{"id":19951,"date":"2025-02-24T15:42:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T22:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/?post_type=newsletters&p=19951"},"modified":"2025-11-18T15:37:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T22:37:55","slug":"heart-health-exercise-matters","status":"publish","type":"newsletters","link":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/newsletters\/heart-health-exercise-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart Health Exercise Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Your body is designed for motion. Staying active supports many of its functions. The advice from the American Heart Association is to sit less and purposefully move more for heart health. Physical activity is anything that burns calories and moves your body.
How much exercise do you need? And what kinds of exercise should you do? How does exercise help keep your heart healthy?<\/p>


The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic (or cardio) exercise at least five days a week. Aerobic exercise gets your heart rate up for more than a few minutes. When done at moderate intensity, your heart will beat faster, and you\u2019ll breathe harder than normal, yet you\u2019ll still be able to talk.<\/p>


An ideal exercise program for heart health also incorporates about an hour of strength-training exercises per week. Two resistance training sessions for 30 minutes each are the typical recommendation.<\/p>


Strength-training exercises can help your body gain more lean muscle mass. Muscles help keep your body and heart healthy by improving your metabolic rate.
Lowered risk of heart conditions.<\/p>


Getting your body moving has many positive heart-healthy benefits that directly affect how your heart works. Among them:
\u2022 Lower blood pressure
\u2022 Balance or lower cholesterol levels
\u2022 Reduced Type 2 diabetes risk
\u2022 Maintain healthy body weight
\u2022 Decrease inflammation
\u2022 Regulate blood sugar
\u2022 Improve cardiorespiratory fitness
\u2022 Reduced risk of heart disease<\/p>

Aerobic or cardio-style exercise improves the circulation within your heart, as well as the circulation throughout your entire cardiovascular system. The ability to circulate blood effectively and efficiently typically leads to reductions in cardiovascular risk.<\/p>


When starting a new exercise program, start small and build up gradually; this allows your body to adapt to the new activity without risking injury and helps ensure long-term consistency in your workout routine. Increase your workouts\u2019 duration, intensity, and frequency slowly over time. Pay attention to your body\u2019s signals and rest when needed. Consistent exercise over time is the key to success. Your exercise routine needs to be something that you can sustain over time. Schedule your exercise in ways that work for you.<\/p>


For good exercise performance, warming up and cooling down are needed. Warming up before any sport or workout is critical for preparing your body and preventing injury. A warm-up before aerobic activity allows a gradual increase in heart rate and breathing at the start of the activity.<\/p>


The cool-down is just as critical. It keeps the blood flowing throughout the body. Suddenly stopping can cause light-headedness because your heart rate and blood pressure drop rapidly. Stretching when you\u2019re cooling down is good because your joints, muscles and limbs are still warm. Stretching can help reduce the buildup of lactic acid, which can lead to muscle cramping and stiffness.<\/p>

Aerobic exercise<\/em>
Aerobic exercise is repetitive movement that increases your heart rate, blood flow, and breathing rate. Here are a few examples of exercise that benefits your heart health:
\u2022 Brisk walking
\u2022 Jogging or running
\u2022 Hiking or rock climbing
\u2022 Swimming
\u2022 Cycling or biking
\u2022 Climbing stairs, stair stepper, or elliptical machine
\u2022 Rowing, kayaking, or paddle boarding
\u2022 Cross-country skiing
\u2022 Pickleball or tennis
\u2022 Ice skating or hockey
\u2022 Playing sports \u2013 basketball, soccer, etc.
\u2022 Dancing<\/p>

Strength-training\/resistance exercise<\/em>
it can help reduce fat and create leaner muscle mass. Start by trying:
\u2022 Pilates
\u2022 Yoga
\u2022 Leg lifts
\u2022 Crunches
\u2022 Kettlebells
\u2022 Free weights (hand weights, dumbbells, or barbells)
\u2022 Resistance bands
\u2022 Body weight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and lunges)
\u2022 Weight machines<\/p>

Fitness Routine
The key to a successful exercise routine is staying interested and motivated. Here are a few ways to keep exercise a lifelong habit:
1. Set aside a specific amount of time each day for exercise and work it into your schedule. Pick activities that fit your lifestyle and abilities.
2. Start with smaller, achievable goals. As you meet them, move on to more challenging goals.
3. Hold yourself accountable. Work out with a friend or join a gym and work out in a group.
4. Keep a record of your fitness progress and workouts. Writing things down or tracking them on an app increases commitment to your routine.
5. When you complete a workout or reach a fitness goal, give yourself immediate rewards.<\/p>


The goal should be to avoid sedentary behaviors that take up most of your day. Anything you can do to move more than your baseline is important progress toward improving your heart health. Aerobic and strength-training exercises are both important for a healthy heart. Combining aerobic exercise and resistance training produces the greatest benefit for preventing and managing heart disease.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Community Vitality & Health Educator<\/p>

Sources:<\/p>

  • Cleveland Clinic, health essentials; health.clevelandclinic.org<\/li>
  • American Heart Association; www.heart.org<\/li>
  • Johns Hopkins Medicine; www.hopkinsmedicine.org<\/li>
  • Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; odphp.health.gov<\/li><\/ul>

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