Cardio Ideas During COVID and Travel

Currently, I’m out of town taking care of some family matters. Due to the tight schedule, I chose a hotel close to the airport for convenience.

As we’ve discussed before, in order to lower blood pressure naturally, it’s important to consistently get cardio exercise. Before the days of the pandemic, I would hit the hotel gym after dinner and use the treadmill. However, due to the current Delta variant causing concerns, even though I’m vaccinated, I decided to be a little more cautious. The gym was very busy throughout my stay, so I had to get a bit creative. An alternative is going outdoors to take a walk, however my hotel wasn’t located in a very safe area for extensive walking.

That’s when I realized I could use the stairway within the hotel to get some pretty serious cardio. Of course, be sure to wear good walking shoes, hold onto the rail if necessary, and if you already have pre-existing balance issues, proceed with caution! Also, don’t forget to bring your hotel key card and cell phone.

Climbing stairs really gets my heart pumping, and after going up and down from floor one to nine about 3 times, I got an incredible workout! It also felt safer from COVID since there was no one else in the stairway. Remember, ideally you move continuously during the activity so your heart can become stronger!

Not to mention, it was super convenient to just lace up some shoes and skip the fuss of the gym or driving somewhere else.

The only downside was the complete and total lack of view 😆. Nothing exciting about a hotel staircase. However, I did reach my goal of getting heart-healthy exercise!

Have you found creative ways to incorporate exercise into your day?

My “gym” for today! Not very exciting but it got the job done!

Walking for Heart Health in Waimānalo Beach

It’s been a whirlwind of anxiety and excitement leading up to my first vacation and flight since the pandemic. Even during vacation time, I try to remember and prioritize keeping my blood pressure low naturally the best way I can. Arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii last night, I picked up a light salad on the way to the hotel from the airport.

This morning, after getting some breakfast to go from the hotel buffet (oops I did eat some sodium there for sure), I decided to do my daily 30 minute walk on the beach! As you can see from the photo, the water is a surreal emerald blue here! Driving away from the very busy Waikiki Beach, I enjoyed a quiet mid-morning walk at the stunningly beautiful, Waimānalo Beach. Highly recommended! Although for those looking for facilities such as bathrooms and restaurants, you may want to stick to Waikiki instead.

30 minutes of continuous walking at a brisk pace on the sand gave a great heart healthy workout! It’s tough to keep to the usual routines during travel, but since consistency is key when using exercise to maintain lower blood pressure naturally, I knew I needed to keep to schedule of walking 5 days a week. If you have a gym at your hotel or a neighborhood that is safe to walk in, those are great options too!

Do you get to still maintain an exercise routine when traveling? Would love to hear about it!

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Photos taken by: Diana of Heart Happy Adventures

Modifying Swimming to What Works for You

In my post about swimming as a low impact, full body workout alternative to walking or running, I talked about the wonderful cardiovascular exercise for lowering blood pressure naturally.

In fact, I talked to a friend just the other day about these benefits of swimming, and she had some great questions:

“What if I don’t want to get my face wet?”

“What if I’m not a great swimmer?”

“What if I like the idea of swimming being easier on my joints, but I’m not a big fan of swimming?”

These are great questions! I wanted to talk about some ways you can still enjoy the benefits of water exercise if you’re not interested in a traditional pool swim.

Alternatives to Traditional Swimming:

Walking in the Water: Yes! It’s exactly what it sounds like! You can actually just walk back and forth in the water to still get the benefits of the water supporting your body and minimizing joint pains that can come with running or walking. Keep in mind, you’ll probably need to figure out a good time at your local community pool to do so and communicate with anyone sharing a lane with you. This is probably obvious but walking in the shallow half of the pool with your head above water works best. You can walk forward in big steps, small steps, and even sideways! Remember to stand up with good posture, take your time, and listen to your body. If a certain motion is adding discomfort, you may want to back off a little in terms of how long you are walking or how fast you are walking.

Take a Water Aerobics Class: If you don’t know how to start doing exercises in the pool, a unique way to start is calling up your community pool or local gym to see if they offer water aerobics classes! It can often be a lot safer when there is an instructor watching and teaching you how to move in the water. A class format allows you to have the space you need in a pool to move around in a non traditional swimming way without worrying about getting in the way of other swimmers. It’s also fun to have the socialization of others participating as well! Also, the benefit of taking a class is that it will commit you to a schedule of exercising. Meeting other people with health goals can also create accountability buddies for healthy lifestyles! In addition, classes may also include the ability to use water aerobic equipment such as foam dumbbells. How fun!

