When I teach exercise physiology to students , I like to start off by talking about the heart and your core. Why? I equate the human body to a car, the heart is the engine, your core as your transmission, when one breaks down it makes life challenging to say the least. For today I am just going to focus on your heart, the engine of the human body.
Why is the heart so important? It pumps oxygen rich blood to your muscles, it helps move energy to your body, it helps remove waste that comes from working muscles… When it goes, it goes, do what you can to keep it healthy. In fact here are some things you can do every day to improve the health of your heart.

If you smoke, stop it.. right now, head to the store pick up some patches and come back and finish reading ……..
Moving on, Smoking not only destroys your lungs but it also damages your heart! Smoking leads to plague build up on the walls of your arteries, which effects blood flow. Why is that bad? It makes it harder to pump oxygenated blood to the rest of your body! YUCK!

Don’t sweat the small stuff
You can look fine, eat healthy, but if you’re constantly under stress from life ( job , friends , family etc ) YOU CAN HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE . By being stressed out constantly, the body releases stress hormone, when it constantly has to do that without break, it is un healthy for the body . That constant elevation leads to high blood pressures, as the heart has to work harder to get nutrient rich blood around your body. How can we lower that stress? Deep breathing, yoga, meditation and of course just exercising are some of the great ways to deal with your stress in a healthy way.

Clean up your diet
A bad diet has many effects on the heart. For starters a diet rich is bad fats and salts leads to high cholesterol, essentially adding plaque to the walls of your arteries and making it harder to pump oxygenated blood throughout your body. A bad diet in general also leads to obesity, which usually combines with type 2 diabetes, which puts A LOT OF STRAIN on your heart. Imagine a Mini Cooper trying to tow a dump truck full of rocks, That engine is going to burn out and fast . Which is why obesity followed by type 2 diabetes leads to heart disease, as you’re putting an unbelievable strain on your heart.

Drink water
When you’re fully hydrated, it makes it easier for the heart to pump blood through the blood vessels to the muscles around your body.. Not to mention the body is made up of around 80 % water. When your body’s water levels drop to dangerously low levels, it can cause your body to stop functioning properly( or shut down all together), as lack of water are the reason for many heat related illness. So I encourage you to grab a glass of water and continue on.

Laugh your ass off
A good belly laugh can send 20% more blood flowing through your entire body. One study found that when people watched a funny movie, their blood flow increased. That’s why laughter might just be the perfect antidote to stress and a healthy heart.

Get up and MOVE! (After you finish reading of course)
People who are sedentary at work or life in general, have a higher risk of heart problems versus people who are moderately active throughout the day. It’s not clear why, but prolonged sitting may cause a drop in insulin sensitivity and enzymes that normally break down fat. Doing the recommend 2.5 hours a week of physical activity will help make your heart stronger, more efficient. Not only that but get up off your BUTT every hour or two through the day, walk around, touch your toes, nothing super strenuous.

In closing, this weekend where love is in the air and hearts are everywhere, take some time to take care of the most important valentine you can ever have, your heart.

Till next time
You Stay Fit, America
Ken

P.S Have you check out Facebook.com/YouKenBeFit2  , NO ?!?1 You should , I post a lot of fun fitness and motivation stuff !

P.SS   If you have a already , I am doing a survey and your response is important to me ! https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HTBHHCX  THANKS A BUNCH !