01 Apr Moderate Exercises at Home for a Healthy Heart
In the quest of assuming the heart to be the pivotal organ of the body, we often tend to neglect the fact that it is a muscular organ as well. The muscles of the heart just like any other bodily muscle will get stronger and work better when in an active state. A slightly moderate to a light dose of easy exercises can help you to keep your heart healthy for a longer time. Note that for such exercises you do not always have to visit the gym. Your home and a yoga mat are all you need.
Aerobic Exercises
The type of exercise that can strengthen your heart is typically termed “Cardio” or “Aerobic Exercises”. This is the first type of exercise we are going to be talking about. Aerobic exercises such as skipping or walking across the home are a good way to get started. In case you have enough space for exercise, try out cycling. Standing jogging is also a great option for aerobic exercises. The core purpose of aerobic exercises is to improve blood circulation across the body.
When you start to exercise, the oxygen demand of the body rapidly rises. Now the heart has to pump harder and swiftly to meet this enhanced oxygen demand of the body. This is typically termed “Heart Pumping Exercise” in medical terms. 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week is an excellent boost to your heart health. Along with heart health, cardio exercises are also great to prevent the onset of lifestyle diseases like Type 2 Diabetes.
Strength or Resistance Training
The next type of exercise is resistance training where the target is to enhance the strength of the heart’s musculature. Usually, resistance training is prescribed in combination with Aerobic training for the improvement of heart health. It is very convenient to perform strength training at home. You can start with a few reps of squats and sit-ups. Once you become accustomed to and can bear the light muscle pain that may come along the way, you can start your training with resistance bands. Lifting light weights (even one liter filled water bottle is enough) can also be included in the regime.
The essential benefit of Strength training for heart health is that it helps in the modulation of cholesterol levels in the blood. Regularly scheduled strength training helps to diminish the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood while increasing the amount of good cholesterol in the body. Thus physical conditions like atherosclerosis do not get a chance to harm your heart.
For strength training, it is better not to go for it daily. Instead, take up resistance exercises every alternate day.
Final Words
Taking care of the heart is extremely important and one can do it in many ways. Leading an active lifestyle and including slight to moderate exercises in your daily day plan is one of the most effective ways to keep your heart healthy for a long time and stay away from probable cardiovascular ailments.
No Comments