How to keep your heart healthy

Exercising can be easier than you think and it can make a huge difference in keeping your heart healthy.

Being active will reduce the chances of suffering from heart disease by half, compared to a person that does no physical activity.

Exercising regularly can help you burn calories, control your blood pressure and achieve healthy cholesterol levels.

The first thing you need to do is to be aware of how fit you are. If you are barely doing any exercise, you shouldn’t try to run a marathon straight away. You can start walking and increasing your activity slowly, to improve your fitness levels over time.

You should look for a sport or activity that you are going to enjoy. You might like to join some Zumba classes, start swimming or even just walking. Choose the exercise that suits you the best and try to schedule it throughout the week to help you keep to the routine.

If you want to train harder, set up a goal and go for it. You might want to get a trainer to advise on what exercises you should do to help you reach your goal.

Always check with your doctor before starting extensive exercise. He will be able to advise you and set up limits on what you are physically capable of.

You should combine the following types of exercise to get a complete workout. 

Cardio: Cardio exercises are the ones that make you move fast to increase your heart rate and breathing pace. Some examples would be: aerobic, running and biking. For a lower joint impact, you could try swimming.

Stretching: It is recommended to stretch before your training session to warm up your muscles and after your exercise to cool down slowly. Stretching regularly will also increase your elasticity.  

Strength training: Weight lifting or using resistance bands will build up your durability. You can increase these progressively to build up your strength. Let your muscles rest for a day between sessions to allow them to recover.

Ideally you should aim to carry out moderate-intensity exercise, 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes.

You should gradually challenge yourself. Leave time to let your body adapt to your new activity pace.

Try to do different types of exercise to keep motivated so you don’t get bored. It will reduce the chances of abandoning your routine.

As mentioned before, you should always be conscious of your fitness level. Pay attention to how your body is reacting and stop if you are feeling unwell or in pain. 

If you have pain or pressure in your chest or upper body, or you have cold sweat, you should contact your doctor immediately.

It is normal to experience muscle soreness one or two days after your workout, when you’re not used to doing regular exercise. You will get used to it and the muscle soreness will decrease as you get more used to training.