If you eat right and avoid smoking, your heart will thank you! But there is more you can do. Here we will go into some more detail and explain why cardiovascular workouts are so beneficial and provide some fun and relatively easy workouts that will get your heart pumping.
For starters, how does exercise help your heart anyway? Consistent exercise will lower your blood pressure which, in turn, causes your heart to work more efficiently. With high blood pressure, your heart has to work harder for each pump of blood it sends through your body – exercise helps to prevent that.
This leads to improved blood circulation and a decreased risk of clotting. It’s this good circulation that can prevent heart attacks and keep your entire cardiovascular system running smoothly.
Regular exercise also leads to lower cholesterol. Cholesterol is a substance found in your blood and it’s actually vital to building healthy cells. However, when its levels become too high, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels which can eventually grow and greatly diminish your blood flow, which is a common cause of heart attacks and strokes.
So, now that you have a better understanding of just what it is that exercise does for your heart, check out our extended list of cardio exercises you can do on a daily basis. Note that any exercise that elevates your heart rate will be beneficial to you, these are just some of our favorites!
- Jogging
- Power walking
- Basketball
- Jump rope
- Burpees
- Tennis
- Cycling
- Jumping jacks
- Squat jumps
- Swimming laps