Benefits Of Exercise For Heart Health

Why Should I Do Exercise?

A healthy heart needs the body to be physically active. The heart is a muscle and it needs exercise to help stay fit so that it can pump blood efficiently around your body. If you are not physically active, your body will lose its strength and stamina with the time.

Benefits Of Regular Exercise Include:

• Lower your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke

• Helps prevent heart disease

• Build stronger immunity

• Lower your blood pressure

• Help to reduce stress and tension

• Help to burn calories

• Improve overall health and wellbeing, prolonging your optimal health.

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Types Of Exercise

You can try these exercises for keeping your heart healthy:

Aerobic Exercise:

Aerobic exercise helps to improve blood circulation in the body, which can further help in lowering blood pressure and heart rate and control blood glucose level in the body. 

Aerobic exercise includes- running, swimming, brisk walking, cycling, playing badminton, and jumping rope

Stretching:

Stretching, don’t directly contribute to heart health. Stretch after you've warmed up or finished exercising helps your body to stay flexible and free from joint pain, cramping and other muscular issues.

Strength Training:

Strength training helps reduce fat from the body and create leaner muscle mass.  Studies show that workout which involves aerobic exercise and strength training may help raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Strength training includes- Working with resistance bands or through body-resistance exercises, exercise using free weights such as hand weights, dumbbells or barbells, and weight machines, such as push-ups, and squats.

How Much Should You Workout And How Often?

• Aim to do at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week of moderate-intensity activity (such as brisk walking) most days of the week.

• In time, you can make your workouts period longer or more challenging. Do that gradually, so your body can adjust accordingly.

• When you go for work out, keep your pace low for a few minutes at the beginning and end of your workout. This helps your body to warm up and cool down each time.

• You don't have to do the same exact activity every time. It's more fun if you change it up gradually.

Along with healthy eating and not smoking, physical activity improves heart health by help preventing heart disease as well as helping you to recover if you have had a heart event.