Take Valentine's Day To Heart

With heart disease remaining as the nation’s #1 killer, show your heart some love this year for Valentine’s Day! You don’t have to forgo the chocolate, the sparkling champagne, and the romantic dinner - as you know we recommend a more balanced approach to your nutrition plan! But definitely find time to treat your heart, too, because a healthy heart is a happy heart.

Being physically active is one of the most effective tools for strengthening the heart muscle, keeping your weight under control, and warding off the artery damage from high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure that can lead to heart attack or stroke. 

It’s also true that different types of exercise are needed to provide complete fitness. “Aerobic exercise and resistance training are the most important for heart health,” says Johns Hopkins exercise physiologist Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D. “Although flexibility doesn’t contribute directly to heart health, it’s nevertheless important because it provides a good foundation for performing aerobic and strength exercises more effectively.”

Aerobic exercise, otherwise known as cardiovascular exercise (or cardio), gets your heart pumping. During aerobic exercise, your blood pumps quickly throughout your body and your lungs take in more oxygen. The word aerobic means “with oxygen,” as this kind of exercise is fueled by the oxygen that you get from breathing. Aerobic exercise improves circulation, which results in lowered blood pressure and heart rate. In addition, it increases your overall aerobic fitness, as measured by a treadmill test, for example, and it helps your cardiac output (how well your heart pumps).

Experts recommend that aerobic exercises such as rowing, cycling, jump rope, stair climbing, running, the elliptical, or walking on a treadmill, should be done for at least half an hour.

Compliment this cardio training with resistance training, like we do at Success Studio, which has a more specific effect on body composition. For people who are carrying a lot of body fat (including a big belly, which is a risk factor for heart disease), it can help reduce fat and create leaner muscle mass. The leaner you are then easier it is on your heart.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, two nonconsecutive days per week of resistance training is a good rule of thumb. Working out with free weights (such as hand weights, dumbbells, or barbells), on weight machines, with resistance bands, or body-resistance exercises, such as push-ups, squats, and chin-up are some examples of common resistance training exercises.

A healthy diet is another great weapon for fighting cardiovascular disease. When you eat a heart-healthy diet, you improve your chances for feeling good and staying healthy—for life!

You don’t have to wait until Valentine’s Day to help your heart. Click the button below for a complimentary assessment at Success Studio. Our personal trainers will design a heart-healthy workout that you can start today! Plus, Success Studio’s Registered Dietitian, R.D. Helen Ballew, can educate you about heat-healthy foods! We’d LOVE to help!