Ask a woman what disease they are most scared of and the vast majority will answer without hesitation: breast cancer. They may even be aware of the ominous statistic that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life. Unfortunately, there is a killer among women that they seriously underestimate. Ladies, the number one killer of women is not cancer - it is heart disease which will strike one in every two women.

All those publicity campaigns that have focused attention on breast cancer may be part of the problem. The pink ribbons and all the drama have left women with the impression that breast cancer is the only thing they need be worried about. But they have far more to fear from heart disease with more than 500,000 women dieing in the US each year of cardiovascular disease compared to 40,000 for breast cancer.

Studies have shown that women believe they are too busy to exercise and don't have the time or motivation. Some 75% exercised less than three times a week and the remaining 25% did no exercise at all. Only one quarter of women exercise enough to reap useful health benefits.

To make matters worse people are being told to just become more active, to go for a walk or do some other meaningless activities that won't even put a dent in the level of exercise needed to reduce the disease risk. So called fitness and exercise experts are popping up everywhere saying misleading things like just find an activity you "enjoy " and that will be enough.

Well listen up, recreational activities like jogging, running, swimming, cycling etc do not meet the definition of "real exercise". They are fine to do to have fun and to enjoy leisure time but do not believe they will meet the needs of real exercise.

The heart is a muscle, just like our other muscles and needs to be kept strong with the correct exercise. If we fail to take sufficient exercise or fail to subject our heart muscle to adequate loads, muscles lose strength and become weak, flabby and unfit. Most people do not realize they have weakened heart capacity until they are in the emergency room after a heart attack when it is often too late.

The most important component in any effective exercise program is demanding muscular work. Any exercise program devoid of high intensity work that involves loading of the muscles will fail to produce meaningful benefits. Strength training exercise is the most productive and effective exercise you can do to strengthen the heart system ensuring it is kept fit, strong and well conditioned. You need to include at lease 60% of it in your exercise regime.

For women that think they do not have the time for exercise, think again. For you to take care of your family, job or anything else you must take care of yourself. Move yourself and your health and well- being up the ladder and get started on a proper exercise program and reduce your risk of heart disease and death by up to 70% so you will be around to enjoy your family and your life as long as possible.