep in
mind that no goal is too small. For
example, one study found that
replacing just half a tablespoon of
margarine, mayonnaise or butter a day
in your diet with the same amount of
olive oil can help reduce your risk of
heart disease. When you set goals that
you can easily attain, your confidence
will grow and you’ll be able to build on
your success incrementally.
Taking little steps eventually takes
us further. And every little step we
take toward a healthier lifestyle will
help us live our lives to their fullest
and longest.
Stephen Kopecky, M.D., is a
two-time cancer survivor and
cardiologist at Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minn. This
publication contains excerpts
from his book, “Live Younger
Longer: 6 Steps to Prevent
Heart Disease, Cancer,
Alzheimer’s, Diabetes and
More,” a comprehensive
guide to understanding and
improving your health. Look
for it from Mayo Clinic Press.
STEPHEN KOPECKY, M.D.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a way to get in the same
cardiovascular shape as you would with traditional training, but with less
time spent exercising. It’s also a form of exercise that’s very helpful for our
bodies since it replicates what we’ve been doing on Earth for millennia.
If you were a cave dweller hundreds of thousands of years ago, what you
did long ago was a primitive form of interval training: You would run like
crazy to catch your food or run like crazy to avoid being caught for food.
You would usually do this for very short periods. All of the activity you did
was in short bursts of high-energy activity to maximize survival and
minimize energy expenditure.
Research has shown that just three intervals over 10 minutes three times
a week increases your muscles’ capacity to extract oxygen and do more
work. This improves both cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic
health in overweight adults and reduces belly fat.
How it’s done
High-intensity interval training is performed a bit differently from
continuous exercise at a moderate intensity. Continuous exercise is when
you warm up, move to a moderate intensity level, and then keep it at that
level for 10, 20 or 30 minutes.
There’s nothing wrong with the continuous approach. If you’re doing it
already, that’s great and it makes it easier to switch to intervals. But if you’re
looking for a more time-efficient way to get fit, then interval training might
be for you.
Interval training is appropriate even for people who are older, inactive or
overweight. It’s also been shown to be safe and effective for people with
heart disease and diabetes. It’s all based on your own perception of
intensity. You only go as hard as you can go, improving as you’re able. The
three key components of intervals are: 1. Once you warm up, go hard (hard
enough that you think this is difficult; I can’t keep this up very long). 2.
Before you give out and have to stop, slow down and get your breath fully
back so you can go just as hard on the next interval (this may take four or
five minutes as you start to get in shape). 3. Do not go too long because if
you go too long, you can’t go that hard; 30 to 120 seconds is long enough.
You can do interval training with just about any activity. Depending on
what you like to do, you can simply increase your speed or other intensity
variable such as the incline or the tension. For example, you might:
• Go from walking to walking briskly or jogging
• Alternate between walking and climbing stairs
• Pedal faster, stand up to pedal or increase the resistance when bicycling
• Maintain or increase your speed as you run or walk up a hill
• Alternate between dancing to music that has faster and slower tempos
• Swim several laps at your regular pace followed by a lap that is faster
Six sessions of repeated 30-second sprints over two weeks with interval
training is equal to 90 to 120 minutes of moderate continuous activity a
session. In other words, 11 minutes a day of interval activity can equal 45
minutes a day of continuous moderate-intensity activity in terms of the
fitness that you can achieve.