Generally, being physically active is a necessity for good health and a stronger heart. The heart is a vital organ made mainly of muscles to pump blood to other organs and tissues. Just as exercise strengthens other muscles in your body, it helps strengthen your heart and makes it more efficient. And a healthy heart rate allows your body to maintain an average blood pressure level. Consider these six workouts that will help improve your heart health.
Exercises That You Can Do To Help Make Your Heart Stronger
No matter if you are a trained athlete or a couch potato looking to make a life change, these exercises are a great way to help strengthen your heart muscles. Commonly referred to simply as cardio, there are options here that you can do with just a few minutes per day and work your way up to ones that are more intense and challenging. By strengthening your heart muscles, you are also improving circulation in general which will both help deliver nutrients more efficiently as well as flush toxins from your body more quickly.
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Aerobic exercises
Aerobic exercises improve blood circulation. Aerobic exercises are highly oxygen demanding, and this is necessary for cardiovascular conditioning. Aerobic exercises are popularly referred to as 'cardio.’ It includes workout activities like swimming, running, and brisk walking. You will see your breathing and heart rate increase steadily during cardio workout activities. With a bit of creativity, you can put together a workout program that includes different practical cardio exercises to build muscle and burn fat. For your convenience, consider these simple aerobic exercises you can do anytime and anywhere.
Using cardio equipment
Cardio equipment like stationary exercise bikes, elliptical trainers, etc., provide good cardiovascular workouts that are less stressful than running on the road. In a much broader sense, cardio machines do not only help strengthen your heart, but they can help you burn fat to lose weight. Also, cardio equipment includes low-impact options that can ultimately elevate and toughen the muscles in your legs and arms to give you better endurance and stamina.
Simple cardio workouts
These are simple but very effective cardio exercises you can do at home. You can do any of these workouts for one to two minutes and between sets. They include box jumps, air jump rope, jumping jacks, skipping or jump rope, stair climbing, burpees, etc. As with most exercises, you stand a higher risk of injury if you don't start at a lower-level intensity and progress consistently to a higher-intensity level.
Running
Running is one of the most effective forms of aerobic exercise. Running for 30 to 40 minutes three times a week can reduce your risk of heart diseases and obesity. Also, running burns calories to allow improvement in the leg and joint muscles. There are also many psychological benefits you will gain from running as a form of aerobic exercise. Finally, research has linked running to lower stroke rates, cancer, and metabolic diseases like diabetes. Be sure not to over-train as it has the potential for bodily damage.
Walking
Walking is the most straightforward classification for cardio exercise, even though it might seem too easy. Walking fast raises your heart rate for a higher oxygen intake which is the whole idea of aerobic exercises. You can walk anywhere at any time without any restrictions. Gear up and go for a short walk when it's convenient. Endeavor to make it more fun and exciting by listening to music or doing it with a friend. Walking is the most accessible form of aerobic exercise for conditioning and strengthening your heart.
Swimming
Similar to walking, people often wonder if swimming is a cardiovascular exercise that can reinforce the heart because it feels accessible to them, or they probably only go leisurely swimming on summer vacations. Swimming is a cardio exercise that gets your heart rate up and increases the amount of oxygen your body consumes, and this builds up strength in your heart muscles. Compared to other cardio workouts like running, swimming ranks higher and helps burn more calories. It also builds the cardiovascular system to make your heart and lungs stronger.
Resistance or weight training
Resistance training increases muscle strength by making your muscles work against a resisting force. Using free weights, weights machines or your body weight as a resisting force to build your muscle is an example of this training. When you engage in this exercise consistently, your muscles and heart become more robust. Many variables like weights, intensity, and rest influence the effectiveness of this workout type.
There are different ways to achieve this, whether at home or the gym, to prevent heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. For example, weight machines operate on a push and pull system to allow your muscles to contract. There are different machines for different muscle groups. Weight machines are simple and easy to use and are more convenient for gym workouts. Free weights like dumbbells and barbells are used for resistance workouts and allow you to focus on specific muscle groups. You can lift different weights to vary the intensity of your workout.
