Exercise & Fitness Archive

A study comparing the hearts of apes with four different groups of men demonstrates how the heart adapts over a person’s lifetime depending on what exercise a person does (or doesn’t do). The most revealing part of the findings pertained to men who are generally not active.

Harvard fitness expert Michele Stanten takes you through a simple exercise to tighten your abs, strengthen your back, and improve your balance.

Harvard fitness expert Michele Stanten takes you through a simple exercise to tighten your abs, strengthen your back, and improve your balance.

Harvard fitness expert Michele Stanten takes you through a simple exercise to tighten your abs, strengthen your back, and improve your balance.

An analysis of research suggests those who run regularly –– regardless of pace, distance, or amount of time –– are more likely to live longer and have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Try these simple tips to spice up your workout and keep moving.

Exercise is crucial to good health, but sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to maintain an exercise regimen. Finding the time is one problem. Another is boredom. "Most activity becomes tedious psychologically, even though you know it will benefit you physically," says Michael Bento, a personal trainer at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

The solution is finding ways to bust that boredom and stay engaged — or at least distracted.

Not a big fan of running? Good news: You don't need to run fast or far to reap its many rewards.

Running is perhaps the oldest form of exercise and one that offers some of the greatest health benefits.

Running has shown to improve heart health, assist with weight loss, and improve mood. Worried about your joints? Some studies have found that running may actually improve the health of aging knees and ease symptoms of osteoarthritis like joint pain and stiffness.

In the journals

People with heart disease also have a higher risk of developing cancer, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in November 2019.

Researchers evaluated data from 12,712 people from the Framingham Heart Study who did not have heart disease or cancer at the study's launch. They used a risk estimator that predicts a person's chance for getting heart disease within 10 years.

An increasing body of research shows that dog ownership may boost heart health.

Looking to improve your heart health? You might want to think about getting a dog.

A growing body of scientific research suggests that having a canine companion is associated with number of health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health. "Numerous studies from Scandinavia, England and the United States suggest that dog owners have better health than individuals who don't own dogs. But what we really want to know is whether owning dogs produces better health or if it just means that healthier individuals are more likely to own dogs," says Dr. Dhruv Satish Kazi, a cardiologist and associate director of the Smith Center of Outcomes Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a member of the faculty of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Ask the doctors

Q. I've heard a lot recently about inflammation being a health risk, but I'm not sure I really understand what it is. Can you explain?

A. When people talk about inflammation, they're actually talking about your immune system's response to a perceived injury or infection. When you're injured, this inflammation is actually a good thing. The area you injured will become red and swell as an army of beneficial white blood cells flow in to fight infection and help you heal. The same response occurs in other parts of your body when you encounter a virus or infection. But sometimes this immune response occurs when it shouldn't. It can be triggered, for example, when you are exposed to toxins, and by other causes such as chronic stress, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. In these cases, instead of moving in, healing the problem, and then returning to normal, the inflammation persists over time. It's thought that this chronic state of inflammation can lead to numerous health problems, including heart disease, arthritis, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and even cancer.