Regular exercise is crucial to anyone’s health. This is particularly true when it comes to cardiac health.
Still, aging, injury, illness, and other physical limitations can make it difficult to take part in your favorite workouts. If your body can no longer withstand the rigor of normal or high-impact exercise, take a look at these low-impact workout ideas that can bolster your cardiovascular health.
While you might not think of hiking as a traditional workout, it can actually offer a wide range of benefits to your body and your heart. Best of all, it's an activity that can cause far less stress to your bones and muscles than high-impact workouts such as running or playing team sports. According to health insurer Humana, hiking predominantly works muscles in the legs and lower body, but the rigor of climbing hills can benefit your heart as well.
Even if you don't live near any state or national forests, you can still walk around local parks or even golf courses to get your hiking fix in. Plus, if you add a backpack into the mix, you'll be providing your upper body muscles with exercise as well and burning even more calories.
Many individuals wrongly think that yoga is a glorified stretching routine. This couldn't be further from the truth, as yoga actually offers a wide range of benefits, both muscular and cardiovascular. In addition to building strength and flexibility, yoga can be a low impact endurance activity, and it can be adapted for people of different ages and abilities.
Try buying an inexpensive yoga mat and practicing on your own at home using online yoga videos. All you'll need is 15 minutes a day or so, and you can also join yoga classes in your area if you’re more motivated by working out with a group. Better still, Health.com says that yoga is a great option for individuals who suffer from arthritis or other conditions that cause joint and muscle pain, making it a perfect fit for many individuals who can't move as freely as they used to.
Walking suffers from the same flaw in common thinking that yoga does: many people think that it isn’t enough of a workout to do you any good. However, walking can actually be a wonderful addition to your exercise regimen.
Multiple sources recommend exercising at least 150 minutes each week, and walking can be a perfect way to do this. In order to benefit your heart, try purchasing a heart rate monitor and keeping your beats per minute elevated to an appropriate level for the duration of your walk.