Improve Your Cardiovascular Fitness: 6 Heart-Friendly Exercises

Your heart is a muscular organ, and it gets healthier and stronger if you lead an active life. Remember that an inactive or sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

The good news is that it's an attribute you can do something about. You don't need to be an athlete to do something about this risk factor. As a matter of fact, even taking a hasty walk for thirty minutes every day can make a massive difference. 

Regular exercise can aid you to boost your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) good cholesterol, reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) bad cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, and burn calories. 

In this post, we'll walk you through some of the best exercises for a healthy heart. So, take a read!

Getting Started

Before anything else, you need to talk to your doctor first about safe exercises, heavy lifting, and medication changes. To know what exercises are safe for you, get the approval of your doctor before you swim, jog, use a weight machine, or lift weights.

Also, ensure that pushing or lifting heavy chores and objects like scrubbing, mowing, shoveling, raking isn't restricted. Household chores can be exhausting for some people. Thus, see to it that you only do what you can do without getting worn out.

Moreover, new medicines or any medication changes can significantly affect your response to exercise. Your doctor can inform you if your physical activities are still safe.

Best Exercises for Heart Health

The following are the six best exercises to improve your cardiovascular fitness:

● Lane Swimming. Your lungs and your heart will surely love this workout. Lane swimming will provide you an excellent return on your investment. It would be best to progress from 8 to 12 lengths per swimming technique, shifting approaches on different days. It could mean doing breaststroke and back crawl one day and freestyle stroke and front crawl another day. 

● Circuit Training. Keep in mind that any act of movement is much better than to sit without moving around in terms of boosting your heart health. And one of the best exercises to improve your heart health is circuit training. Working out at an extremely high-intensity makes the blood pump harder, challenging the resilience of the arterial wall. Circuit training somehow stretches the arteries, improving the elasticity for better heart health. Opt for minimal rest periods, and alternate between lower and upper body exercises to get the best results.

●  Running. A steady state run is evidently a great way to stay fit. However, running intervals will push your heart health to the next level. Whether it's hills or sprints, 10 seconds at a time is all you need. It would be best to keep the intensity at ten seconds to make sure you go all out. 

● Weight Training. This workout is crucial for people with cardiovascular disease. Besides building muscle mass, weight training is excellent for your heart and bone health. Use your body weight to determine what kind of weight training to do. 

● Cycling. Periodic cycling can greatly lower your risk of coronary artery disease. This workout uses large muscle groups, particularly in the legs, to boost your heart rate. In turn, it doesn't only improve your heart health but burns calories as well.

● Yoga. Improving your cardiovascular fitness doesn't require you to do a high-level and intense activity. Although yoga may not appear like a great heart-healthy exercise, it actually is. This exercise is excellent for muscle and strength toning. Additionally, yoga styles such as Bikram and Ashtanga can provide heart health rewards, as your heart rate is boosted throughout the class.

How Often Should You Exercise?

Generally, to reap maximum benefits, you must slowly do an aerobic session that lasts at least thirty minutes and four times a week. Working out every other day will aid you in maintaining a regular exercise schedule. 

Every exercise session must include a cool-down, conditioning phase, and a warm-up. Typically, warm-up aids your body to adjust gradually from rest to working out. This phase lowers the stress on your muscles and heart, raising your body temperature, heart rate, and breathing progressively.

Also, it reduces muscle soreness and improves flexibility. The best warm-up involves stretching, the start of the activity, and range of motion activities. On the other hand, the conditioning phase is where you gain the benefits of exercise, and calories are burned. 

Lastly, cool-down is the last activity of your session. It enables your body to recover or recoup from the conditioning phase slowly. 

Warm-Up Exercises While Sitting

Every workout session must start with a warm-up. The following are some exercises you can do to get started:

●           Ankle Pumping

●           Hip Bending

●           Knee Straightening

●           Shoulder Touching

●           Overhead Reaching

●           Arm Circles

●           Shoulder Shrugs

●           Chest Press

You must keep a good posture while doing these exercises. Don't slump or curve your back. Keep it straight. Ensure your movements are slow and controlled. Don't make any jerking, quick movements, and don't hold your breath and bounce during these exercises. 

You can do these exercises better with the BodyCraft Xpress Pro, as it allows someone to perform over 50 exercises. Also, you can do some exercises sitting on the floor. 

How to Avoid Overdoing It?

When exercising, you need to make sure you're not overdoing it, as it can make your condition worse. If you've not been working out regularly, slowly boost your activity level. Work out at a steady pace that lets you talk throughout the activity. Also, keep a record of your exercise. 

Takeaway

You must stick with an exercise program you genuinely enjoy doing. Before selecting a routine, ask yourself these questions:

●  What activities do I like?

●   Do I prefer individual or group activities?

●   What exercise programs suit my schedule best?

●   Do I suffer from any physical conditions?

●  What are my goals?

 Answering these questions will help you choose a program that could provide you with maximum results. Moreover, it'd be best to work out at the same time every day. If you get bored, add different sets of exercise to your program. If you work out periodically, it'll directly become part of your lifestyle.