Heart Healthy Exercise - Is A Great Combo

Heart healthy exercise is no different than any other exercise. Any exercise can help make your heart stronger, your lungs able to function better and your muscles able to burn fat better. Many people make the time to go to a gym to get their work outs in each day but what if you can't find the time or have the money to join a gym?

If you can't find the time or have the money to join a gym you can always do things at home to improve your heart health. They say that walking is the best thing you can do for your heart healthy exercise. Get out and walk at least thirty minutes a day, work up to thirty minutes if you have to but don't over do it. If you hurt yourself you will only set yourself back further. Ask a friend to go with you if you need company. Exercising with someone will keep you motivated and increase the chance you will stick to your program.

Try to carve out an extra thirty minutes to one hour of your day and devote that time to exercising. Even if you have to start your day one hour earlier and use that time to get your exercise in. Do not worry that you are shorting yourself some sleep because if you are getting in shape your body will need less sleep than it does now. Studies have shown that the better shape you are in the less sleep your body needs because your body is using what you give it a lot more efficiently.

If you can't bring yourself to part with your precious sleep then why not go for a walk on your lunch hour at work. Or, research exercises that can be done at your desk when it is break time. There are several that have been developed for people who can't find any other time to exercise. The trick is to just keep moving, doing something, no matter how little or how much, is the key to getting in shape and making your body and heart stronger.

When walking has made you stronger you may want to up the ante some and try out a work out DVD in your living room. Do not be bashful, if you are worried that someone will see you and laugh at you because you can't keep up just draw the blinds and do your best to learn the routine on the DVD. Then you can be the one laughing because you have gotten in shape and lost the weight and the ones who laughed are still out of shape and fat.

If you do not want to buy a work out DVD then go to your local video store and rent one. Rent several until you find one you like and then buy it. Get yourself a good mp3 player and download some awesome work out music to listen to during your work outs. Music is a great motivator and can make your heart healthy exercise a whole lot more interesting.

Exercise To Relieve Stress And Lose Weight

If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you have probably noticed two things: people are getting heavier, and they are experiencing a lot more stress. It's hard to imagine that this is a simple coincidence. In fact, a lot of of the complications of obesity and stress are the same.

The good news is that there may be a single solution to both problems, and that is exercise. Exercise can help you lose weight by burning calories, and it can also help relieve stress by releasing feel-good chemicals known as endorphins. Let's look at both of these benefits of exercise in a bit more detail.

The more you weigh, the more physical stress you will put on your body. The question is whether or not that physical stress translates into mental stress. Unfortunately, there is no solid answer to that question yet.

However, there is plenty of evidence that losing weight is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health. And you can only lose weight by burning more calories than you take in. One way to accomplish this is through exercise. You don't even have to do that much of it. As few as 30 minutes per day, most days of the week, can start to add up.

What you do for exercise isn't all that important. What counts is that you are getting active and burning off some of those extra calories. Exercise can also reduce your level of stress by releasing endorphins. These are chemical that make you feel good, and are responsible for what's known as "runner's high". Endorphins are somewhat similar to morphine, and will help to relieve stress.

When you make exercise a part of your normal routine, the endorphins will be released more often, and you will get the stress-relieving benefits more often, too. This good feeling isn't just there during the workout, but it can last for several hours after you are finished exercising. There is also something therapeutic about exercise, as it helps you blow of steam.

All of those little frustrations you face every day suddenly start to vanish. This beats the alternative of letting all of the frustration build up until you explode in an uncontrollable (and potentially dangerous) fit of rage. Getting rid of frustration in a healthy manner is so much better than doing other things.

Exercise is a natural way to handle stress, so there's no need to take questionable medications or engage in risky behaviors to forget about your troubles. If you have a lot of stress to get rid of, then have a more intensive workout. On the other hand, if you would just like to have a lower level of stress overall, then regular exercise is a smart choice. It can help you lose weight, relieve stress and be healthier, too.