Most of us know that exercise is good for our heart and for our health. However, when it comes to making it a habit or exercising effectively, most people drop the ball.
Very often, this is due to a lack of knowledge and a few wrong practices. In this article, you’ll discover 6 exercise tips that will improve the health of your heart and keep you committed to being active and healthy well into your golden years.
Fasted Cardio
Going for a twenty to thirty-minute walk first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach) is one of the best ways to keep your heart healthy. The walking must be done at a brisk pace, but you should not be breathless.
The goal is to be able to raise your heart rate while still being able to hold a conversation while walking. That’s the pace you want to be at.
Since walking is a cardio activity, it’ll work your lungs, heart and cardiovascular system. What makes fasted cardio so powerful is that it makes the body tap into the fat stores for fuel. When you’re in a fasted state, your glycogen levels are low and there’s no food in the body to burn for fuel.
The body has no choice but to burn fat. In this way, you’ll lose the stubborn fat that you’ve been struggling to shed. You’ll be killing two birds with one stone.
Write Down Your Plan
Write down exactly how long you’re going to stick to your exercise plan. Start with just a small goal of 2 weeks. While many people may write down plans for 90 days or more, the majority will drop off after a month.
By having short manageable goals, you’ll be more focused and it’ll be less discouraging. Once you get to day 14, give yourself a pat on the back and set another 2-week goal.
Keep doing this until exercising becomes a habit.
Interval training
After 2 months of regular exercise, you should be fitter and stronger. Now, you should include interval training in your regimen. Interval training is just short bursts of intense activity followed by periods of rest. It’s excellent for boosting your metabolism and improving your stamina.
Short Sessions
Aim for 20 to 30 minutes of exercise daily. If you’re just starting out, 1-hour workouts can seem intimidating and a turn off. Short focused sessions will get the job done. You just want to get more active.
Intensity Beats Duration
A short 20-minute session of sprinting and rests will be more effective than a 45-minute jog. The short intense workouts will put your body in fat burning mode for hours after the workout is over.
Your stamina will skyrocket, and you’ll be much fitter. If you compared the bodies of sprinters to long distance runners, you would notice that the sprinters are extremely muscular and fit while the long-distance runners are usually thin and weak looking.
Aim for short intense sessions. These will strengthen your heart and your body.
Join a Group
If you find it difficult to stay motivated, join a group of friends and exercise together. You will be accountable to them and it can be more fun and less tiresome when you train as a group. Alternatively, you could join classes at the gym such as spinning or kickboxing.
There’s a certain camaraderie that arises when people train in a group. The energy levels are high, and everyone is all pumped up and ready to go. You’ll also have more fun while exercising.
Keep these 6 tips in mind and apply them. Good things come to those who sweat.
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I’m excited to talk about this topic today because not only do I truly believe that you have the power to reverse heart disease and lower high blood pressure to improve your health, but the science also agrees! You can adopt healthy lifestyle practices that improve your health and enrich your life, which can in turn improve the lives of those close to you. You have the power to break the cycle of these chronic diseases so that you can leave a legacy of health to your loved ones.
As you may already know, I use lifestyle medicine as the first line of treatment, before medications, to treat lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Lifestyle-related chronic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and some cancers, just to name a few. Lifestyle practices, such as eating a whole-food plant-based diet and regular physical activity, can help you improve blood pressure and reverse heart disease. In certain cases, these approaches may even outperform pharmaceutical therapy. But I always tell my patients that conventional medications may be appropriate at this time to prevent catastrophic illness, but over time, you can work to make the necessary lifestyle changes to possibly reduce and/or eliminate medications. Please remember to always consult your physician for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any decisions whatsoever.
Is Dietary Supplementation Right For You?
There is a common saying, “You can’t outrun a bad diet.” This is especially true when it comes to heart health. Diet is sooooo very important… Did you know that your diet could be the key to a healthy heart? It’s true – what you eat (and don’t eat) can have a big impact on your cardiovascular health. So, if you’re looking to keep your heart in tip-top shape, make sure you pay attention to what you put on your plate.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to eat a healthy diet in this day and age. It is very important to note that we are not eating the same foods we ate years ago because the soils have been depleted of critical nutrients through current industrial farming practices. And because the soil is not as good as it used to be, the food supply (grown from the depleted soil) is not as good as it used to be. For example, you are not getting the same levels of magnesium as you would have gotten 30 or even 50 years ago.
