The literature shows a spike in the incidence of heart attacks and stroke during rose pruning season. I have said before that correlation does not imply causality (just because two things happen at the same time does not mean that one causes the other), but in this case – there may just be a relationship.
This possible correlation highlights the fact that the type of exercise you complete is highly specific to the result you will achieve.
Every year, when the older members of our population flock to the rose gardens, an increased number also start flocking to the emergency rooms. What is it that makes these seemingly fit people (many of whom walk every day and have a passable level of cardiovascular fitness) experience cardiac complications when doing something as innocuous as brandishing a pair of secateurs.
The answer lies in specificity. Cardiovascular fitness – although usually referred to as a general term (you have it or you don’t), is actually highly specific to the parts of the body you usually exercise. So for all those people who walk every day, you are training the heart and the vascular system (arteries and veins) in the legs. The arteries become larger and more elastic. The chance of suffering a cardiovascular complication decreases. However, what this can do is artificially inflate your perceived fitness. Once you start using your arms for repetitive movements requiring increased blood flow, a body adapted for cardiovascular exercise is mismatched with arm blood vessels not used to the increased flow. Long story short – increased risk of angina/stroke/heart attack etc.
So what is the answer? The Range of Motion Model of Health tells us:
“Invariably, as we progress through life, the wheel turns – and the spokes are tested… Limitless components and scenarios exist. These spokes may not be tested every day, every month, or even every year. But they will be tested. You cannot predict when, where or how. Regardless of the strength of the other measures, if an individual spoke fails, the wheel will cease to turn. We contest that it is these measures (those indicated in red close to the axis of the model) that will not only reduce your quality of life, but may indeed kill you.”
The answer is to follow a broad exercise prescription. Especially in terms of the high levels of variation of exercise.
The achievement of General Physical Preparedness is born from variation. To be good at anything, you must train for everything. To this end, the programming has origins in gymnastics, weightlifting, sport, athletics, powerlifting and Olympic lifting. Were you to compete against a specialist in any of these fields you would lose. You would however beat them in all other events. You would beat your general cohort in everything.
Keep your exercise varied. Not only will it best prepare your body for health, but there’s more chance you will stick with it.
