What sports are good for your heart?

Regular exercise and a balanced diet are vital to both prevent and reduce complications of cardiovascular disease. In the case of physical exercise, there are several sports especially beneficial to the heart.

Aerobic exercises

Cardiology experts recommend developing and maintaining aerobic capacity with continuous physical activity such as running, cycling, swimming, or even light walking, along with intermittent physical activity sports such as football, handball, basketball, among other team sports.

These physical activities should last between 30 and 90 minutes, be performed at least five days a week and have an intensity of between 55 and 90% of maximum heart rate , which is known to calculate 220 minus the age of the individual.

Strength Exercises

Strength exercises, using weights, tension gums, or other objects, or mixed strength and endurance, such as running lifting weights or walking on the mountain, help to lose abdominal fat, a cardiovascular risk factor.

So, performing mixed activities or intercalating aerobic exercises with strength exercises on different days are beneficial both to improve and to maintain body weight and cardiovascular health.

In addition, exercise regularly increases the level of good cholesterol (HDL), decreases triglyceride levels and, in fact, long-term exercises accumulate more triglycerides in active muscles, so that the use of fats as an energy source is higher.

High Intensity Training

Although doing some of the above sports on a regular basis is already beneficial to the heart, doing so intensively would be even better to prevent cardiovascular diseases and coronary problems. High intensity activity helps to lose body fat and, therefore, improve cardiovascular health.

Even so, it should be noted that it will always be better to do some exercise, even if it is low intensity, than doing nothing.