Exercising is most of the times done with the idea that you will lose weight and stay fit. While this is true, there is still one more important benefit that many seem to overlook: heart health.
Given the importance your heart has for your life, it’s only normal that you’d want to care for it and make it stronger. Therefore, here are three exercises that will improve your heart’s health and significantly reduce the risks of disease.
Strength Training
A good way to improve your heart’s health is through strength training. It’s not something you haven’t seen before, as some of these exercises are pretty common.
Strength training is a great way to lower bad cholesterol and raise the good one, especially when you combine it with aerobics exercises. Usually, these exercises should focus on all of your big groups of muscles, like abs, legs, arms, shoulders, hips, back and chest.
Some of the exercises included in this type of training are pushups, weights, situps, squats, and exercises with resistance bands. Yes, at first it sounds like you’re going to overwork yourself and sweat a river, but it’s nowhere as difficult as the workouts you’re used to seeing in videos, such as weightlifting. Strength training is efficient for toning your body – but by using your own weight rather than dumbbells.
It’s recommended to engage in strength training at least twice every week if you want a healthy body and heart. Make sure that if you wish to work out in an intensive matter, you will still have to take on a rest day. If you do not allow your muscles to rest, they may become damaged – and over time, it might even become difficult for you to exercise.
If you simply cannot take exercise off your mind for a day, at least do a low-intensity level of exercising. This way, you will get your workout for the day – and you will still allow your body to rest.
Aerobics
The term should be no stranger to you, as aerobic exercises are very common. They’re also called “cardio”, and aim to improve circulation while lowering blood pressure and even the resting heart rate – also called the natural pulse.
Aerobics are also a great way to lower your cholesterol levels and keep your weight in check. If you want to burn fat and get that lean look, you will need to add this type of exercise into your daily workout session.
Some of the most common aerobic exercises are dancing, biking on flat terrain, gardening, going for a brisk walk and swimming. Soccer, jogging, and hiking also help with this kind of training.
You should make sure you regularly exercise for at least 30 minutes every day, 5 days a week. The amount of exercising that you do will also depend on your diet. For instance, if you cut calories from your usual diet, you may not need as much cardio to shed the same weight amount.
Keep in mind that these exercises also reduce the risk of diabetes and help you control blood glucose if you already suffer from diabetes. Plus, it can also improve your immune system – making you feel overall healthier.
Flexibility
Flexibility exercises are great because, as their name says, they let you stay flexible and avoid suffering from muscular pains and cramping. Basically, they allow you to perform better during your workouts.
You should do it every day, and whenever you’re getting ready to exercise. Ideally, you should start your day by doing some stretching – and also end your day with it. If you are doing flexibility exercises in the morning, you might want to mix them with some strength exercising or cardio.
If, however, you’re doing it in the evening, you might want to avoid doing any cardio. The adrenaline will wake you up rather than putting you to sleep.
Flexibility exercises don’t have a direct impact on your heart’s health. Even so, they will let you have a much better performance when it comes to the other exercises – that’s why they are a must.
Final Thoughts
A healthy heart is a happy one, and unless you want to suffer from certain diseases, maintaining the strength of your heart is essential. You can work to make your heart stronger by exercising. As you’ve seen in this article, aerobics and strength training do a great job. Moreover, with flexibility exercises, performing these workouts will get even easier and better for you.
So, make sure you exercise on a regular basis if you want to boost your heart’s health.