Second, much of the food has been genetically altered, which can impact the inherent and unique nutritional composition that each food possess. For example, ancient einkorn wheat has less gluten, more protein, more Vitamin A, and more beta carotene, than modern genetically modified wheat.
Third, the toxic load in the environment today is much higher than 100 years ago. We can see this with global warming, toxic landfills, polluted oceans and waterways, etc. Toxicity levels interfere with nutrient assimilation and absorption not just into the foods, but into our bodies as well.
For some people, vitamin and mineral supplements offer important health benefits. Supplements are designed to fight deficiencies found in our diet and complement the food we eat regularly. Supplements are basically “helping hands” to our daily food.
If you need extra help in getting the nutrients you need, and/or are unable to eat better, the supplements in my Healthy Heart Bundle may provide the extra boost you need.
These are my favorite Heart Health Supplements to use! This Healthy Heart Bundle will ensure you have the intake of the important vitamins, minerals, and probiotics to decrease inflammation and boost your innate wellness day and night. Taken together, it’s a solid plan for increasing your body’s natural resiliency while you lose weight and improve your heart health, naturally.
For best results make sure you use my heart health supplements with dietary changes including a whole food plant-based diet, regular exercise (at least 2-3x per week), regular sleep (8 hours per night), and intermittent fasting (at least 1-3x per week).
Tools to Improve Heart Health
Blood Pressure Monitoring
It’s very important to monitor your blood pressure. I often recommend an automatic upper arm blood pressure cuff, but a wrist blood pressure monitor is also acceptable.
Weight Monitoring
Since weight management is very important in blood pressure control, I recommend that you be mindful of your weight and its fluctuations, and that you monitor your weight AT LEAST on a weekly basis. I recommend a scale that includes a body composition monitor.
Taking Charge Of Your Heart Health
Heart health is a big topic. It’s in the news, on our minds, and for good reason; heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. But what if there was something you could do proactively to help protect your heart from future problems? Enter the CardiaX test—a revolutionary new way to take charge of your heart health!
What is CardiaX?
CardiaX is a comprehensive genetic testing panel that looks at mutations associated with common cardiovascular risks. It can be used to determine if there are any genetic factors at play in your heart health, and it can also identify potential areas of risk that may require further action. With this knowledge, you can make informed choices about your health today with the aim of improving long-term heart health outcomes.
Who Might Benefit from CardiaX?
If you have been diagnosed with or are at risk for atherosclerosis, abnormal cholesterol production, hypertension, stroke risk, and risk for heart attack then you may benefit from this test. Additionally, anyone who wants to know more about their genetic predispositions for common cardiovascular risks may also want to consider taking this test as well.
What Can I Do With My Results?
Your results will give you an indication of whether or not there are any potential genetic markers playing a role in your risk for developing certain conditions related to heart health. From there, you can work with your healthcare provider to develop a plan that takes into account these findings and helps you develop strategies for managing them going forward. In addition to lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise modification, selecting medications that are tailored specifically to your genetics could be beneficial as well.
In A Nutshell…
The CardiaX test is an exciting new way to take charge of your heart health by learning more about how genetics might be playing a role in certain cardiovascular risks. With this knowledge in hand, patients can make decisions informed by their own unique genetic profile that will help reduce their overall risk for developing certain conditions associated with heart disease. This type of proactive approach is key when it comes to protecting ourselves against this all-too-common affliction—so don’t wait another minute! Take control of your future and get started with the CardiaX test today!
Remember, healthy lifestyle behaviors–like eating a whole-foods plant-based diet that is low in sodium, being physically active, and stress management are the best ways to prevent and control high blood pressure. Please talk with your doctor about any complementary health approaches, including supplements, you use.
Dr. Nicolle Martin
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Last updated on April 25th, 2023 at 06:43 am
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