Strength training is defined as repeated muscle contractions, usually involving resistance against a weight, for the sole purpose of improving the strength, muscle mass and bone density of the body. The heart is an essential instrument for circulating oxygen to the cells in order to produce energy and sustain weight lifting, but conversely, weight lifting can also improve the ability of the heart to maintain its strength and do its job.
Significance
Strength training improves heart health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. The mechanism by which exercise lowers cholesterol was unknown for a long time. However, recently it has been found that exercise of sufficient volume reduces blood triglyceride levels and stimulates several metabolic enzymes that convert some of the bad cholesterol into the more favorable form. Strength training also improves the efficiency and pliability of the heart in response to changes in the level of physical activity. On the other hand, an unhealthy heart will respond badly to exercise and take longer to recover.
Weight
Another way that strength training improves the condition of the heart is its impact upon weight. Muscle mass naturally burns calories during its synthesis and its use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that strength training can provide up to a 15-percent increase in metabolic rate, which is helpful in weight control. Also, maintaining a proper weight is essential for improving heart health.
Training Program
A healthy weight training program usually consists of about eight different exercises for at least one set of 10 to 15 repetitions two to three days a week. Most people, especially heart patients, should start at a low resistance and progress slowly. An increase of 1 to 2 lbs. in resistance every one to four weeks, depending upon your health, is suggested.
Warning
Strength training is beneficial for healthy adults and low-risk cardiac patients --- meaning stable individuals without present symptoms --- but due to the lack of current research, strength training is generally not recommended for moderate to high risk heart patients. According to the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology, this can include patients who currently have uncontrolled hypertension, irregular heartbeats, a history of heart failure that has not been effectively treated and other serious heart problems.
Considerations
Heart patients should obtain approval from a doctor before training. If you have had heart surgery, a health-care provider should check your sternum after two to three weeks for healing and stability before you begin lifting; any exercise that involves the sternum should be avoided for at least three months. You may also begin lifting two to three weeks after a heart attack and two to four weeks after angioplasty, but you need to first make sure that your heart is stable and there are no serious symptoms present. For elderly individuals who have vision, balance, stability and orthopedic considerations, it may be safer to use weight machines and perform seated exercises.
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