This is how to strengthen your heart health.
With love top of mind this month, it’s a good opportunity to show love to not only others, but also to yourself. Start with your heart! Our heart is the most important muscle in the body, no matter your age. Now’s the time to make it stronger.
Julie Labrum, director of fitness at Treehouse Athletic Club, shared the biggest key to a healthy, happy heart.
The Benefits of a Strong Heart
There are many benefits of a strong heart that strengthen your overall quality of life. “You’re not going to be out of breath doing the things that you love. You have vigor, vitality, zest. You have kind of a youthful pep in your step,” Julie emphasized. Everyday activities become easier, and your longevity and quality of life improve significantly.
Mixing Up Your Exercise Routine
For a healthy heart, it’s important to mix up your exercise routine. This includes both aerobic exercises and weight lifting. “Lifting weights, you can get a cardiovascular response…. any activity you do is going to create a cardiovascular response, but we want to work in a little bit harder efforts because the heart can’t lift weights. So in order for it to get stronger as a muscle, it has to beat, meaning we have to push ourselves to a little bit of an uncomfort zone,” Julie explained. By incorporating a variety of exercises, you make sure that your heart gets the workout it needs to stay strong.
Recommended Exercise Duration
Finding time for cardiovascular exercise can be difficult, but it’s important for heart health. Julie suggested moderate work daily. “Where it’s sustainable and it’s just pleasant, we want 20 to 30 minutes a day and we can do that every day.” For more vigorous workouts, she recommended 20 to 30 minutes three times a week. This balance helps push your heart while still allowing for recovery.
Understanding Vigorous Exercise
Vigorous exercise is key to strengthening your heart. Julie described it as a feeling: “Vigorous is where you get breathless. Your mouth is open, you’re breathing, you need more air,” she explained.
“ When we get to those vigorous workouts, you’re going to feel that pumping and that work,” Julie emphasized. “You’re going to know you’re at your edge.” This type of exercise increases your heart’s efficiency, allowing it to pump more oxygen per beat. Over time, this leads to a lower heart rate during workouts and improved overall fitness.
“ The question that I ask during my workouts is, ‘is it tough, yet tolerable?’ So I want to say, ‘this is hard, but I can continue,'” Julie said.
VO2 Max
VO2 max is a technical term used to measure the fitness of your heart. “ Once we have a strong heart, the volume of oxygen that you’re going to pump in your workouts to your muscle becomes higher,” Julie explained. This means you will have a lower heart rate during workouts because your heart is more efficient.
“ It’s basically how much oxygen you can utilize in a workout and we want that number to be high,” Julie said.
The Role of Intervals
Intervals are an great way to maximize your workout time and boost heart health. Julie suggested working in a 1:2 or 1:1 ratio, alternating between high-intensity efforts and rest. “ So at the end, the peak of those works adds up to a higher rate of calorie burn than if you were to just walk in a lower state the whole way,” she explained. “Plus your heart will be pumping stronger.” This workout strategy helps you break through plateaus and keeps your workouts challenging and effective.
“ I would throw those intervals in two to three times a week and get on there and just push for a minute and rest for a minute… Make sure you get that heart pumping because that’s really how you’re going to get stronger is to work,” Julie emphasized.
Find more health inspiration from Julie on Instagram, @julie_today.
Add comment