Benefits Of Exercise To Heart-Health

Research has shown that exercise improves heart-health and body health generally. It is also a proven fact that you don’t need to exercise all day to reap the health benefits of exercise. Heart-healthy benefits of exercise can really make so much difference in your life.

The following are some of the benefits of exercise to your heart health.

Lowering Of Blood Pressure

According to a study by The National Institute of Health of America, a regular exercise of about 30 minutes of moderate activity for five days a week can reduce blood pressure (with approximately 10mmHg). The blood pressure lowering effects of exercise can be observed between one to three hours after a single 30 – 45 minutes workout according to The American College of Sports Medicine.

Improvement Of Cholesterol Level

Regular exercise help improve cholesterol level. It increases HDL which is good cholesterol and decreases LDL which is bad cholesterol. Studies have shown that improvement in cholesterol levels are related to the amount of exercise activity and not the intensity of exercise. This means that the more time you exercise per week the more your cholesterol level will improve.

Strengthening Of The Heart

Exercise strengths the heart allowing it to beat more efficiently, thereby helping in the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure.

Prevention Of Type II Diabetes

A recent study shows that the combination of physical activity and weight loss has a very powerful effect on preventing the onset of type II diabetes in high-risk individuals.

You may be wondering how long and at what intensity you will workout to achieve these heart-health benefits of exercise. You can achieve most of these health benefits of exercise through a moderate intensity of physical activities. According to experts, a minimum of 30 minutes, five (5) days a week physical activities are recommended. Maintaining a healthy heart should be one of your top most priorities if you want to stay active and healthy.

                                                                                                                                                                                         

Eating And Exercise

The main purpose of engaging in regular exercise is to maintain good health. To have the energy needed to exercise and to carry out your day to day activities properly, you need a proper diet and a healthy eating habit. To get the best of your exercise, what you eat before and after you workout is very important.

It does not matter if you are doing a cardio workout or a resistance workout, always make sure you eat a balanced diet containing a mix of protein and carbohydrates.  What determines the percentage of carbohydrate and protein you consume is the type of exercise you are doing and the intensity level you plan to work at.

The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal is at least one hour before your workout time.  If you plan to work at a low intensity level, your calories intake during your pre work out meal should be kept low.  If you plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you will probably need a high level of calorie intake in your pre workout meal.

Eating a mixture of carbohydrate and protein will give a longer sustained energy from the carbohydrates while the protein will keep the muscles from breaking down during exercise workout. 

Eating after you exercise is just as important as your pre workout meal.  Anytime you exercise, regardless of the form or type of exercise you went through, you deplete energy in the form of glycogen.  The brain and central nervous system rely on glycogen as their main source of fuel, so if you don't replace it after exercise, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert them into usable fuel for the brain and the central nervous system.

Keep in mind that mostly during resistance exercise, you'll break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears.  What this means, is that after a workout, your muscles will instantly go into repair mode.  Protein is the key here for muscle repair, and you don't want further muscle breaking down even to create fuel to replace lost glycogen.

Once you have finished an exercise session, you'll need to consume mainly carbohydrates and protein, preferably those with high fiber.  Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and fruits are excellent sources. The protein will help to build up and repair muscle tissues so that the muscles can increase in size and strength. The carbohydrate will not only replace the lost muscle glycogen but will also help the protein get into muscle cells.