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The 5 Best Strength-Training Moves For Your Hearts’ Health

June 22nd, 2021 by Debbie Martilotta

There are certain types of workouts, like running and spinning, that we know are good for our hearts. They are, after all, literally called “cardiovascular exercises.”

But if you want to keep that blood pumping at peak capacity, those daily three-mile jogs can’t do the job on all on their own. So grab a set of heavyweights because cardiologists say that regular strength and resistance training is more important to heart health than you might have realized.

According to Satjit Bhusri, MD, board-certified cardiologist, heavyweight training is similar to sprinting in that you can only do both for a short amount of time because it requires such high amounts of energy exertion.

“Your heart doesn’t know what exercise you are doing—it’s a pump and it’s built to meet supply and demand—so the higher the demand, or intensity of the exercise, the more blood that is needed to meet those demands,” he says. The result? Increased heart rate and blood pressure, which help to strengthen the organ over time. If you need more proof, a 2019 study found that combination training (aka integrating aerobic and anaerobic workouts throughout the week) increased lean body mass, strength, and cardiorespiratory fitness better than an aerobic-only routine.

In addition to boosting your heart health, Dr. Bhuari adds that strength training also has the ability to build muscle, improve bone strength, and ultimately help you perform daily activities more easily. “The end result allows a person to be more active in their everyday life while improving their overall quality of life, too,” he says. “Also, the increased cardiac output correlated with strength training helps control and lower a person’s blood pressure.”

In order to reap the maximum benefits from your strength-training workouts, Dr. Bhuari recommends exercises that work multiple joints at the same time. “Multi-joint exercises help improve coordination, flexibility, burns more calories, and elevates cardiac output compared to simple movement strength exercises,” says Dr. Bhusari. Here are a few of his favorites.

1. Squat
2. Lunge
3. Bench press
4. Shoulder press
5. Plank

Click here to read the original Well + Good article

 

Strength Training Tied To Better Heart Health Than Aerobic

January 21st, 2019 by Debbie Martilotta

A survey of 4,000 adults revealed that static activity, such as strength training, had stronger links to reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases than dynamic activity, such as walking and cycling.

The researchers point out, however, that any amount of either kind of exercise brings benefits, and that it is probably better to do both than to increase either.

Recommended amounts and type of exercise
According to the AHA, guidelines recommend that adults in the United States should be physically active for at least 150 minutes each week.

This activity should consist of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise, or a combination. It is better to spread the exercise across the week than complete it all in 1 or 2 days.

The guidelines also advise doing exercise that strengthens the muscles, such as resistance or weight training. People should do this on at least 2 days per week.

Even greater benefits accrue from 300 minutes of exercise per week, says the AHA. They also recommend breaking up prolonged bouts of sitting — even getting up and doing some light activity is better than just sitting, they add.

National Institutes of Health (NIH), advises older adults to do four types of exercise:

  • Endurance, or aerobic, exercises that increase breathing and raise heart rate.
  • Strength, or resistance, exercises that strengthen major muscle groups in the upper and lower body and improve their function.
  • Balance exercises to reduce the risk of falls and the disabilities that they can cause.
  • Flexibility exercises that stretch the body and increase a person’s range of movement.

Aerobic activity includes walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, gardening and all forms of sports, such as golf, tennis, and volleyball.

Push-ups, static rowing, resistance training, dips, arm, and leg raises, and hand grips are all examples of strength-building exercises.

Practicing Tai Chi and yoga can improve balance and flexibility as can simple exercises that involve the use of the body or everyday objects, such as a chair.

Only around 1 in 5 adults and teens in the U.S. meet the recommended 150 minutes per week of “heart-pumping” activity. With this in mind, perhaps the more pressing message  is that clinicians should encourage people to “exercise regardless.”

Dr. Maia P. Smith