Health wellness careers and professionals strive to help individuals be the best version of themselves by improving overall health and fitness. Cardiovascular fitness is the top choice for weight loss, maintaining a healthy BMI, improving stamina and endurance, increasing energy levels, and improving quality of sleep. A health wellness coach may even recommend cardiovascular fitness for improved focus and attention that carries over into other facets of your life and daily activities. Having a healthy heart is also a great way to help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and many preventable diseases such as diabetes. Here are some heart healthy fitness ideas that anyone can enjoy, including individuals that are studying to become a fitness instructor:
- Get a balance ball trainer! Balance balls can be used in a variety of exercises from yoga, Pilates, and functional fitness exercise routines. Don’t let the low impact fool you! Balance ball trainers can help you tone up and improve stability while getting your heart rate up to build cardiovascular fitness.
- Jump rope! Jumps ropes are no longer child’s play. Jump ropes come in a variety of lengths, materials, and types of handles to really take your heart healthy workout to the next level. Some jump ropes have weighted handles or weighted ropes so you actually get to tone up and add resistance to your cardiovascular workout.
- Stationary bike workouts! Certified weight loss coaching programs love the stationary bike workout for the safety of getting a challenging workout at home. Many stationary bikes can hook up to the internet allowing you to “ride” with friends and compete virtually to help with motivation and accountability. There are also online workouts you can do on your stationary bike to mimic the feel of a real bike ride from the safety of your home.
- Try a new fitness class, like water aerobics or kickboxing. These new classes can help reduce boredom at the gym and challenge your muscles in new ways to help build cardiovascular fitness. These high energy styled classes are always changing the format of the class to keep each session fun and unique.
- Go for a walk! You don’t have to walk far to receive heart healthy benefits from walking. You only have to walk at a steady pace for thirty minutes a few times a week. This can be on a treadmill, outside on a nature trail, a hike at a state park, a walk with friends, or a swift walk next to your kids while they are riding their bikes. The point is to get moving and stay moving for a minimum of thirty minutes at a time to help build cardiovascular fitness and to reap the rewards from your exercise. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain! Get up and get moving to start your healthy heart exercise program today!
