Easy Ways To Have Good Heart Health
The heart: the global symbol for love, emotions, Valentine’s Day… but what is the heart in reality? Do you know how to have good heart health?
The heart is the most important muscle in our bodies, it’s what keeps our blood pumping and keeps us alive. One of the key ways to promote heart health is exercise. The obvious advantages of exercising include staying in shape or gaining muscle. Even moreso, physical activity can strengthen the heart and prevent risk of heart disease and stroke. So, let’s go over some of the best activities and exercises that you can know how to have good heart health!
How To Have Good Heart Health Using 3 Easy Exercises
Cardio
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week for every adult. These exercises, according to the CDC, should be performed at 10 minute intervals or more. Now, you may be rolling your eyes thinking that the only way how to have good heart health is being ordered to go run on a treadmill for an hour, but fear not: cardio doesn't have to be painstaking! Cardio, or aerobic exercises include anything that raises your heart rate and makes you break a sweat. And, yes, there are ways to get your heart rate up while still having fun.
Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Activities To Have Good Heart Health:
- Biking
- Swimming
- Hiking
- Dancing
- Brisk walking
For those who are looking for a workout that’s a bit more strenuous, vigorous-intensity aerobic exercises will be perfect for you. This type of exercise is done with a high amount of effort, resulting in a higher heart rate and rapid breathing. The CDC recommends one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity activities per week.
Vigorous-Intensity Aerobic Activities To Have Good Heart Health:
- Biking 10 mph or faster
- Jogging
- Swimming laps
- Playing sports such as soccer, basketball or volleyball
- Hiking uphill
Alternating between moderate and vigorous intensity exercises is also perfectly fine! It’s really about what you’re comfortable with and enjoy. For future references, however, one minute of vigorous-intensity exercise is equal to about two minutes of moderate-intensity activity.
Whether you prefer to get your heart rate up through dancing or jogging, don’t push yourself too hard or put too much pressure on yourself. Remember that how to have good heart health is to get some exercise and any exercise is better than none at all!
Resistance Training
Another great way how to have good heart health is through resistance, or strength training. Strength training might seem like it’s only for bodybuilders, but in reality, it’s a great way for adults to keep their hearts healthy. Even better, you don’t even need a gym membership to resistance train!
Both the CDC and the American Heart Association recommend adults to strength train at least twice a week. Combined with cardio, resistance training helps to raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol, as well as decrease the risk of heart attack or stroke. Ideally, every major muscle group should be worked in this training: arms, legs, hips, chest, shoulders, abs, and back. Additionally, when resistance training, exercises should be performed in sets. Each set should consist of 8-12 reps (repetitions), or until it becomes too difficult to perform without assistance.
Strength Training Activities To Have Good Heart Health:
- Lifting free weights
- Body weight exercises such as push ups, sit ups, squats, etc.
- Using resistance bands
- Using weights at the gym
- Climbing stairs
Stretching Exercises
Stretching, or working on your flexibility can greatly assist your workout. Though stretching exercises do not directly contribute to heart health, they can improve your mobility and flexibility, as well as prevent cramps, joint aches, and muscle pain while working out. Furthermore, working on flexibility makes it easier to perform the exercises vital to the body as well as how to have good heart health.
Stretching Activities For Good Heart Health:
- Flexibility Activities:
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Tai Chi
- Simply just stretching
Stretching exercises are extremely convenient, as they can be done anywhere and at any time. Whether you’d prefer going to a pilates class, warming up before cardio or strength training, or even doing child’s pose before bed (even in bed), working on your flexibility is extremely beneficial for those who want to keep their heart healthy and their body feeling good.
Struggling On How To Have Good Heart Health?
Keeping your heart healthy is extremely important for every human being, and we would love to help you in your process. HealthCARE Express is here to assist you however we can. Whether you have questions or worries about your heart, or just simply your health, our urgent care center is here to help identify what is ailing you and provide the right plan for recovery. Give us a call or book online to set up an appointment. To find one of our urgent care centers near you, visit our locations page. From our heart to yours, we hope you are staying healthy and keeping a healthy heart!
