February is American Heart Month. This month-long observance aims to raise awareness and encourage people to focus on their cardiovascular health. It serves as a reminder to prioritize our heart health and take steps to prevent heart disease.
Resistance Training For Cardiovascular Health
If you want to improve your heart health, it’s important to incorporate strengthening exercises into your routine. These types of exercises not only help to build muscle but can also improve your overall cardiovascular fitness. So, let’s discuss some practical ways to work these exercises into your daily routine.
According to a recently published paper by the American Heart Association (AHA), it has been suggested that exercises such as resistance training can offer similar health benefits to aerobic exercises.
When it comes to exercises, it’s important to understand the difference between strength-type and aerobic exercises. Strength-type exercises, also called resistance exercises, are designed to target specific muscle groups. Examples of strength-type exercises include push-ups or bicep curls. On the other hand, aerobic exercises are known to involve more of the body and are designed to elevate your heart rate and breathing. Examples of aerobic exercises include brisk walking or cycling. Understanding the distinction between these two exercise types can help you tailor your workout routine to meet your fitness goals more effectively.
American Heart Association Emphasizes The Importance of Resistance Training For Heart Health
American Heart Association now emphasizes that both types of exercise, aerobic and strength training, are important for cardiovascular health.
Best Fitness Guru is a Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Specialist. He’s also the founder of justfitnesshub.com. According to Best Fitness Guru, resistance training offers several significant benefits similar to aerobic exercise. However, there are also instances where aerobic exercise may be more beneficial for certain risk factors, while resistance training can provide additional benefits. Therefore, incorporating both types of exercise into your fitness routine can help maximize the benefits.
“Are you ready to start your fitness journey with some resistance training? Great news – it’s simpler than you might think! Let me show you how to get started and achieve your fitness goals.”.
You don’t have to spend much money on fancy gym equipment to get fit. He suggests that you can easily purchase some dumbbells from any sporting goods store at an affordable price. Alternatively, you can use empty milk jugs and fill them with sand or water to create your own weights. This way, you can gradually increase or decrease the weight as per your preference and fitness level.
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But how do you know how much weight to start with?
If you are new to strength training, it is recommended to begin with very light weights to get comfortable with the movements. Gradually, you can experiment with different weights. The ideal workout should consist of 8-10 different exercises that target all major muscle groups. To gain optimum results, you should aim to complete 1-3 sets of each exercise, with each set consisting of 8-12 repetitions with a weight that you can comfortably manage.
“Maybe by the time you’re doing 10 bicep curls, 11 is going to be a struggle, and you couldn’t get 12, so then you’ve got a good weight,” Best Fitness Guru said. “The overall message is that your workout isn’t complete without resistance training.”
As fitness expert Best Fitness Guru suggests, it’s important to challenge yourself and increase weight gradually. For instance, by the time you’ve performed 10 bicep curls, it would be ideal to try to lift a weight that makes the 11th repetition difficult. This ensures you are pushing up to your limits and building strength effectively. So, the overall message is that your exercise routine isn’t complete without resistance training for cardiovascular fitness.
You don’t require any expensive equipment. You can start with simple exercises like picking up some cans, and when that becomes too easy, you can increase the weight by using heavier cans or a gallon of water or sand.
Check here: Does Exercise Reduce Cholesterol?
If you’re interested in learning more about fitness basics, you can find helpful information from reputable sources such as the American Heart Association or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Check this Best Resource on Old Age Fitness
About Author: Renu Bakshi, AKA Fitness Buffhq, is an ISSA Certified Elite Trainer. He
passed the Personal Fitness Trainer Course, Nutrition Health Coach course & Specialist Exercise Therapy course from ISSA, USA, obtaining + 97% marks. He shares his experience and knowledge about nutrition and effective workouts to get you in the best shape of your life, no matter how old you may be. The author says, “Age is just a number!”
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is general and for information only because it doesn’t consider your health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalized health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should determine if the information is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.
