Exercise For Your Heart!
It is important to take care of your heart health. One way you can do that is by exercise! Ah yes, something we all either love..or may despise. Let's talk about it though.. there are a number of reasons why it is so good for you, specifically cardio in relation to benefiting your heart. Cardio exercise uses the large muscles of your body in movement over a sustained period of time, keeping your heart rate to at least 50-percent of its maximum level. With regular aerobic exercises, you will have a stronger cardiovascular system, with more capillaries delivering more oxygen to the cells in your muscles. You will also enjoy increased stamina and endurance with each passing session. If this is not a good enough reason to want to get you moving, check out the other reason exerice is so important to our health:
Improved heart health
When you engage in 30-60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise daily, you are able to build stronger muscles, including those of the heart, that control your blood pressure, enhance HDL (good cholesterol), lower anxiety and stress, decrease blood proteins and fats that contribute to blood clots, prevent heart disease, and reduce blood sugar and manage diabetes.
Enhanced brain health
By engaging in cardio regularly, the regions of the brain that control memory and thinking skills grow in volume or size. Frequent cardiovascular activity also reduces the rate of shrinking of brain size in older people, improving their cognitive function. But cardio can also help you achieve a good night’s sleep, which is necessary for your mental health.
Increased metabolic rate
All types of cardio increase metabolism through the production of Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) hormone, which increases the body’s metabolism, suppresses appetite and causes more calories to be burned.
Weight regulation
By increasing the heart rate into the target heart rate zone, which is the zone where the body burns the most calories, cardio helps to burn excess calories and control weight. Exercises such as walking, swimming, running and jogging burn excess calories over time while moderate to high intensity cardio burn quite a lot of calories per exercise session. Examples of cardio exercises that are highly effective in cutting weight include jumping rope, running stairs, walking, rowing, cycling and high intensity interval training (HIIT).
Improved mood and energy
Cardiovascular exercise triggers increased secretion of endorphins—neurochemicals that cause a feeling of euphoria. Cardio also causes increased production of mood-boosting hormones such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. With improved mood, you feel more energized and ready to complete your routine activities. But the increased release of hormones also reduces stress, boosts stamina, increases energy, and improves memory and mental focus.
Stronger immune system
Regular exercise increases the release of antibodies and white blood cells, which improve your body’s ability to fight infections. The release of FGF21 also speeds up metabolism and boosts immune system. Actually, cardio protects the body against several illnesses, including hypertension, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease.
Management of arthritis
Cardiovascular exercise helps to reduce the pain associated with arthritis and minimize stiffness at the joint through movement.
There are SO many benefits! If you feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start, try going for a powerwalk or a bike ride or maybe play tennis with some friends. You can work your way up from there. The best thing is that you move and get your heart pumping. Don't let yourself get bogged down by how hard it may be in the beginning. You will improve!
*If you ever need any pointers, give us a call! We are happy to help assist you on your fitness journey in any way we can. 806-785-7900