Winter Wellness – Exercise For a Healthy Heart

Have you been taking care of yourself? Daily heart exercise is key to maintaining health, especially during stressful times.

This year has been a challenge for many people because of mandated lockdowns and limited availability of regular outdoor spaces and activities, putting a damper on many exercise routines.

Not only did 2020 add unfathomable stress to our society, but it has changed the way we exercise (or don’t exercise) so we have to take ownership of our bodies right now.

Being cooped up for months at a time is innately stressful and by now has taken its toll on many… 

We have been forced to change our lives completely – social-distancing, online shopping, homeschooling, and telecommuting.

This is a good time to pivot and focus on how you feel physically and mentally. 

Ask yourself – how is my heart? 

Has it been affected by all the stress? Have you given yourself enough love and compassion? Amid the disruption and added stress, it is important to maintain care for yourself.

We know cardiovascular or aerobic exercise is needed to maintain good health. Consistent exercise raises your heart rate and makes your blood pump faster; delivering oxygen throughout the body, keeping your heart and lungs healthy.

Focusing on exercising your heart routinely will also help you get better sleep, stress less, and can reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

Do something with your pent up angst towards the world – work it out with cardio that is good for not just your heart, but your whole body and your mind. 

Get the juices flowing and your blood pumping!

Being able to create a regular exercise routine is more important now more than ever – there is plenty of indoor cardio exercises that you can try and explore :

• Burpees
• Jumping rope
• Jumping jacks & Calisthenics
• Squat jumps  – Frog jumps
• Kickboxing
• Running up & downstairs
• Dancing, Jazzercise, Rumba
• Step-ups &  step downs
• Crawling – Inchworm – Crab walks
• Jogging in place or Treadmilling
• Rowing or Bowflex
• Lunges
• PT ball
• Spinning or Cycling
  

Most likely you are extremely bored from being stuck at home and having a troublesome year. Taking time for yourself and creating a cardio workout routine could be a fun project!

What’s most important is that you create an exercise routine that you consider fun and is something you can look forward to. 

There are 2 types of routines – random and preplanned. 

Whether you carve out a designated timeframe for these activities, or you just do it when it happens; what makes a difference is that you do something regularly. This is key to maintaining a healthy heart.

Mix it up where you can to avoid complacency; it does you no good to make things more difficult on yourself by dreading your workout. 

A good cardio routine is something you can do virtually with family or friends. Take time for your heart and your elderly parents, or those little nieces you don’t get to see anymore.