Exercise helps to keep your muscles strong, your weight down, and to give your body more energy. One muscle that particularly needs exercise is your heart. Your heart is a delicate muscle that needs to be treated with care. So, how much exercise does your heart need?
How Much Exercise Does Your Heart Need?
The American Heart Association says that doing 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week can greatly decrease the risk for heart disease.
They count any exercise that gets your body moving and burning calories. It can be walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, or any activity that gets you up and about.
For people with high blood pressure or cholesterol, more vigorous exercise may be necessary to get back to a healthier blood pressure level.
Exercise also helps to decrease the amount of LDL (bad cholesterol) in blood vessels and increased HDL (good cholesterol) to keep your heart healthy.
Additionally, regular exercise helps reduce blood pressure and maintains a healthy blood flow to your heart. It can also reduce the amount of plaque buildup in your heart that may occur from excess sodium, cholesterol, or fat.
Keeping your heart strong is important if you want a long, healthy life. When your heart can pump blood with ease, the chance of heart failure or heart attack decreases tremendously.
Which Exercises are Best?
For Moderate Exercise:
Yoga
Walking
Leisurely Bike Ride
Golf
Bowling
Tennis (Doubles)
Water Aerobics
For Vigorous Exercise
Jogging
Tennis (Singles)
Swimming
Hiking
Heavy gardening
Kickboxing
Jump Rope
Soccer/Field Sports
Here’s an infographic that can help you remember the next time you wonder, how much exercise does your heart need?
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