Heart Healthy Exercises
/What Are the Best Exercises for a Healthy Heart?
The best exercise for a healthy heart is any exercise. It is far better to get any type of exercise than none at all. The type of activity you will do consistently is the best of all. With that in mind, certain activities are better than others.
Aerobic, Cardio Exercise is Number One
Aerobic exercise is any workout that gets the heart pumping harder, triggering the use of oxygen for energy. The opposite is anaerobic exercise, which does not use oxygen. You’re doing aerobic, or cardio, exercise if your heart rate is elevated but to an extent that you can sustain it for a long period of time and still talk without too much discomfort. Cardio workouts benefit the heart in several ways:
Improves circulation to lower blood pressure and resting heart rate
Strengthens the heart muscle
Strengthens blood vessels
Lowers cholesterol levels
Improves the flow of oxygen through the body
So many activities count as cardio, so you have options. A variety is good because it keeps exercise interesting, staves off boredom, and reduces the risks of injuries from doing the same thing over and over again.
What counts as cardio? A brisk walk, a moderate-paced jog or run, cycling, swimming, rowing, the elliptical machine at the gym, a dance class, a game of basketball, soccer, or tennis, and much more.
Include High-Intensity Interval Training
HIIT workouts are intense bouts of exercise, followed by a recovery period. The short bursts of intensity, like a 100-meter sprint, are anaerobic. Although aerobic exercise most directly impacts heart health, there is a place for anaerobic workouts.
Anaerobic exercise builds muscle strength, including in the heart. It helps build endurance and improves heart health. Aim for one to three sessions per week of HIIT, adjusting for ability levels and limitations. Twenty minutes is all it takes.
Don’t Forget Strength Training
Another type of anaerobic exercise, resistance or strength training benefit heart health. Strength training reduces fat and cholesterol and supports a healthy weight, which helps keep the heart healthier. Strength training is good for heart health in an indirect way and should be done a couple times a week.
Kettlebell workout: (you will need one 15-40pd KB)
Goblet squat (turn KB upside down)
Bicep curls
KB swing
Tricep Extensions
Alternating Reverse lunges - optional single arm shoulder press
Pull under planks
EMOM-every minute on the minute 50 sec. on 10 sec. rest for 3 rounds
All-Day Activity- NEAT(non-exercise activity thermogenesis)
Being sedentary is a major contributor to heart disease. While meeting the minimum recommendations of weekly exercise reduces the risk and improves heart health, an overall strategy or reducing sedentary time is best. Moving regularly throughout the day gets the heart rate up, works muscles, and burns calories.
Being more active throughout the day does not have to be difficult or complicated. Small changes to your lifestyle are simple:
Get up from your desk every hour to walk around the house or office for a few minutes.
Take a walking lunch instead of sitting lunch or take phone calls while walking
Do chores around the house or work in the yard or garden
Park in the back of lots and take stairs instead of the elevator
These small bursts of activity add up to improve heart health on a daily basis. They may not seem as important as hour-long gym sessions, but they are.
AMBER GABRIEL, CHWC, CPT, RYT
Amber Gabriel is a health coach at WellcomeMD’s medical concierge clinic in Charlotte, NC. Amber earned her health and wellness certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. As an avid consumer of health-related podcasts, research, and books, Amber is eager to share her knowledge with others. She is passionate about helping her clients understand their unique ability to limit toxins and nourish their mind, body, and spirit along their health journey. In addition to health and wellness coaching, Amber is also a yoga instructor and personal trainer with expertise in gut health and toxin elimination.
Dr. Rajal Patel is a physician at WellcomeMD’s medical concierge clinic in Mooresville, North Carolina. Dr. Patel is proficient in all aspects of primary care, with expertise in gut and hormone health and considerable experience treating patients with chronic conditions. To help her patients find optimal health, she focuses on the underlying lifestyle behaviors, stressors, and environmental exposures that drive disease.
Dr. Patel is board-certified in Family Medicine, a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. After earning her dual Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Michigan, Dr. Rajal Patel served as an attending physician in New York City before relocating to Mooresville in 1999.
This article is part of a series for American Heart Month on tips for achieving and maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle. Click below to read other post in this series.
12 Risk Factors for Heart Disease
8 Tips for Achieving a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
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