EXERCISE!
Warm Up
Warm-up exercises help your heart and muscles adjust form a resting state to an exercise state. Warming up will gradually increase your heart rate, thus reduce the stress on your heart and muscles. Good stretching exercises for warming up include shoulder rolls, knee lifts, overhead reaches and light walking.
Aerobic Conditioning
The bulk of your healthy heart routine will be spent doing aerobic activity. Physical activity that increases your heart rate should be done for at least 30 minutes a day. Swimming, brisk walking and low impact aerobics are all good standbys.
If aerobics aren't your thing, don't rule out exercise. Housework, yard work and other activities that you can build into your daily routine are all effective at increasing your heart rate and improving heart health.
Cool Down
Cooling down from exercise gradually brings your heart rate down and helps your body recover. Bring the intensity of your exercise down a few notches and include some more stretching in this phase.
Whether you practice a structured healthy heart exercise program or you consistently add physical activity into your daily routine, remember that it all adds up. And a healthy heart is a happy heart.
Warm-up exercises help your heart and muscles adjust form a resting state to an exercise state. Warming up will gradually increase your heart rate, thus reduce the stress on your heart and muscles. Good stretching exercises for warming up include shoulder rolls, knee lifts, overhead reaches and light walking.
Aerobic Conditioning
The bulk of your healthy heart routine will be spent doing aerobic activity. Physical activity that increases your heart rate should be done for at least 30 minutes a day. Swimming, brisk walking and low impact aerobics are all good standbys.
If aerobics aren't your thing, don't rule out exercise. Housework, yard work and other activities that you can build into your daily routine are all effective at increasing your heart rate and improving heart health.
Cool Down
Cooling down from exercise gradually brings your heart rate down and helps your body recover. Bring the intensity of your exercise down a few notches and include some more stretching in this phase.
Whether you practice a structured healthy heart exercise program or you consistently add physical activity into your daily routine, remember that it all adds up. And a healthy heart is a happy heart.