Cardiovascular exercise is an integral part of your overall health.

Unfortunately, there are many things that could lead a person to develop cardiovascular disease. It is one of those diseases that can be passed on to someone genetically. My father was unfortunate enough to have this happen – he was required to have open heart surgery at only 53. This was a very expensive and nerve-racking procedure, but, thankfully, he made it out on top. One of the main things that were stressed after his surgery, though, was to continue a very active lifestyle, exercising every day. These cardiovascular disease exercises, however basic, are keeping his new heart functioning each and every day, and can help people with a higher risk of heart disease to prevent it. There is a certain type of ﬁtness called Cardiovascular Fitness (or ‘cardio’), which encompasses a number of exercises used to increase the efﬁciency of the heart’s functions, allowing oxygen to be utilized by the entire respiratory system, as well as the heart. This ﬁtness regiment is generally easy on the body, but very effective in the prevention and reversing of heart disease. Here are a few examples of cardio exercises that are both easy and effective:

Cardiovascular Exercise/ Walking

– Walking is one of the greatest cardio exercises and is definitely one of the easiest. Whether its the short distance from the bedroom to the bathroom, or a long distance from the home to work, walking is an essential means of transportation for all human beings and increasing the distance you walk every day can be an extremely beneficial form of exercise. When ﬁrst incorporating walking into your daily exercise, simply walk until you get tired. After that, start increasing the amount of time you walk every day, and then begin increasing your pace. Remember, you’re still walking, so don’t do anything too strenuous.

Jumping Rope

Jumping rope is another fantastic form of exercise to help keep the blood and oxygen ﬂowing at a steady rate through the body’s systems. When jumping rope, keep your jumps small and quick. Start by jumping for a minute or two, then taking a short rest. Do this for about twenty minutes the ﬁrst couple days. Slowly increase the amount of jumping you do every day until you are doing a comfortable and decently long exercise whenever you jump.

Step Aerobics

Step aerobics is becoming more and more popular as an accepted form of cardiovascular ﬁtness. Simple steps up and down can do wonders for your heart function, and are easy and simple. For those who wish to increase the amount of exercise they perform while doing step aerobics, adding layers of steps is a very available option.

Keeping a simple, easy exercise routine is essential to keeping a healthy, beating heart. The three forms of exercise listed above only scratch the surface of the multitude of ways to keep your heart healthy and prevent cardiovascular disease. So get out, and get active!