Regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do for your overall health, and it’s especially beneficial for your heart. Exercise strengthens your heart muscle, improves blood flow, and lowers your blood pressure, all of which contribute to a healthy cardiovascular system.
How Exercise Strengthens Your Heart
When you exercise, your heart works harder to pump blood to your muscles. This increased workload helps to strengthen the heart muscle, making it more efficient at pumping blood. A stronger heart is better able to maintain a healthy blood pressure and deliver oxygen-rich blood to your body’s tissues.
How Exercise Improves Blood Flow
Exercise improves blood flow by widening the blood vessels. This allows blood to flow more easily throughout your body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to your cells and removing waste products. Improved blood flow also helps to lower blood pressure.
How Exercise Lowers Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. When you exercise, your heart pumps blood with more force, which can temporarily raise your blood pressure. However, regular exercise helps to lower blood pressure over time by making your blood vessels more elastic.
Related: What Is A Muscle Strain?
Other Benefits of Exercise for Heart Health
In addition to strengthening your heart, improving blood flow, and lowering blood pressure, exercise has many other benefits for heart health, including:
- Reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases
- Improving cholesterol levels
- Helping to control weight
- Reducing stress and anxiety
- Improving sleep quality
How Much Exercise Is Enough for a Healthy Heart
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week. You should also spread your exercise out throughout the week, aiming for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise most days of the week.
Strength training is also important for heart health. The AHA recommends that adults do strength training exercises that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms) at least twice a week.
How to Get Started with Exercise
If you’re not used to exercising, it’s important to start slowly and gradually increase the amount of time and intensity of your workouts. You should also talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise program, especially if you have any health conditions.
Here are some tips for getting started with exercise:
- Start with small goals and gradually increase them.
- Find an activity you enjoy and stick with it.
- Find a workout buddy or join a fitness class.
- Track your progress to stay motivated.
References
- American Heart Association: https://www.heart.org/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
