Pumping iron is actually good for the elderly and heart patients.
Turning conventional wisdom -- that said heart patients should refrain from weight-training -- on its head, the American Heart Association (AHA) recently recommended light weightlifting (better known as resistance training) for heart patients.
According to the experts, pumping iron in addition to aerobic exercise enhances the patient's muscular strength, endurance, functional capacity, independence and quality of life besides reducing disability in people with cardiovascular diseases.
A new study on such patients with an average age of 87 has revealed that 10 weeks of weight-training can help improve strength and the ability to climb stairs.
Dr Peeyush Jain of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, however, says the weight-training should be prescribed by a "physician and under supervision, according to an individual's body type and severity of condition".
He asserts that patients with high blood pressure, heart-rhythm disorders and unstable heart disease should refrain from any form of weight-training. "The patient should not be breathless by the end of the exercise but should be able to enjoy it,"
Source: TOI, 10/8/2007
