Dr. George L. Dixon - "Talking Fitness"

Do you know?

You have two hearts, and maybe three? Your right heart has one job, to pump blood through your lungs to collect oxygen, and then move the blood to your left heart. The two are tightly connected anatomically but have very different functions. They do work with the same beat. What great cooperation they have.

Your left heart pumps blood all over your body. Your arteries are elastic and sytretch and contract to keep your blood moving along. Your blood delivers oxygen and picks up the wastes.

Then your blood is pumped back uphill and back into your right heart by your "third heart", your muscles, which squeeze your veins. The veins have valves in them so blood can only run one way. Pretty clever, eh what?

The more your muscles work, the faster and better blood goes back to your right heart. It senses more need and begins to fill more and beat faster. What a great system. And you don’t even need to think about it.

Do you know?

Water exercise is wonderful for aerobics, joint flexibility, and muscle strengthening. It is NOT weight-bearing. Submerged up to your neck you weigh 1/12^th of what you do on dry land.

The Problem? No demand on your bones which are living tissue and gather or release calcium according to the demands of weight bearing (gravity).

The Answer? Alternate water work with weight bearing work. An exercise bicycle is ½ weight bearing, walking is total weight bearing.

More help is available in "Exercise a la Carte", here, at your bookstore or call 800-624-4952.