Any cardiovascular exercise is good for your health, especially for your heart. Activities such as walking, swimming, cycling, or jogging have great health benefits whether you do them as part of an exercise program or by simply adding them to your daily routine. Here are some tips that can help you stay committed to healthy activity in the long term:
Set Achievable Goals – Look for opportunities to be more active during your regular day, such as walking around the store before shopping, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and planning activity breaks every 10-to 15-minutes while watching TV or sitting. Be sure to keep the activity comfortable by not strenuously exercising right after meals, when it’s hot or humid, or when you just don’t feel up to it. If you have to stop being active for a while – don’t give up. Start moving regularly again and gradually get back to your old pace.
Schedule Time for Activity – Start slowly and build up to at least 30 minutes of activity on most or all days of the week. Find a convenient time and place to do activities and exercise so it becomes a regular part of your daily routine. The goal is to make activity a habit, but to also be flexible enough that if you miss an opportunity to exercise at your scheduled time, you have options to be active in another way.
Enjoy It – Choose a variety of fun activities, such as walking, hiking, biking, swimming, shooting hoops, or dribbling a soccer ball, that are not too exhausting so that it will never seem boring. Activities are more fun with company, so ask friends and family to join you.
Celebrate Your Wins – Nothing motivates like success! Keep a logbook for your activities that includes distances, length of time, and how the activity made you feel. Set non-food related rewards for special milestones such as flowers, books, magazines, beauty products and clothes.
Keeping these tips in mind will help you build a lasting plan for activity success. If you have a high risk of coronary heart disease or some other chronic health problem, check with your health care professional before beginning a physical activity program.
Exceptional Heart Care
Griffin Health offers comprehensive and compassionate heart care, including Griffin Faculty Physicians Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Center, and Cardiac Rehabilitation, to provide our community with the advanced treatment options and empowering education and support that improves quality of life. For more information about GFP Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology, visit https://gfp.griffinhealth.org. For more information about Cardiac Rehabilitation, visit www.griffinhealth.org/treatments/cardiac-rehabilitation.