How exercise improves your heart health

It’s common knowledge that exercise is good for your health — particularly your heart — but do you know how good?

Regular exercise can reduce your risk of dying from any cause by 21 to 31 percent, according to a study in Circulation. Yet only about one in five adults and teens gets enough exercise.

“Exercise helps your body and mind in so many ways — from how well you sleep to how you think and feel,” says Kris Jorgenson, a clinical exercise physiologist with MultiCare Pulse Heart Institute. “Often getting started with exercise is the hardest part, but you don’t need to be athletic. It doesn’t require a lot of time, and it’s never too late to begin.”

Find out exactly how exercise keeps your heart young, what types of exercise you should consider and some tips to keep you motivated.

How exercise benefits the heart

So what does exercise do for your heart, anyway?

For starters, your heart is a muscle, and like any muscle it needs movement to get stronger and more efficient.

“The more conditioned the heart is, the more blood it can pump with each beat,” Jorgenson explains. “And the more it can pump — with less strain — the more oxygen it can absorb and transfer to organs, muscles and tissues throughout the body.”

Physical activity benefits the other parts of your cardiovascular system, too. When you exercise, it increases the amount of blood circulating in your body by up to 25 percent, according to Harvard Health. This expands or dilates the blood vessels, keeping them pliable and ultimately lowering your blood pressure.

Exercise also improves your cholesterol levels, which has a direct impact on the long-term health of your heart.

What should your exercise routine look like?

Any type of movement or exercise helps the heart. But are some types more beneficial than others? How often should you exercise, and for how long?

“The best type of exercise is the type you enjoy because you’re most likely to stick with it,” says Jorgenson. “Pick an activity that you look forward to doing — it could be as simple as going for walks in your neighborhood, cranking up the music and dancing in your living room or playing soccer with your kids.”

As for how much exercise you need, the American Heart Association recommends a minimum of 150 minutes (two-and-a-half hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week. The health benefits start to increase when you up that number to 300 minutes a week or more.

What does “moderate intensity” look like?

“If you’re walking, it should be a brisk pace,” Jorgenson says. “You want to feel your heart pumping. You might be a little breathless, but not so breathless you can’t hold a conversation.”

To receive the most benefit, those 150 minutes should be parceled out over the course of a week — 30 minutes a day over five days, for example.

Should you aim for a target heart rate?

Your target heart rate is a range or zone you can strive for when you exercise. Target heart rates vary by age and the intensity level of your activity. During moderate-intensity exercise, your target heart rate represents about 50-85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

Knowing your target heart rate can help you get the most benefit from your workout without overdoing it. Some fitness trackers can monitor your heart rate, or you can check it manually. Visit the American Heart Association to learn your target heart rate or how to calculate it.

While aiming for a target heart rate can be motivating for some people, Jorgenson offers a word of caution: Many factors can affect your heart rate, including your genetics and some medications. Heart rate monitors may not always be 100 percent accurate, either.

“While you can use a target heart rate as a general guide, don’t get too caught up in the numbers,” Jorgenson says. “It may be just as helpful to focus on your perceived exertion level — how hard you feel you’re working and adjust accordingly. You should be able to hold a conversation but likely not sing a song.”

One of the best ways to increase your target heart rate — or improve your level of conditioning — is interval training. During this type of training, you alternate between short bursts of high-intensity activity and periods of recovery.

You can apply interval training to any sort of activity. If you’re walking, for example, you might walk fast, jog or even run for short periods of time and alternate that with periods of slower pacing.

Pair aerobic exercise with strength training

Aerobic exercise (cardio) and strength training, also known as resistance training, go hand in hand. The stronger your muscles are, the better positioned you’ll be to safely engage in aerobic activities, from climbing stairs to cycling.

Strength training also helps prevent injuries and reduces your risk of falls as you age, Jorgenson shares.

“You don’t have to go to a gym or lift barbells to do strength training,” she says. “You can do body-weight exercises at home, like chair squats or planks or lunges. Resistance bands are also inexpensive pieces of equipment you can keep at home.”

The American Heart Association recommends doing moderate- to high-intensity strength training at least twice a week, in addition to aerobic exercise.

How to get moving and sustain your routine

The first step to starting an exercise routine is knowing your particular motivation. Is it better heart health? Better quality sleep? More energy? Improved mood? A healthy weight? All of the above?

Tap into what drives you to get started.

Tips to maintain your exercise routine

Mix it up. Doing different aerobic activities throughout the week can help you exercise different muscle groups and stave off boredom.

Break it up. If you’re aiming for 30 minutes a day, you don’t have to do that 30 minutes all at once. You may find it easier to break it up into smaller chunks, like three 10-minute sessions a day.

Find a buddy. Exercising with someone can help with accountability and motivation.

Experiment. It may take some trial and error to figure out what types of exercise you enjoy and what’s comfortable for your body. Keep experimenting until you find the right fit.

Don’t give up. Miss a day of exercise? Miss a whole week? Don’t fret. Forgive yourself and get back to your routine as soon as you can.