Exercise for a Healthy Heart ❤️

The British Heart Foundation guidelines to promote cardiovascular health is at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise.

Here are 4 tips to reach your target + what I feel is the most beneficial in midlife!! 

1. Walking is of course wonderful for our health. Getting outside in nature, grabbing some vitamin D as well as getting the steps in, is a wonderful way to work the heart. Try to go at a brisk pace. You should feel a little out of breath, need to remove layers + feel your heart rate elevated. 
2. Interval Training: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) seems to have got some bad press for midlife as extremely lengthy workouts can raise cortisol levels, but there is lots of evidence to suggest short bursts of intense exercise is a brilliant way to get in exercise. I created FITNESS BITES with this in mind - it doesn’t need to be hours. A 12 minute URfit workout for example, is a perfect way to get the pulse rate up as well as doing exercises that will strengthen bones + build muscle.
3. Running - we have been lead to believe that running can be bad for us in midlife + take its toll on our joints + bones. But quite the opposite - running can be brilliant for bone health + the cardiovascular system. And once again it doesn’t need to be for hours!! I personally Iove it for my mental health + to get out in nature as well as the physical benefits. The couch to 5km is an amazing app to get you started. I would say 5km is an optimal distance unless of course you want to do more! And weekly Parkruns are the most brilliant inclusive events you can work up to every Saturday across the country!! 
4. Cycling, rowing, dancing, hiking, swimming are also all great to promote a health heart. 

If you want to chat more about your cardiovascular Fitness or how you can join Fitness Bites, just drop me a line!