7 Heart Health Benefits of Exercise
February is American Heart Month, a month to focus on ways to lower your risk of heart disease and improve your overall heart health. One of the best ways to improve your heart health is through regular exercise, incorporating both aerobic exercise and strength training. Regular physical activity plays a key role in preventing cardiovascular disease and helping you regain aerobic capacity following a cardiac event. As you begin your exercise journey toward better heart health, a physical therapist can help you by designing a customized, progressive exercise program.
7 Benefits of Exercise for Your Heart
Maintaining and improving your heart health is paramount as your heart is the most important muscle you have: it is the power supply of your body. Exercise has numerous benefits for your heart health, including:
Exercise strengthens your heart and blood vessels. During cardiovascular exercise, your breath and heart rate increase to pump oxygen and blood to muscles, which causes the heart to respond by working more efficiently and becoming stronger.
Exercise lowers your blood pressure and bad cholesterol while boosting your good cholesterol. Cardiovascular exercise helps to open up blood vessels throughout the body, making them better at moving blood throughout the body and lowering your blood pressure.
Exercise improves your muscle function and enhances your endurance. As you exercise, your muscles and tissues become more efficient at extracting oxygen from your blood, which reduces the need for the heart to work so hard to pump blood to the muscles.
Exercise improves the flow of oxygen throughout the body. Research has shown that cardio exercise improves the circulation within your heart as well as circulation throughout the entire cardiovascular region.
Exercise reduces the risk of heart disease, heart attack, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. By lowering high blood pressure, exercise reduces the risk of a heart attack and cardiovascular-related diseases such as heart disease and strokes. An Iowa State University study revealed that strength training, even for less than an hour a week, can reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke significantly. Research shows that exercise lowers the risk of heart disease and diabetes by 50% and stroke by 35%.
Exercise improves mood and reduces stress. Regular exercise helps you feel happier, more relaxed, and less anxious by stimulating the release of endorphins. Those who exercise regularly also lower the risk of depression by 30%.
Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight. Incorporating daily exercise also increases your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories when you are seeking to lose weight.
Exercise Recommendations
The American Heart Association recommends that you engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise a week, or thirty minutes a day, five days a week. Experts also recommend incorporating strength training at least 2-3 times a week, allowing for a rest and recovery day between each session. Begin with low-impact aerobic exercise that doesn’t place too much stress on your muscles and joints and gradually build from there towards more intense cardio and strength training.
Aerobic exercise involves repetitive contraction of your large muscle groups to get the heart beating faster. Aerobic exercise can include walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, hiking, golfing, or playing sports like basketball.
Resistance training involves the use of dumbbell weights, weight machines, resistance bands, and your own body weight (such as in Pilates) to build muscle mass. Begin with two sets of each exercise with 10 repetitions per set. Once you can do that, progress to 12 reps per set, and when adding weight, add 2.5 pounds at a time.
If you have not exercised in quite some time or are recovering from an injury, working with a physical therapist can help you to begin to move again safely. The therapist designs a customized exercise program involving both progressive aerobic exercise and strength training to help you regain endurance, strength, and aerobic capacity.
This year, celebrate American Heart Month by starting to exercise every day! Work with a physical therapist to start moving again safely and regain strength and endurance.
