Heart disease is still a killer disease for men in the U.S. It claims up to 325,000 lives every year, with gentlemen over 40 years being most vulnerable. The best way to defend yourself against heart disease is to improve cardiovascular health.
The American Heart Association suggests that men should undertake 150 minutes of cardio exercise every week to decrease their chances of heart disease.
Following are a few of the best cardio workouts for men over the age of 40.
The Track Routine
An effective and simple workout, laps of running around the local track is among the fruitful ways to up your heart rate and blood pumping. Popular with elite milers, marathoners, and about everyone else; jogging or sprinting on the track boosts your cardiovascular system. It also improves your stamina and endurance.
However, for men over 40s, it’s suggested not to go overboard and overburden your heart muscles. You can begin with a stretching exercise and a 10-minute warm-up, then perform 6-8 quarter-mile laps along with a 60 seconds rest after every interval. Gradually increase the number of laps till you get to 20.
Second Version of Track Routine
A subtle variation of the previous workout, this track routine is not for you if you have a faint heart. This form of workout needs you to sprint around the jogging track in a progression of high-intensity intervals with a 90-second rest in-between.
You begin with one lap (400 meters), and gradually increase it by half laps after every interval. Repeat this until you are able to 4 laps (1600 meters). Don’t make it to 1600 on the first attempt as it may take you a few weeks to get there.
Hill Climbing
Typically called “hill repeats” by running freaks, this is a great exercise of giving your heart muscles a rigorous workout.
You have to find a hill of at least a quarter-mile in length,
- sprint to the top,
- jog back down, then
- rest for 60 seconds.
Repeat this at least four times on y our first day and slowly work up to 8. Once you get there, make sure to do jogging for 5-10 minutes to cool down.
Burpees and Kettlebell Swings
As you grow old, your body finds it difficult to retain flexibility. Your ability to use gym equipment such as adjustable dumbbells or luxury adjustable bench goes down. As such, it is vital you do workouts that compel your body to move through various planes. An amazing way to do this is performing burpees (squat thrusts) and swinging kettlebells. It will be less stressful on your body compared to other strength training moves.
You can burn a lot of calories through burpees. You can also:
- improve your body conditioning, and
- speed up the heart rate while offering an arduous workout for your chest, legs, arms, and abs.
Swings of kettlebells are extremely efficient forms of workout. Through this, you can focus on strengthening inner thighs, glutes, abs, hamstring, and lower back. You can burn fats while minimizing the odds of heart attack by enhancing oxygen flow and improving the ability of heart pumping.
Cycling
Now renowned as the new golf, cycling is a group activity that is as great as a cardiovascular workout. Your effectiveness and endurance as a bike rider is defined by your heart’s ability to efficiently disperse blood) throughout your body.
Cycling is wonderful for the joints and helps to build leg strength. It also gives your heart proper exercise and improves your stamina. However, you must ensure you get a decent bike, which is correctly aligned with your anatomy.
For cycling, you must do a 60-minute bike ride with at least ten rounds of 30-second sprints liberally sprinkled in.
The Stair-Climbing Routine
Also known as the ladder workout through trainers, coaches, and climbing stairs or an inclined plane is among the effective cardiovascular workouts.
Climbing steps will strengthen your lower body, build your stamina, and it also improves bone density. This workout also
- protects one from high blood pressure, and
- get your heart pumping vigorously
Thus your heart muscles get strengthened. Stair-climbing also improves your hamstring’s strength, quad and glute muscles.
Start with a 5-minute warm-up, then do the first set of fast sprints (min. 30 seconds) up and down the incline. Vary your routine by increasing your degree or speed of incline.
Swimming
Almost as arduous as hardcore jogging, swimming is also an effective way of working out all your body muscles. It trains the heart and body to use oxygen efficiently, develops cardio-respiratory fitness, improves lungs’ capacity, and burns calories. You do all this without putting much strain on your joints.
To make it exciting and challenging, consider doing laps in a sequence of increasing timed intervals.
Deep Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing exercises reduce stress and the aging effects. They are also an effective way to vigorously get your heart pumping when warming up for exercises.
Prior to beginning your everyday workout, spare 10 minutes to focus on breathing in and breathing out profoundly. While breathing in, guarantee that your chest is filled to blasting, hold briefly, at that point exhale as gradually as possible.
Wrap Up
To protect your heart against cardiovascular disease, men in their 40s and beyond need a safe cardio schedule. You need to keep yourself fit and consider the above eight exercises to remain healthy as you move into middle age.
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