Physical activity is necessary to maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle
You probably already know it. Exercise affects the whole body, including all organic systems. Therefore, it is very important to take care of cardiovascular health every day and understand the cardiovascular benefits of exercise.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in adults after the age of 50 and the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease is the lack of physical activity.
The longer the risk factors are present, the greater the chance of developing the disease.
Skeletal muscles responsible for human movement need more energy and therefore a better circulation, which is largely facilitated by the accelerated heart function, and the increased need for oxygen is resolved by accelerated and deep breathing.
Visual stimulation to realize the cardiovascular benefits of exercise
Visual images have a strong impact on people and can even save lives. This is now also revealed by a new Swedish study. The researchers found that those people who saw the photos of their clogged veins became more motivated to fight against cardiovascular diseases than the rest of the group who did not see these images.
The pictures that were shown to them were real photos of plaque accumulation and blood clots in their arteries, which increases the risk of heart disease and heart attack. Swedish experts have thus discovered a more effective way to convince people to follow the doctor’s instructions and change their lifestyle.
However, you can reduce the risk of these diseases by changing your lifestyle – by quitting smoking, doing aerobic activity, as well as by taking preventive medications prescribed by your doctor. Nevertheless, the majority of people do not take this into account, even when they find out that they have an increased risk of developing these diseases.
How often should you work out to enjoy the cardiovascular benefits of exercise?
The arrhythmic stiffness that increases with the sedentary lifestyle is associated with a higher risk of heart disease. It’s known that gymnastics help. But how much exercise is enough to achieve a positive effect?
“Almost every day, intensive and lifelong (more than 25 years) endurance exercise prevents the onset of arterial stiffness with aging, but such a way of life is virtually impossible for most,” wrote the authors of a new study who wanted to determine the minimum quantity exercise, which still works against the stiffness of the arteries.
How does movement contribute to cardiovascular health?
The heart is a muscle, like every other skeletal muscle in the body. Regular exercise helps to increase the power of the heart muscle, which means that the heart works more efficiently. The best exercises that affect the heart muscle are aerobic.
The gym also has many positive effects, such as lowering blood pressure, lowering body weight, overcoming stress, increasing self-esteem, improving well-being, supporting the immune system and contributing to better sleep.
Exercises for strengthening the cardiovascular system
Depending on your health and options, you can choose from many activities like walking, jumping rope workout, climbing, running, cycling, swimming, training martial arts, dancing, skiing, etc. The listed activities are aerobic, which means that when performing such activity, the body consumes larger amounts of oxygen.
The heart beats faster and the transient increase in blood pressure ensures a sufficient supply of oxygen to the muscles. With this kind of exercise, toxins are removed from the body. For optimum cardiovascular health and toxin elimination, in addition to exercise, it is advisable to perform a body detox with natural supplements and according to the guidelines of tested detox programs.
- What about strength training?
Fitness workout is mostly workout for strength. If you prefer to take care of your heart health by doing this kind of exercise, instead of lifting heavy weights, you will want to choose lighter weights and make more repetitions. For this purpose, you can use hand weights, elastic resistance bands, or lower settings on fitness devices.
We also recommend exercises using your own body weight. It is a good idea to make several sets of each exercise and then give your muscles a one day rest before re-performing the same exercises. - How to start exercising?
First of all, it is a good idea to motivate and persuade yourself to continue your exercises despite your starting efforts. It is important to keep your activities on a regular basis, even if they are initially lower in complexity.
It is recommended to start with moderate movement at least two to three times a week for half an hour. Slowly increase the difficulty of exercises, as well as gradually lengthen the time you devote to physical exercise.
In the beginning, the criterion for difficulty is talking while you are training. If you are out of breath and you can’t speak during the activity, it is recommended to lower the difficulty level.
Get moving- more tips to get active!
- According to Mayo Clinic, for better health, Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week or an average of 30 minutes of physical activity per day.
- After eating wait for an hour before you begin to exercise.
- Enjoy liquid before, during and after exercise: water or unsweetened non-carbonated drinks are recommended.
- Before starting physical activity, warm up your body with slow exercises, such as slow running. Warming up helps the heart and other muscles slowly move from sleep to motion.
- Increase daily physical activity – to enjoy cardiovascular benefits of exercise skip the elevator, take the stairs and walk or ride a bike instead of driving by car or bus;
- Exercise with friends and family – this will motivate and entertain you;
- Use sport applications or a step counter (pedometer) to keep up with your progress.
- Lower the tempo and difficulty of the exercises slowly, don’t stop suddenly. Immediate cessation of activity can lead to an irregular heartbeat, which is felt like heart failure, fatigue, malaise or feeling of lack of air.
- After a workout, make sure to gradually cool down the body.
- Consult a physician before starting with your physical exercise plan.
Scientists reveal: a glass of wine has similar effects on the body as exercising!
If you don’t like to go to the gym, then the latest finding by Canadian scientists will make you fly like Tinkerbell. Their study reveals that a glass of red wine has similar positive effects on the body as a gym.
A recent study by scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada has revealed the positive effects of drinking red wine. Only one glass of this drink has similar positive effects on the body as a workout.
Scientists have discovered that red wine (in limited quantities!) is a great source of resveratrol, which is a very powerful antioxidant and has a beneficial effect on the heart and muscles in a similar way to physical activity.
The main elements of a healthy lifestyle are:
- Healthy nutrition, more movement, and less harmful habits, especially smoking.
- Try to avoid processed and pre-packed foods that often contain too much sugar and unhealthy fats.
- Reduce the amount of sweets, sweet and strong alcoholic drinks. Rather choose water, teas or unsweetened drinks and replace sweets with fruit.
- Try to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day – Fresh fruits and vegetables are better for you than canned or frozen.
- Sleep at least 8 hours at night. Among other things, sleep deprivation can contribute to elevated blood pressure, which is one of the main risk factors for heart disease.
- Reduce stress. Stress can have an extremely negative impact on our health. Of course, the heart is especially burdened.
- Maintain a healthy body weight! Increased body weight is extremely dangerous for the heart and circulatory system. Of course, this is not only important for a healthy heart and blood vessels, but also for other organs.