Heart and Health and Exercise: What You Need to Know
By Brandi Goodman
American Heart Month in February encourages everyone to take better care of their hearts. One way is through exercise. The way you choose to exercise and how long you choose to work out for both have an impact on your results. Boost your heart health by improving your level of fitness.
Exercise Makes the Heart Stronger
Having a sedentary life greatly increases your risk of developing heart disease, becoming obese, and having high blood pressure. You need physical activity if you hope to make your heart stronger and prevent these struggles that can be damaging to your health. Get up and move when you can and try to stay active often so you can make your heart stronger. Exercise helps strengthen this muscular organ because it gets it pumping more and working efficiently.
You Need Cardio
Sure, lifting weights will increase your muscle mass. It won't do much for your heart though. You really need to be doing cardio if you hope to get the blood and oxygen circulating through your body. This is what will help your heart to work, pump, and function as intended. You can prevent heart disease and other related illnesses by getting more aerobic exercise. Going for a walk, taking a jog, swimming, and dancing are all some options for cardiovascular exercise. Your heart rate needs to increase and your breathing needs to get harder if it's going to count.
You Need More Than 30 Minutes Per Day
Thirty minutes of exercise per day is the usual recommendation. This is a great start. Do this five days a week and you're up to 150 minutes of cardio exercise -- the suggested weekly amount. You really need more than this though if you hope to make a major impact on your heart. This is especially true if you're combining every type of exercise you do into the mix. You most likely aren't getting a full 30 minutes each time of actual cardio. You may be doing more strength training, yoga, or simple exercises at home. These are great to accomplish, but you should try doing more to get your breathing rate and heart rate up simultaneously. Add in as much exercise to your day as you can and push past these standard limits.
Your heart health is one of the most important things you can consider. Start with adding more exercise to your day and see how your heart improves. Combine this with other heart-helping methods, such as eating a healthier diet and avoiding smoking and you'll have even better results.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Wilmington, N.C.