The Ultimate Heart Health Exercises
Exercise is the single most powerful thing you can do for your heart. But what kind is best? Find out what exercise does to your heart and how you can incorporate it into your life.
The human body has been designed for physical activity since the dawn of time. But lifestyles and jobs have become much more sedentary over the ages. Not-so-coincidentally, this rise in sedentarity (and changes in dietary patterns) are contemporary with huge increases in heart disease prevalence.
Most of us sit too much, and our hearts are paying the price. The good news? Fixing it is easier than you think: you don’t need to run a marathon or sweat up a storm to save your heart! We just need to start moving our bodies the way our ancestors have again. In this week’s issue, we discuss the two main types of physical activity, how they benefit you and how you can easily start doing them.
💡 OUR TIP: Before you start your workout journey, have a powerful purpose to guide you! Self-focused ones like “I want to fit in last years jeans” are great but studies show that compassionate motivations are even more effective at building routines. Something like “I want to be a loving grandparent for as long as possible” will bring out the best in you!
FREE HEART RATE CALCULATOR AND WORKOUT TEMPLATE INCLUDED.
The two main types of exercise are aerobic exercise (also known as “cardio”) and strength training.
💓 1. Aerobic Exercise (a.k.a. Cardio)
Aerobic exercise is the type of physical activity that involves repetitive light or moderate-intensity movements for an extended period of time, usually at least 30 minutes. Think walking, running, swimming and cycling.
These types of exercise are the best for your heart when you do them at an intensity that increases your heart rate to a point where you can maintain a conversation, but you can’t sing. This is called zone 2 training.
👉 Benefits: Lowers resting heart rate, improves metabolism (insulin sensitivity), and helps your body use fat for fuel = HEALTHY HEARTS
🎉 Good news! This type of training is easy on your body, so you can recover quickly and stay consistent.
🎯 GOAL: 150 minutes per week (3-5 sessions).
💡 OUR TIP: Pick something you enjoy! A brisk walk, a dance class, or even chasing your dog around the park counts - As long as it gets you slightly out of breath.
❓ Not sure if you’re in zone 2? If you have a heart rate monitor and/or want an exact heart rate number depending on your age, check out our nifty Zone 2 training heart rate calculator at the end of this newsletter!
💪 2. Strength Training
Lifting weights or your bodyweight? Great for your heart too! While not as direct as cardio, it boosts metabolism, reduces injury risk, and supports long-term heart health.
👉 Benefits: Improves muscle strength, amplifies your bodies durability, burns calories at rest, and enhances brain function (protecting you from dementia).
🎯 GOAL: 2 sessions per week, targeting all major muscle groups.
💡 OUR TIP: No gym? No problem! Bodyweight exercises like squats, push-ups, and lunges are highly effective. Just try to work all major muscles each week. Aim to make the exercises very slightly harder each week!
💪 Check out our exercise cheat sheet covering all major muscle groups at the end of this newsletter if you’d like a starting point for building your home workout!
🔥 CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK 🔥
Make one physical aspect of your everyday life slightly harder! Take the stairs, walk during calls, or do 10 squats while waiting for the kettle to boil. Make physical activity a habitual part of your life
Perhaps this is the week to brush off the dust off that gym membership!
Remember: you don’t need to exhaust yourself, anything that makes your body slightly warmer, your breath slightly faster and your heartbeat higher is amazing for your heart. Consistency over intensity!
💡 Forward this newsletter to someone who cares about their health—and show them how easy it is to start moving more!
📩 ENGAGE WITH US 📩
We want to know how we can best help you and answer your heart health questions. We love hearing from you! Email us at heartguardhealth@gmail.com and tell us:
💬 What physical activity do you do to keep your heart healthy?
💪 Do you have any success stories regarding exercise and how has it helped you?
Louis & Toby
HeartGuard
MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS CHEAT SHEET
Here is a list of the muscle groups found on your body, and a couple of exercises you can do either at home with household equipment or just your bodyweight, or in a gym using weights if you have access to one. Click on the exercises for easy-to-follow no or low-equipment tutorials (if the video uses dumbbells, you can always swap them out for household items or just not use any!).
LEGS: your leg muscles carry out daily movements like walking, crouching and climbing stairs. They are split into 3 major parts:
The quadriceps, which extends the knee and brings the leg forward, and is trained with squats and lunges
The calves, that extend the feet, and are trained with calf raises
The glutes and hamstrings, which bend the knee and bring the leg backward, and are trained with glute bridges
BACK: your back contains more different muscles than any other major group, but can broadly be divided into three parts:
the mid-back muscles, responsible for pulling your arms towards your body when they’re away from it, and are used when you pull a door open or shut for example, trained with bent-over rows and pull-ups (this video includes easier versions of the pull-up in case you’re not ready for it yet)
the lower back muscles, which maintains posture and keeps the spine straight, and can be trained with hyperextensions
The upper back muscles, which are responsible for raising the shoulders, and can be trained with shrugs
CHEST: The chest muscles are responsible for pushing things away from you. They’re rarely used in everyday life, only when you’re pushing something heavy. Luckily, they’re very easy to train! The best bodyweight chest exercises are pushup variations.
SHOULDERS: The shoulder muscles help move the arms around, and are very important area for arm mobility. They are divided into three parts:
the front shoulders, which push the arms in front of the body and are trained with overhead pressing
the lateral shoulders, which push the arms out to the side of the body, trained with lateral raises
the rear shoulders, which pull the arms behind the body, trained with reverse flyes
ARMS: The arm muscles are responsible for bending and extending the elbow, and usually work in conjunction with the chest and back to carry out their respective movements. They are divided into two parts:
The biceps, which work with the back to pull things and can be trained with bicep curls
The triceps, which work with the chest and front shoulders to push things, and can be trained with pushups and overhead triceps extensions
ZONE 2 HEART RATE CALCULATOR
To calculate Max Heart Rate (MHR), subtract your age to 220. For example, if you are 40, your MHR would be 220-40 = 180bpm).
To calculate Zone 2 heart rate, multiply your MHR by 0.7, so if you are 40, your Zone 2 heart rate would be 180 x 0.7 = 126bpm.
Try sticking within 10 bpm each way of this number during your training! If you don’t have a device that can monitor heart rate, try placing the tip of your 3 middle fingers on the inside of your wrist and find your pulse, count how many times you feel a pulse for 10 seconds, then multiply it by 6 to get your current heart rate.
