We all know how important our heart’s are—just think about everything our heart does for us!
Each February, American Heart Month is celebrated and it brings awareness to heart disease and stroke, which are the leading causes of death in the United States.
The heart is the hardest-working muscle in the body. On average, your heart will beat about 115,000 times and pump about 2,000 gallons of blood every day. Just like any of our other muscles, our heart needs to be exercised and given adequate rest and nutrition.
One of the most important strategies to preventing heart disease is to exercise! As we get older, the importance for regular exercise becomes greater. Exercise can reduce the risk of aging-related diseases including cardiovascular disease.
When the heart is exercised, it can continue pumping blood through the body adequately and efficiently with less tension. As a result, it stays healthier longer.
The American Heart Association recommends exercising for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
You don’t have to dread exercise either! Find a few things that you enjoy doing and do them for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. These could be things such as going outside for a brisk walk, biking, coming to our workout classes, swimming, etc. Not only will regular exercise help your heart, it will help improve sleep and the ability to do every day activities. It can also be a great way to get out and meet new people!
During the national “American Heart Month” each day of the week has been given a “theme.” These include:
· -Self care Sunday: Create a self-care checklist for a successful week.
· -Mindful Monday: Know your heart stats (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, etc).
· -Tasty Tuesday: Enjoy a yummy, heart-healthy recipe.
· -Wellness Wednesday: Get your heart into a wellness routine.
· -Treat Yourself Thursday: Treat yourself to some fun and relaxation.
· -Follow Friday: Think of someone who inspires you to live a heart-healthy lifestyle.
· -Selfie Saturday: Post a picture with your favorite way of taking care of your heart.
These ideas could be fun to do throughout the week and helpful in creating an exercise routine and healthy lifestyle if you haven’t already.
Let’s all encourage each other to exercise and create strong, healthy hearts!
~The WellBound Team