Heart-Healthy Exercises
- 8/30/16
You want to get or stay in shape, but you also want to make sure your heart stays healthy. That’s why it’s important to include aerobic exercise, otherwise known as cardio, into your exercise regimen.
Some great examples of cardio exercises include brisk walking, biking, swimming, hiking, running or jogging. When you engage in cardio, you move quickly enough to raise your heart rate and breathe harder, but you shouldn’t go overboard. In fact, you should still be able to talk to someone while you’re performing your cardio workout.
Aerobic exercise is helpful because not only does it improve the ability of the heart to deliver oxygen to working muscles by making the heart and lungs work harder than at rest, but it also uses large muscle groups rhythmically.
If you want to mix up your cardio workouts, though, you could try these in addition to your regular cardio:
Power skipping: You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy skipping. In fact, skipping can give you a pretty good cardio workout! Try high skipping for a minute or two and see.
Stair climbing: Find a flight of stairs at home or in another building and walk up and down them for a few minutes—and feel the cardio effects.
There are many cardio workouts, but the point is to keep your heart fit, too, while you stay in shape!
In order to avoid risk of injury, please seek advice directly from your physician, especially if you have existing medical issues, before beginning any exercise or nutritional program. Also, be sure to stretch after exercise to avoid muscle and joint tightness.
Some great examples of cardio exercises include brisk walking, biking, swimming, hiking, running or jogging. When you engage in cardio, you move quickly enough to raise your heart rate and breathe harder, but you shouldn’t go overboard. In fact, you should still be able to talk to someone while you’re performing your cardio workout.
Aerobic exercise is helpful because not only does it improve the ability of the heart to deliver oxygen to working muscles by making the heart and lungs work harder than at rest, but it also uses large muscle groups rhythmically.
If you want to mix up your cardio workouts, though, you could try these in addition to your regular cardio:
Power skipping: You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy skipping. In fact, skipping can give you a pretty good cardio workout! Try high skipping for a minute or two and see.
Stair climbing: Find a flight of stairs at home or in another building and walk up and down them for a few minutes—and feel the cardio effects.
There are many cardio workouts, but the point is to keep your heart fit, too, while you stay in shape!
In order to avoid risk of injury, please seek advice directly from your physician, especially if you have existing medical issues, before beginning any exercise or nutritional program. Also, be sure to stretch after exercise to avoid muscle and joint tightness.
