Your heart is the most important organ of your body. It is responsible for pumping blood to all your cells and tissues and ensuring that they keep working properly. However, it is also prone to several complications and ailments if you don’t look after it properly. The healthy diet plans and exercises for heart health are extremely important.
However, not all exercises for heart health are suitable for your cardiovascular well-being as some exercises can exert pressure and strain on your heart muscles. Furthermore, there are some heart patients who can’t afford to exert themselves by taking part in tiring exercises. Therefore, we have gathered 7 of the best exercises for your optimal heart health.
7 Exercises for Heart Health
The following are the finest 7 exercises that do wonders for improving your heart health:
Swimming
Swimming is one of the most effective exercises for heart health out there. It is the only exercise that engages all the muscles in your body. You heard it right! Every muscle from your head to your toe is working when you go for a swim. However, this is a perfectly mild exercise that won’t put excessive pressure on your heart while keeping your body fit.
Swimming is also very easy on your joints and other body muscles, which makes it the ideal exercise for anyone with a heart complication. Swimming is also an amazing aerobic exercise that gives your body the perfect workout it needs. Since physical activity is key for good heart health, swimming is the best activity to keep you physically active.
Yoga
We can’t stress enough how good this exercise is for your heart health. Yoga is an exercise for your mind, body and soul. It not only gives you a physical workout, but it also improves your breathing, heart rate and helps to relieve all sorts of mental and physical stress. Yoga works with the combination of different physical poses and breathing exercises.
The physical poses are relaxing enough to untie all the knots in your body, and the breathing exercises give you a sense of serenity in calmness. However, there are certain poses that can be a bit too taxing and tiring, and we’d recommend you to stay away from them and opt for the ones that are fairly simple.
They also help you to connect with your soul. The breathing exercises are also ideal for regulating your heart rate. This exercise is also super helpful in blood pressure management. Since well-regulated blood pressure is ideal for improving heart health, anyone who wants a healthier heart should definitely give yoga a try.
Weight Training
We know you must be thinking that weight training is too intense for improving heart health, but we are here to clear your misjudgment. Weight training can be done using the weights of your choice, and this means that you get to choose between heavy or light weights. Since we are talking about not putting stress on your heart, we’d suggest you start with light weights.
These lightweights will give help to increase the strength of your cardiac muscles by giving them the perfect workout. Furthermore, once you get used to lifting weights, you can also move on to heavier weights as they won’t put a harmful strain on your heart. The key is to take it slow and slowly build up the amount of weight lifted.
Walking
Nothing beats a nice brisk walk out in the open. Fresh air is extremely important for boosting heart health, and walking in the open is the best way to get some physical activity and fresh air. Fresh air contains ample oxygen, and the more oxygen we get, the better it is for your heart as your heart ends up pumping more oxygenated blood, which increases the function of your overall body’s muscles, including your heart muscles.
Walking is also a great form of aerobic exercise, and aerobic exercises are the ideal mild exercises that allow you to be physically active without adding any extra pressure on your heart muscles. Therefore, you should incorporate a 30-minute walk into your everyday routine to improve your heart health.
Dancing
Dancing is the most expressive, joyous, and a good exercise for heart health. Dancing is a super effective workout since it engages all the muscles in your body, and it’s also light on your heart. This exercise makes one super happy as well since dancing triggers the productions of serotonin and endorphins in your body, and both of them are mood-boosting hormones.
Therefore, dancing is ideal for reducing mental stress and depression and the lesser mental stress you have, the better your heart’s health will be. Since we are talking about dancing, you could also indulge in some aerobics sessions every now and then as well since they are a good aerobic exercise that is very similar to dancing.
Cycling
Since we have already mentioned the benefits of fresh air for optimal heart health, cycling is another physical activity that’s done out in the open. Cycling is one of the most effective exercises for improving your heart health as it engages your body in extensive physical activity, especially in the lower torso.
However, since most of the work is done by your legs, your heart doesn’t suffer from any extensive physical strain. But the leg work is enough to raise your heart rate to that perfect amount that will keep your heart working effectively. Moreover, if you don’t feel like going out cycling, then you could do it indoors too on a cycling machine, and it will still be really effective for your heart health.
Interval Training
Interval training is one of the best exercises for getting rid of excess weight and body fat. The more they weigh, the greater risk it poses for your body to suffer from severe cardiac complications. Excess body fat leads to clogging of your arteries with cholesterol, which can lead to serious conditions such as heart attack. Therefore, interval training is the best exercise that will burn your body fat and improve your heart health.
As the name suggests, interval training is done by alternating between random bursts of fast-paced exercises, which is followed by prolonged durations of mild physical activity. This alteration is the perfect blend of physical workouts that will keep you in good shape and promote optimal cardiovascular health as well.
Final Word
If you want to lead a healthy life, then you must take care of your heart health. A healthy heart ensures a healthy life, and exercise is essential for promoting good heart health. Therefore, if you incorporate our mentioned exercises into your daily routine, it will do wonders for your heart. You can also make use of online coaching to get help with your exercises.