What are the best aerobic exercises for your heart?

At present, whether it is clinical cardiac rehabilitation guidelines or practical feedback from ordinary exercise groups, brisk walking, jogging, middle- and long-distance swimming, elliptical machines, and flat-terrain cycling are recognized as the most heart-friendly aerobic exercises. Medium- and low-intensity aerobics, and brisk climbing on gentle slopes are also within the recommended range.

When I was helping my uncle with a family history of coronary heart disease make an exercise plan, I specifically asked a cardiologist I was familiar with. The advantage of these exercises is that the intensity is controllable. You can adjust it faster or slower, and it is easy to maintain the maximum heart rate (220 minus actual years). In the golden range of 60%-80% of age), it is equivalent to a regular "gentle massage" for the myocardium. It can not only exercise the contraction ability of the myocardium and improve the overall cardiopulmonary function, but will not put the heart under too much pressure in a short period of time. It is much safer than fast and slow exercise.

Uncle Zhang, who lives downstairs in my house, had a 20% coronary artery stenosis during his physical examination last year. The doctor immediately stopped his favorite field game and asked him to walk briskly for 40 minutes after dinner every day at a pace of about 5 kilometers per hour. The requirement was that he could chat with others normally while walking. , Just don’t shout at the top of your lungs. He has persisted like this for more than three months. Last week, his resting heart rate dropped from the previous 77 to 63, and the indicators of myocardial blood supply were much better than before. He himself said that he usually does not breathe when he climbs the third floor, and his whole person is mentally different.

Speaking of which, some people may want to ask, before I read that many people said that climbing stairs and climbing mountains are magic tools for burning fat. Is it also good for the heart? In fact, this is quite controversial. There are two completely different situations around me. For those who are young and have no underlying medical conditions, climbing a gentle slope of less than 300 meters or stairs of five or six floors two or three times a week can indeed exercise the heart and lungs without putting any burden on the heart. ； But if you have a history of high blood pressure, myocardial hypertrophy or atrial fibrillation, your heart rate will easily jump to over 120 when climbing stairs, and you will be breathless and unable to speak, which will put extra oxygen consumption burden on your heart. Last year, I met Uncle Li in the community who had a history of premature beats. In order to save the elevator, he climbed the 12th floor. He felt panic and chest tightness and sent him to the emergency room halfway up. So whether this kind of exercise is good or not depends on your own physical condition. There is no unified standard answer.

Oh, by the way, many people also ask whether confrontational sports such as badminton and table tennis are good for the heart. In fact, if you play a health game with a slow pace, no rush and jump, and can maintain a stable heart rate, of course it can be counted. However, this type of exercise can easily speed up suddenly due to grabbing the ball, and the heart rate fluctuates too much. For people with underlying diseases, the risk is much higher than aerobic at a constant speed. If you have no exercise foundation, it is safer to start with the types of constant speed exercises mentioned above.

Don’t believe the saying that “the more intense the exercise, the better for the heart.” I used to have a young man in a running group who ran two half-marathons a week for three months in order to improve his half-marathon PB. Later, the physical examination showed that myocardial enzymes continued to be high. The doctor said that it was the hidden damage to the heart caused by long-term excessive exercise. We ordinary people do not need to exercise at an intensity. When exercising, you can speak normally without gasping. This intensity is just right. If you persist for a long time, it will be more beneficial to the heart than anything else.