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How much exercise do you need to fight heart disease? Is an hour breaking a sweat at the gym what you need? Or will 30 minutes gardening or 15 minutes walking around the block suffice?
While it has been well known that exercise is important in keeping your heart healthy, there has been debate as to just how much is beneficial. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that all adults engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes most or preferably all days, and they say that you can break up this activity into 15-minute sessions if that works better for you.
According to the AHA, you get most health benefits from exercising longer or at more vigorous levels, doing such things as brisk walking or aerobics. However, the AHA also says that even doing moderate-intensity activity - such as walking for pleasure, doing yard work or dancing - will help you lower your risk for cardiovascular disease.
Make 15 minutes count
"Physical activity does not have to be arduously long to be beneficial according to the Harvard School of Public Health. hort sessions lasting 15 minutes appear to be helpful. This may motivate some sedentary individuals to take up physical activity. They say you don't need to be an Olympic athlete to reap the benefits of exercise, but you do need to push yourself to get your heart rate up.
Researchers found that men who trained with weights for 30 minutes or more per week reduced their risk for coronary heart disease by 23 percent compared to those who didn't train with weights. Men who ran for an hour or more each week reduced their risk by 42 percent compared to non-runners, and walking at a brisk pace for more than half an hour was associated with an 18 percent reduction compared to non-walkers' risk
What makes exercise so good for the heart? Exercise is good for the heart because it helps increase the HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) in the blood. The HDL cholesterol is a marker of lower heart disease, and it can help drop the LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol), which increases the chances of getting a fatty buildup inside the arteries. Exercise also helps make the endothelial cells that line our arteries healthier. These cells are vital in preventing the clogging and hardening of the arteries.
Shorter workouts provide more incentive
Evidence that short sessions of exercise help the heart is good news for those who haven't been exercising. If you are just beginning, you can start off slowly by breaking your exercise into smaller time segments and still get the benefit. This may be better than trying to be too ambitious the first time out, which can often result in a sore back or sore muscles and prompt you to stop doing everything.
It also takes the excuse away that you have no time. Most people should be able to care out this much time in their day to be active. If you exercise for 10 minutes three times a day, or 15 minutes two times a day, you're still getting in a half hour of exercise, which is beneficial.
What kind of exercise
Aerobic exercise is what hearts like best. It makes the heart become stronger and work more efficiently. You can get an aerobic workout from numerous activities, such as:
- Biking
- Jogging
- Running
- Swimming
- Brisk walking
- Dancing
In addition to these activities, an aerobic workout can be achieved in a specially designed aerobic dance class or by using exercise machines (stationary bikes, treadmills, stair-steppers, rowing machines, just to name a few) that can be found at a local gym or health club. Be sure to check with your doctor before you begin any kind of exercise program.
Whether you chose to do one of these activities or something moderate such as walking, yard work, or golf, the important thing is just to do it.
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External Sources
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American Heart Association
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Harvard University School of Public Health
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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