The American Heart Association recommends half an hour of moderate to strenuous aerobic exercise on most days of the week for your optimum heart health. If you cannot work out for
30 minutes continuously, break it down into 10-minute segments. Aerobic exercises improve your heart and lung fitness and have an impact on many risk factors for heart disease. If you haven’t already begun exercising, then it is high time to start. Better late than never, right?
Here are some of the best exercises to boost heart health:
1. Walk it out
This is the number one exercise among the top 10 exercises. Walking is safe, inexpensive, enjoyable, and easily fits into anyone’s busy day. You can walk to work or college, walking to do some grocery shopping or a simple walk around the neighbourhood. So, what are aerobic exercises? Aerobic exercises are those that make use of the larger muscles in our body continuously and rhythmically. And, the best example of that is walking. Plug-in your earphones and head out for a walk and feel refreshed as well.
2. Climb stair
If you want to achieve the best heart health using aerobic exercises, then you got to reach between 50 to 85 per cent of your maximum heart rate. The best way to get into that range is by climbing stairs. You can easily do it at home or the gym using a stair machine. Now how would you find out your maximum heart rate? That’s easy. Subtract your age from 220, and that’s your maximum heart rate. Climbing stairs does get you out of breath, but it does improve your heart health. Start by climbing stairs at home, walk to the terrace a couple of times, and your exercise is done.
3. Ride your bike
A road bike or a stationary bike will work for this exercise. The pumping of the large muscles in your leg is the best aerobic exercise for the heart. If it is too cold or wet to cycle outside, you can use a stationary cycle to work out at home. Make sure the position of the seat and pedals are right so you can avoid any injury. Adjust your bike to suit your body. Cycling is also environmental-friendly so cycle to work or college whenever you can.
4. Swim
This is one of the best aerobic exercises out there. The ideal amount of time you need to spend in a week’s swimming is two and a half hours. Another splendid advantage of swimming is that it puts less stress on your bones and joints. This is advantageous if you’re a little chubby or suffer from arthritis. Days when there are heated indoor pools for your convenience, they are much more enjoyable. So, make sure you take time out from your schedule to go swimming at least twice a week.
5. Elliptical training
Go for a spin on the elliptical machine, this is one of the exercises that is gaining a lot of popularity. They are found in almost all gyms, and people have started using them at home too. Getting the upper and lower bodywork outdone at once, this is an excellent work out for improving heart health. The elliptical leg motion replicates running with the lesser impact of cycling, whereas the hand movement gets the blood flowing to your back as well as shoulder muscles. Quite wonderful, isn’t it? You are bound to lose a lot of weight as well.
6. Dance your heart out
Dancing is another rhythmic aerobic exercise that boosts your heart health. All you need is some good music and enough space to get you motivated. A good aerobic beat is around 120 to 135 beats a minute. Dancing can also range from higher to lower impact depending on your ability and preferences. You can enroll in the Zumba class at your gym or dance in the comfort of your own home. Wherever it may be blast music once a day and dance to your heart’s content. This is an excellent way of relieving your stress as well.
7. Tai chi
This is an ancient form of Chinese exercise based on martial arts. It includes slow and rhythmic body movements combined with deep breathing. It requires a great deal of concentration, so it’s also called “moving meditation.” This exercise is good for your body as well as your mind. If you need someone to teach you, many fitness centers have started teaching this, and you can also watch a couple of YouTube videos.
8. Wii fit
Another great option for exercising is playing interactive video games that get you off your seat. Games like boxing, tennis, and bowling could get your heart rate high enough to qualify as aerobic exercise. To meet your physical targets, you will have to play for thirty minutes a day for five days a week. This isn’t that much at all for people who love playing these games regularly. You can also call your friends over, challenge them in a round of boxing. This is fun and also helps you achieve your physical targets easily. Great, isn’t it?
9. Water aerobics
Water aerobics is a good aerobic exercise as it doesn’t stress out the joints as much as other exercises might. If you are on the chubby side of the scale, suffering from arthritis or knee pain, then water aerobics is the most beneficial exercise for you. This has shown to improve the use of joints in arthritis without worsening the symptoms. This is the perfect exercise for you. Water aerobics lets you have a lot of fun with its loud music and the use of colorful instruments to get you moving.
To sum up
Now that you have a whole lot of options in front of you, you can easily pick out the exercise that you would prefer and work out. Once you start exercising every day, it becomes a part of your routine, and it wouldn’t be that hard for you to follow.
