Celebrate National Heart Month with Compassionate Care by exercising to improve your heart health! Living a healthy life style with adequate physical activity could possibly add years to your heart. Read the full article to learn the best exercise tips to improve your heart health.

How much exercise do you need for heart health?

The Surgeon General recommends physical activity for people of all ages, but just how much do each of us need? Adults need at least 150 minutes of aerobic/cardio exercise and 2 or more days of strength training. If you’re not currently active, that might startle you a bit, but fret not.  Break it down. 10 or 15 minutes at a time is just fine! If you take three 10-minute walks five days a week, you will have all 150 minutes of aerobic/cardio exercise complete!

Still hesitant about the strength training? Read up on the CDC’s article on Strength Training for Older Adults. They go into detail about the benefits of these exercises for seniors as well as tips on technique.

What exercises are best for heart health?

Physical activity has developed a bad rep. No one likes the sound of ‘exercising.’ But we do things everyday in our life that would fall under the category of  ‘exercise.’  Here are some examples of physical activity that may already be a part of your daily/weekly routine:

• Climbing stairs
• Dancing
• Gardening
• Golfing
• Walking
• Yard Work

To ensure you are getting all 30 minutes per day, you may need to add a few new things that you’ve never tried before. Here are some examples:

• Aerobic/Cardio: walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming
• Strength Training: dumbbell curls, lunges, pushups and resistance bands
• Flexibility: Yoga, stretching, Tai Chi and Pilates

How do I make heart health exercises a lifelong habit?

Sometimes starting is easy, but maintaining exercise for heart health as a regular habit is difficult. By making physical activity a priority and by making it fun, you might just surprise yourself! Here are some tips that may help make exercise a life long habit:

• Every little bit counts. Take the stairs. Park farther away. Clean up clutter on commercials.  Stand while talking on the phone.
• Invite your friends or family to join in. Going for a walk? Ask your neighbor to join you. You’ll catch up on the latest news while getting your blood flowing.
• Remember your rest. Your body grows stronger when it’s not working.
• Reward yourself, but not with food. Once you reach your first milestone, pat yourself on the back by snagging that sweater you’ve been eyeing up!
• Set realistic goals. Goals that are too grand may cause you stress, possible injury, and disappointment. These are the kind of things we are trying to avoid, remember?
• Start out slow. Build up to your 150 minutes per week, especially if you’ve been sedentary for a long time. Your doctor can help get you started.
• Try a pedometer. Track how many steps you take throughout the day… you might surprise yourself!
• Use websites like go4life and livestrong as resources to help your journey. They will have tips on setting goals, making plans, and ways to track your progress and successes!
• Variety is the spice of life. Don’t just limit yourself to walking. Try new things – dust off that bicycle in the garage or check out the local community pool.

If your heart health isn’t enough of a reason to peel yourself off the couch, consider the rest of your body. Exercise can offer other physical and mental benefits:

• Help prevent breast, uterus, and colon cancers.
• Build and tone your muscles.
• Increase your endurance.
• Help manage your stress and tension level.
• May fight depression.
• Improve your balance.
• Strengthen your lungs.
• Improve confidence and self-image.
• Reduce risk of stroke by at least 20%.
• Increase your energy.

With all of these possible benefits, why wouldn’t you jump out of your chair and head out for a walk? Take the information you’ve learned here and chat with your family doctor. They can pinpoint the best ways for you achieve your happy heart health status while keeping you safe and sound.

Once you and your doctor lay out your path to success, give us a call so we can help you keep you going in the right direction. Our caregivers customize your home care to suit your needs and the suggestions of your family doctor. Have a happy heart this month and every month!