February 4, 2024: Heart Health and Fitness
My weekly Get Your Stuff Together Sunday email series gives you one actionable focus for the week that will make your life a little easier.
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For over ten years, heart disease has been the leading cause of death for both men and women, worldwide. What’s scarier than this statistic is the fact that 80% of the deaths caused by heart disease are preventable. This week, we’re going to talk about maintaining good heart health.
Heart disease is the condition of blocked or narrowed blood vessels that lead to a heart attack, chest pain, or stroke, and it is also related to anything that affects your heart’s muscles, valves, or rhythm. Here’s something important: Many forms of heart disease can be treated or prevented with healthy lifestyle choices. Even if you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease, a few simple changes can reverse the diagnosis.
Changing your diet is a major contributing factor to bettering heart health, but exercise plays a considerable role. If you’re just starting out, or if you’re looking to reverse diagnosed damages, here are a few tips to get you started on the path to better heart health. Always consult your doctor before starting a new exercise routine - especially if you’ve been diagnosed with heart issues.
Start small, any amount of exercise is better than none. Take a 10-minute walk and work your way up to a 30-minute walk until you’re able to do more.
Any type of exercise that gets your heart pumping and increases your heart beat is good for your heart. If you need to take it easy, swimming is easy on your joints and can still get your heart rate up.
Any workout routine should start with a warm-up and end with a cool-down. A warm-up gets your body used to what it’s about to do so it’s not shocked into it. After your workout, your body needs to come down from what it just went through. If you sit, lie down, or stand still you might feel dizzy or lightheaded. Instead, after your workout, cool down by taking your workout down a notch. For example, if you’re on a treadmill walking at 4 miles per hour, slow down to 2.5 to get your heart beat back to a normal rate.
If you’re wondering how intense to go during your workout, try the talk test. If you’re able to keep talking while you’re moving (even if it’s a little hard to do), you’re on track, but if you can’t talk at all, your workout might be too vigorous.
Don’t get bored. Find workouts that inspire you to keep going and that you enjoy doing. Find your reason for making a lifestyle change and connect to that. If reversing heart disease or preventing heart disease is your reason, there’s no better time to start than now and it’s every reason to keep going.
Next Sunday, we’ll talk about improving your heart health through your diet.
Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again. Love reading? I have books, too. Check out my books!
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I hope you have a wonderful week,
Kelly
My weekly GYSTS email give you one actionable thing to do for the week that will make you life a little easier. As "they" say, "Fail to plan; plan to fail." Get these emails (and more!) delivered right to your inbox by clicking HERE.