Exercise for Asthma

If you suffer from asthma, you probably think that you can't exercise properly or safely.  Contrary to what many think of this subject, there are ways that you can get in shape and exercise, even if you suffer
from asthma.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that is marked by characteristics such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.  Asthma tends to occur with people who are genetically or environmentally
presdisposed to the condition.

Some of the triggers that may start or make an attack worse include exposure to allergens, viral respiratory infections, airway irritants, exercise, and exposure to things such as dust mites or cockroaches.

You can prevent asthma attacks by doing the following:
1.  Bathe your pets weekly.
2.  Don't smoke or permit smoking in your home.
3.  When mold or pollent counts are high, you should stay inside with air conditioning.
4.  Wash your bedding and any stuffed toys at least once per week in hot water.
5.  Wash your hands every chance you get.
6.  Get a flu shot.
7.  Wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in the winter months.
8.  Be proactive and know your triggers and how you should avoid them.

Now that you know what you know about asthma, you may be wondering where exercise fits in.  As most doctors will tell you, you shouldn't give up on sports or exercise at all.  You just have to be smart about how you play and take special pre cautions to avoid attacks.

Almost all doctors agree that the best way to prevent attacks during exercise is to keep your inhaler and medication close by.  You should never use the inhaler more than 3 times during a game or exercise session.  If you are up the previous night with coughing and wheezing, it's always best to go light with your exercise the next day.

For something known as IEA (Exercise Induced Asthma), the symptoms are somewhat different, in the fact that they appear after 6 - 10 minutes of exercise and will often be worse in cold or dry air.

If you have IEA, there are several activities that you can enjoy such as swimming, walking, biking,downhill skiing, and team based sports.  There are many activities for you to choose from, to ensure you get the exercise you need as well.

Keep in mind that the condition of asthma isn't "all in your head", it is a real physiological medical treatment that will require treatment to prevent and treat.  Even though your doctor will be your best friend in treating asthma, you are the one who can prevent your symptoms.

Always be smart, take your medication, and be proactive.  Don't let it put you in a life of misery - as you can enjoy exercise just like everyone else.

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Cardio Exercise

Everyone has wondered at some point in time which cardio exercise is better.  To put it in simple terms, both low and high intensity exercises will help you to burn off body fat.  The question here is which is the most effective to burn off more body fat.

When scientists first discovered that during  intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles for energy.  During low intensity exercises,  our body will burn a lot of fat.

If your wondering whether or not it works, the answer is no because there are so many obese people still  round.  Even though they are working out with low intensity routines, it still makes you  wonder how it can be.

The scientists were right when they said the human body burns more body fat during low intensity exercises like walking or swimming.  During a  high intensity exercise such as running, the body will burn a lot more calories.  Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are still many fat calories burned as well.

To put the icing on the cake, when your store of glycogen gets low, the carbohydrates from your food you eat will later get converted into  glycogen to fill up the store and won't be converted to body fat when they are left unused for energy.

High intensity cardio exercise will juice up your metabolism even after you have completed your  workout.  What this means, is that your body will  continue to burn body fat hours after you have left the gym.  This effect is nearly non existent in low intensity cardio or aerobic workout.

Accumulatively, your body will burn up more and more calories during and after you have finished a
high intensity cardio exercise that it will with low intensity.

You can inject high intensity exercises into your cardio workout by introducing some interval training. You can walk for 5 minutes or so, then break into some jogging for another 5 minutes or so.  Then, walk briskly again until you have caught your breath and then sprint for a minute before you walk again.  From this point, simply alternate your running and walking for the  next 15 minutes until you are finished.

One of the best things about cardio is the more you do it, the more energy you'll have.  Cardio will help you to burn calories, although its more useful for keeping your energy levels high.

If you've never tried cardio before, you should give it a shot.  If you like to exercise, you'll find cardio the best way to boost your energy and keep in top shape.  If you are just starting out, you'll want to go slow and keep your cardio  exercise in track - as it is very easy to over exert yourself.

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