So how does exercise provide all those wonderful health benefits? First, aerobic exercise has a major effect on the heart and the lungs. The heart is a large muscle with a specific job to do, that is, to pump blood around the body carrying oxygen, glucose and other nutrients to the major organs and tissues. All muscles get stronger when they are regularly made to do more work, and get weaker when they’re underused. The heart is no exception.

With exercise, heart muscle gets thicker and stronger, and is able to pump more blood with lesser effort. You’ll notice the effect of this change after just a few weeks of regular aerobic exercise. Your heart won’t have to beat as fast when you exert yourself (like by running upstairs, etc.) and it will revert to its normal rate of beating when you stop and rest.

The improvement that exercise brings can be easily demonstrated by comparing the heart rate of a physically fit person with that of someone who is inactive. The heart of an average adult pumps about nine pints of blood around the body each minute. An inactive person’s heart has to beat 80 or 90 times a minute to do this, whereas a fit person’s heart beats only 50-60 times per minute. A trained athlete’s heart may beat as little as 30 times a minute. It’s easy to see whose heart is more efficient!!!