American Heart Association Recommends Pumping Iron

For years, conventional wisdom held that people with heart problems of any kind should keep a safe distance from resistance training. But yesterday, Reuters reports, the American Heart Association acknowledged that weight lifting and other kinds of resistance training can help many heart patients. The AHA warned that resistance training is not recommended for people with certain conditions such as unstable heart disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure or heart rhythm disorders, infections in and around the heart and some other serious problems.  The association’s recommendations for an initial weight-lifting program says resistance training should be performed:

• in a rhythmical manner at a moderate-to-slow controlled speed;
• through
  a full range of motion, avoiding breath-holding and straining by
  exhaling during the contraction or exertion phase of the lift and
  inhaling during the relaxation phase;
• alternating between upper and lower body work, to allow for adequate rest between exercises.