In a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers associated exercising in the morning to be more beneficial to your heart and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke compared to working out at other times of the day.
If you can fit workouts in earlier in the day, make the switch. However, what’s important is that you do exercise and enjoy its many health benefits — whenever you can. Don’t worry about changing the time of day you do physical activity if what you’re currently doing flows well with your daily routine and lifestyle. (Related: Is there a best time during the day to exercise? Science settles the debate.)
Here are some of the best exercises and regular physical activities that provide you with heart health benefits:
Warming-up exercises
Dr. Lee Kaplan, director of the University of Miami Sports Medicine Institute, explains that a warming-up exercise gets your body prepared for the activity you are about to engage in.
It gets the heart pumping blood to your muscles, gradually increases your breathing toward the rate you will be exercising and gets your body’s systems ‘ready’ to go. Warm-ups, such as arm lifts, arm circles, bending, leg lifts and marching in place, to name a few, are also recommended before static stretching takes place.
Stretching exercises
Kaplan explains that proper stretching helps elongate your muscles and increase your range of motion. More importantly, stretching can help prevent injury – especially as you age – and you don’t have to spend a lot of time on stretching exercises. Stretching is beneficial, even if you don’t have time for a workout.
Try to stretch every day with these exercises for better results:
- Biceps stretch
- Chest and shoulder stretch
- Quad stretch
- Seated side stretch
- Shoulder stretch
- Standing hamstring stretch
- Triceps stretch
- Upper back stretch
Aerobic exercises
Aerobic exercises are activities that make your heart beat faster and increase your breathing rate more than rest – pumping oxygenated blood to your working muscles.
Over time, regular aerobic exercises strengthen your heart and lungs – making them work more efficiently. (Related: Walking for 5 minutes every half hour can help you stay healthy if you sit all day, reveals study.)
Here are examples many enjoy doing:
- Bicycling
- Dancing
- Hiking
- Jumping jacks
- Jumping rope
- Playing sports
- Running
- Stair climbing
- Swimming
- Walking
Strength training
