We all know we need healthy hearts to carry us through our lives, but what does that mean and how can we achieve long-term heart health? Look no further…
All healthy hearts exercise!
As you may have heard, your heart is a muscle and
needs to be treated as so. Regular exercise is key to
maintaining heart health. Heart-healthy exercise
elevates the heart rate to different zones and sustains an
elevated heart rate for greater than 10 minutes. Which
zone? How long? No, you don’t have to run.
Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
MHR is a rough estimate of the maximum rate that your
heart should reach during exercise. This can be easily
calculated by a simple equation (220 - your age =
MHR). It is recommended that you monitor your heart
rate during exercise to ensure you aren’t over-stressing
your cardio-respiratory system.
Target Heart Rate (THR)
To gain the most cardio benefits from exercise, it is
suggested that you keep your heart rate between 55-
85% of your MHR, on average. For cardio endurance,
you should try to sustain 70% of your MHR for 10-30
minutes daily. This can be easily determined by
calculating your MHR and multiplying it times 0.70.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
For a strong heart, you have to work that muscle close
to its maximum capacity. Doing short bursts of high
intensity exercise are a great way to do this. If a doctor
has determined this is safe for you, pick exercises that
will elevate your heart rate up to 80-95% of your MHR
for a few seconds up to a couple minutes. Then let your
heart rate recover to 60-65% of your MHR. You can
use a cardio modality or resistance training (weights).
This is a great way to get in shape faster, speed up your
metabolism, and also burn lots of calories!
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