Exercise for a Healthy Heart

Get moving today and keep your heart healthy with our simple tips on exercising.

Get Active - Exercise for a Healthy Heart

Exercising regularly not only helps you feel energised, but it can also help to keep your heart healthy. Even a short burst of activity, like running around your backyard or climbing the stairs can get your heart pumping and help boost circulation.

Your heart is a muscle and like other muscles, it will get stronger through physical activity – particularly cardiovascular exercise, like walking, swimming and dancing - which works the heart and lungs. The stronger and bigger your heart is, the more effective it works to pump blood around your body.

Physical activity helps you feel energised and can help reduce stress. You don't have to join a gym or a special exercise class; it’s easy to become more active simply by working more activity into your everyday life.

Experts recommend that we should be aiming to be moderately active for 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, and preferably on all days of the week.

Moderate regular exercise is safe and effective for all of us – it increases your heart rate, get you breathing more heavily, helps you feel energised. But above all it in enjoyable.

Here are a few simple guidelines to make exercising fun:

Start with activities that you already know and are comfortable with, like gardening or walking
Start slowly and ease off towards the end
Stay within your comfort zone - you should be able to talk comfortably while you’re exercising
Listen to how your body feels - you should feel a little tired at the end but not exhausted
Wear shoes and clothing that give you support but still let you move comfortably
Drink plenty of water before, during and after activity
Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day

Getting fitter

Why not start with general daily activities, such as walking to the train station or bus stop and aim to increase this by two to three minutes and at a slightly faster pace. You can then increase the number of minutes you do each week. For example if you start with just five minutes of activity each day, aim to increase this to 10 to 15 minutes in the first week, 15 to 20 minutes the next and so on.

If you want to try more vigorous activities, make sure that you’re already moderately active for an hour, at least five days a week, then start with 10 to 15 minutes of vigorous activity, three times a week and increase this by just one to two minutes each week. It’s best to spread vigorous activity throughout the week and to always have at least one to two days of complete rest, so your body can recover. Activities you might like to try:

Cycling – try cycling with friends and family, it will help to keep you going
Running – go slowly and try running up a few hills!
Tennis – it’s a great fat burner and a good social activity too
Swimming – perfect for giving your heart a great workout!

Exercise for a Healthy Heart

Get Active - Exercise for a Healthy Heart

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