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You may have heard that tiptoeing is a simple and effective way to exercise your calf muscles, increase ankle stability, and even prevent osteoporosis.
But did you know that tiptoe has an unexpected benefit, which is that it can improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of heart disease?
This is not groundless, but scientifically based.
One study found that tiptoeing for 10 minutes a day can increase blood flow to the arteries of the lower extremities, thereby improving the elasticity of blood vessels and reducing the degree of arteriosclerosis.
This is especially important for middle-aged and elderly people, because as we age, blood vessels gradually become stiff, resulting in increased blood pressure, increased burden on the heart, and increased risk of heart disease.
So how much of a difference can tiptoeing bring to the body?
1. Auntie on tiptoe
Ah Fang is a 55-year-old housewife who rarely exercises in addition to housework and watching TV. She is 160 centimeters tall and weighs 65 kilograms, which is mildly obese. Her blood pressure was also unstable, often as high as 160/100 mm Hg, and she needed to take antihypertensive medication. Her heart rate is also very fast, averaging 90 beats per minute, indicating that her heart is under heavy load.
These indicators all show that her cardiovascular health is poor and she is in a high-risk group.
One day, she came across an article online about the benefits of tiptoeing, saying that she insisted on tiptoeing for 10 minutes a day.
It can exercise the calf muscles, increase blood return, improve the elasticity of blood vessels, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
She thinks it's a simple method that doesn't require any equipment or going out, and can be done at home anytime, anywhere. She decided to give it a try and see if it could help her body.
She started her tiptoe program, which started with some warm-up exercises and then tiptoed on the floor every morning after waking up.
Each time you stand on tiptoe, hold for 2 seconds, then slowly lower it, repeat 10 times, rest for a while, repeat 10 times again, do a total of 10 sets of 100 reps, it takes about 10 minutes. She persevered for 6 months without interruption, and completed the task on time every day.
Six months later, she went to the hospital for a medical check-up and was pleasantly surprised by the results.
She lost 5 kilograms to 60 kilograms, and her body mass index dropped from 26.6 to 23.4, which was in the normal range.
Her blood pressure has also stabilized, averaging 120/80 mmHg, and she no longer needs to take blood pressure medication. Her heart rate has also slowed down, averaging 70 beats per minute, indicating that her heart has been less taxed. These indicators all showed that her cardiovascular health had improved significantly, and she was in a low-risk group.
The doctor was surprised by her test results and asked if she had done any special exercises or changed her eating habits.
She said she just tiptoed for 10 minutes a day and didn't make any other changes.
The doctor said that this is the reason for the changes in her body, tiptoe is a good cardiovascular exercise that can increase blood circulation, prevent arteriosclerosis, and protect the heart.
Doctors also said that her physical age was 10 years younger than her actual age, and her cardiovascular function was equivalent to that of a 45-year-old.
Fong was very happy to hear this, and she felt that she had found a simple and effective way to get fit and not only make her body healthier.
It also made her mood more cheerful and confident. She decided to continue to stick to tiptoe to get better for herself.
Second, the principle of tiptoeing is actually related to heart bypass
You may wonder why tiptoeing has such a big impact on cardiovascular health?
The blood in the human body is pumped by the heart, through the arteries to various organs and tissues throughout the body, and then through the veins back to the heart, and then pumped out by the heart, forming a circulation.
The difference between arteries and veins is that arteries are pressurized and veins are pressure-free.
The pressure in the arteries is generated by the beating of the heart, and the return of the veins depends on two main factors, one is breathing and the other is muscle contraction.
Breathing can help with changes in pressure in the chest cavity and promote return of venous blood.
Muscle contraction can push blood flow in the direction of the heart by squeezing the veins. That's why exercise can increase blood circulation.
Tiptoeing, on the other hand, is a particularly effective muscle contraction exercise, which mainly exercises the biceps femoris and soleus muscles of the calf.
These two muscles are located at the back and front of the calf, respectively, and they wrap around the veins of the calf, forming an intravenous pump.
When tiptoeing, these two muscles alternately contract and relax, acting like a pump, pushing venous blood upwards, increasing blood return to the lower extremities.
This is very beneficial for middle-aged and elderly people, because their venous return ability is often poor, and they are prone to problems such as edema and varicose veins of the lower limbs.
In addition to increasing blood return, tiptoeing can also improve the elasticity of blood vessels and reduce the degree of arteriosclerosis.
This is because when we tiptoe, the arteries in the lower leg also expand and contract, which increases the strain on the arteries, making them more flexible and preventing them from becoming stiff.
epilogue
Tiptoeing is a simple yet effective cardiovascular exercise that increases blood return to the lower extremities and improves the elasticity of blood vessels.
Reduces the degree of arteriosclerosis, protects the heart, and makes the body healthier and younger.
The principle of tiptoeing is actually related to heart bypass surgery, which can provide material for the treatment of heart disease.
Have you developed the habit of tiptoeing?