Let me start by asking you a question; when was the last time you were out of breath? You might have just run a sprint, climbed several flights of stairs, or taken an aerobics class. But if it's been a while, I am encouraging you do get up and train those muscles.
Exercise is an important part of disease prevention. But not all exercise is created equal. It’s essential that some of your exercises make your heart beat faster than it does when you’re resting.
Getting your heart to beat faster trains your body to move oxygen and blood to your muscles more efficiently, helps you burn more calories and lowers your cholesterol. It will help you maintain good health, prolong a better quality of life and help with chronic conditions; it’s well worth the extra effort.
This doesn't mean that you need to go out and run every single day or pick up kick boxing as a hobby, it means that you need to incorporate some exercises that will make you feel a little uncomfortable to really push your body to where it can go.
These are some simple ways that will help boost your exercises to improve your health and get your heart rate up.
1. Set an incline. If you’re on the treadmill increase the incline. Or if you’re walking outside look for hills. This will challenge your muscles and help increase your heart rate.
2. Take the stairs. Just like adding an incline, stairs bring a new challenge to your workout.
3. Alter your pace. Whether you’re walking, riding a bike, swimming or practicing yoga, you don’t have to increase your pace for the entire workout. Add in short bursts of increased effort at a faster pace. Over time, you’ll be able to increase the duration of these bursts.
4. Take shorter breaks. If you’re doing an interval workout or lifting weights, take shorter breaks in between the different exercises.
By working your heart like the muscle that it is, the tissue can stand the test of time. Appreciate your heart and the work it does as you enjoy life to the fullest. One of the very best gifts you can give your heart, body and mind is physical activity.
I challenge you to do something good for your heart this week.
Comments