A strong, pumping heart and healthy lungs are essential to lead a healthy life. With static lifestyle that most of us are leading these days, it becomes imperative for us to try out different fitness regimes and keep these two vital organs of our body up and running, so that we can enjoy a healthy life. Most of us get bored of the various exercise and dietary regimes within a month or so and return to our old, static lifestyle. Inability to focus on the fitness regime is the most sighted reason for poor stamina and stiff body.
However, this is exactly what the very purpose of putting the body on a regular exercise regime is all about – to improve the overall capacity of the lungs and the heart to endure fatigue. Here we will discuss some points that will help you improve the functionality of your heart and lungs through proper exercising and fitness.
Start slow
Exercise, especially running, is best way to improve the functionality of your lungs. Within minutes of starting off, the urge to stop is most acute among the beginners. This is natural but we must avoid it and begin as slowly as possible. Many begin with much fanfare and put their body under tremendous pressure. Extra effort tiers out the body fast, causing breathlessness and acute strain on the heart. Build a rhythm and let the body resonate with it. Make sure to continue exercising for at least twenty minutes before taking a break.
Increase your stamina constantly
Once you are comfortable with your initial gap and time of running, increase the speed and distance constantly. This will improve the capacity of the heart and lungs to endure more stress and thus, enhance their functionality. You must constantly increase your standards but do not try to achieve your fitness goal in period of weeks. You must spread out the whole regime over a period of months, else monotony will build in and you might quit early.
Increase the capacity of your lungs to take in more oxygen slowly, as it will improve the metabolism rate of your body for better results. Try alternative regimes like interval running, hillside running, etc. Further, you can combine running with Plyometrics and HIIT (high intensity interval training) to push your stamina and body strength.
Eat healthy
A healthy dietary regime is equally important for healthy living; else, the body will waste away due to excessive exercising. In addition, the consumption of nitrate rich foods like Beetroot helps the body improve stamina.
Beetroot slows down the oxygen consumption in the body; thereby, causing less stress and anxiety in the mid of a demanding exercising regime. This helps the body to put in more work without exhausting early.
Foods high in fats and carbohydrates are linked to cardio-vascular diseases and lung cancer. A light diet with sufficient lean proteins and vitamin/minerals is ideal to ensure the overall health and fitness of your body. Different fruits and vegetables like garlic, onion, turmeric, ginger, red bell pepper, citrus fruits, nuts and beans, apples, spinach, pumpkin, eggplant and grapefruit have essential components that help you fight various ailments related to lungs.
Quit smoking
We all are aware of the ill effects of smoking on our body. The smoke directly enters the lungs that can damage the fragile air sacks in the body. Constant smoking also pushes several tiny particles in our body that in the due course slacks the lungs and converts them into a mass of tarred sponge.
Regular exercise and proper diet are the best ways to improve the efficiency of our lungs as well heart. While exercising, we should gradually increase our workout sessions for better stamina and healthy life.