{"id":36323,"date":"2025-01-24T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T07:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=36323"},"modified":"2025-01-25T00:22:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T00:22:29","slug":"how-exercise-improves-your-heart-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/how-exercise-improves-your-heart-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How exercise improves your heart health","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s common knowledge that exercise is good for your health \u2014 particularly your heart \u2014 but do you know how good?<\/p>\n<p>Regular exercise can reduce your risk of dying from any cause by 21 to 31 percent, according to a study in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/full\/10.1161\/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.058162\">Circulation<\/a>. Yet only about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/fitness\/fitness-basics\/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults\">one in five adults and teens gets enough exercise<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExercise helps your body and mind in so many ways \u2014 from how well you sleep to how you think and feel,\u201d says Kris Jorgenson, a clinical exercise physiologist with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pulseheartinstitute.org\/conditions-treatments\/how-we-help\/cardiac-pulmonary-rehabilitation\/\">MultiCare Pulse Heart Institute<\/a>. \u201cOften getting started with exercise is the hardest part, but you don\u2019t need to be athletic. It doesn\u2019t require a lot of time, and it\u2019s never too late to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Find out exactly how exercise keeps your heart young, what types of exercise you should consider and some tips to keep you motivated.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How exercise benefits the heart<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>So what does exercise do for your heart, anyway?<\/p>\n<p>For starters, your heart is a muscle, and like any muscle it needs movement to get stronger and more efficient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more conditioned the heart is, the more blood it can pump with each beat,\u201d Jorgenson explains. \u201cAnd the more it can pump \u2014 with less strain \u2014 the more oxygen it can absorb and transfer to organs, muscles and tissues throughout the body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Exercise also improves your cholesterol levels, which has a direct impact on the long-term health of your heart.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What should your exercise routine look like?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>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?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best type of exercise is the type you enjoy because you\u2019re most likely to stick with it,\u201d says Jorgenson. \u201cPick an activity that you look forward to doing \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for how much exercise you need, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/fitness\/fitness-basics\/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults\">American Heart Association<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>What does \u201cmoderate intensity\u201d look like?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re walking, it should be a brisk pace,\u201d Jorgenson says. \u201cYou want to feel your heart pumping. You might be a little breathless, but not so breathless you can\u2019t hold a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To receive the most benefit, those 150 minutes should be parceled out over the course of a week \u2014 30 minutes a day over five days, for example.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Should you aim for a target heart rate?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/heart-health\/want-to-check-your-heart-rate-heres-how\">can check it manually<\/a>. Visit the American Heart Association <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/fitness\/fitness-basics\/target-heart-rates\">to learn your target heart rate or how to calculate it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile you can use a target heart rate as a general guide, don\u2019t get too caught up in the numbers,\u201d Jorgenson says. \u201cIt may be just as helpful to focus on your perceived exertion level \u2014 how hard you feel you\u2019re working and adjust accordingly. You should be able to hold a conversation but likely not sing a song.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the best ways to increase your target heart rate \u2014 or improve your level of conditioning \u2014 is interval training. During this type of training, you alternate between short bursts of high-intensity activity and periods of recovery.<\/p>\n<p>You can apply interval training to any sort of activity. If you\u2019re walking, for example, you might walk fast, jog or even run for short periods of time and alternate that with periods of slower pacing.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s common knowledge that exercise is good for your health \u2014 particularly your heart \u2014 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. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":367,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-living","category-heart-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How exercise improves your heart health - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Only one in five adults and teens gets enough exercise. 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