Exercise - Effects on the body

We are frequently told that exercise is an important part of maintain good health and that inactivity is one of the four main reasons of heart disease. People who exercise vigorously and often are in the lowest risk group from heart disease, however, any level of exercise in beneficial to good heart health, even if there is a history of existing heart disease.

However, doing too much exercise, or exercise that is inappropriate to the body may actually do more harm than good. Therefore you must always exercise safely and make sure you have sought medical advice as to your level of fitness for the activity that you intend to do.

When you start to exercise your muscles will produce more carbon dioxide and so will need more oxygen. You will start to breath more frequently and with increased depth. Your heart will be faster in order to increase the flow of oxygenated blood around your body. At the same time aterioles widen to stop blood pressure from increasing too much. Blood that would go to organs such as the gut and the liver is diverted and goes to the muscles to maximise the blood supply. This is due to either vasodilatation or constriction of the blood vessels. The action of vein constricting will then send blood back to your heart faster. The heart is actually fairly elastic and therefore will pump more blood during exercise.