When it comes to adding more physical activity to work on lowering blood pressure naturally, I personally think it’s super helpful if it’s an exercise that is enjoyable for you. Is it hard work to get active? Absolutely! Is it difficult to stick to a program of 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least 3 to 5 days a week? Yes! We all have other commitments, and I want to applaud you for taking some steps in a heart healthy direction; in a way that makes sense to you!

Do you enjoy swimming? If not, have you tried water aerobics before? Would love to hear about your experience!

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Feature photo courtesy of Unsplash

Benefits of Swimming for Heart Health

There are so many great ways to increase physical activity to lower blood pressure naturally. I’ve discussed some tips about how to get started. You also know that I’m a big fan of walking as a convenient and affordable way of getting active!

If you have access to a community pool, a gym membership that includes a pool, your own pool (lucky!!), an ocean, a lake (OK I think you get the idea), swimming is also a fantastic way to get cardiovascular exercise.

There is a lot of literature out there about the benefits of swimming on overall health. By the way, if you’re wondering: Can swimming lower blood pressure? The answer is: YES!

The information below is from my own education as a physical therapist and also from Harvard Health and Cleveland Clinic. Side note: I know I can explain everything in a more technical way but to make this information more accessible to the general public, I always aim to explain in a manner that is easy to understand.

As always, please consult with your doctor before starting a new exercise program if appropriate.

Why Swimming is an Awesome Exercise:

1. Swimming is a Low Impact Exercise: What does low impact mean? As an example: When you go running, the weight of your body and gravity causes an “impact” when your foot hits the ground. For some people, that can end up causing pain in the joints in the long run. When swimming, your body weight is supported by the water and for many people, it can feel more comfortable for aching joints. If walking, running, or dance aerobics are worsening your joint pain, might be worth asking your physical therapist or primary care doctor if swimming would be a good option for you to try!

2. Swimming is a Full Body Workout: When you are walking or running, the primary muscles being challenged are lower body ones. It’s not to say the other muscles aren’t working to keep your arms moving or back straight, but clearly the focus is more on your legs propelling you forward. Swimming has a more equal use of different areas in your body; allowing for a more even workout that is also great for the heart.

3. Swimming is Beneficial for the Heart: The list is long but here are some important benefits: It makes your heart more efficient at doing its job, lowers heart rate and blood pressure naturally, improves breathing, improves circulation, and effects your body’s ability to use oxygen that you breathe from the air. I mean! That’s a powerful list! There are so many more benefits I will explore in this blog, but didn’t want to overwhelm with too many details all at once. I love science. I get a bit excited sometimes. Hehe.

As we are all aware, many community pools have been closed locally here in the United States and around the world as the pandemic continues to affect many of us. I’m hoping the access continues to improve as the year goes on so that we can return back to swimming safely.

Do you like swimming? What has been your experience and why did you start swimming?

References:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/swimming-joint-friendly-and-good-for-the-heart/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/take-the-plunge-for-your-heart

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Start Walking for Lower Blood Pressure

Starting a walking program doesn’t have to be daunting or complicated. I’m a big fan of simplicity when it comes to exercising for heart health, because keeping it simple means there’s a higher chance you’ll stick to it! While one giant 3 hour hike in the mountains over the weekend is fun and great exercise, to lower blood pressure long term with walking: it’s important to walk at least 3 to 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time. There are still benefits to walking less than 30 minutes, but at least 30 is ideal.

3 Tips to Start Walking for Lower Blood Pressure

1. Invest in a Fitness or Activity Monitor: This could be a watch that monitors distance walked, measures your heart rate, among other features. If that’s out of your price range, a simple pedometer will do too! These devices help track your progress. They are great motivational tools to encourage you to stay consistent with daily walking. If it integrates with a cellphone app, you can also easily view how much walking you’ve accomplished each week.

2. Always Wear Proper Shoes: Good walking shoes are super important! Definitely avoid flip flops or high heels. You’re laughing, but I’ve seen people trip over their flip flops while walking their dog. Better safe than sorry! Proper shoewear allows you to walk with good posture and alignment all the way from your feet up to your neck!

3. Start with a Short Walk and Build Up: If you are usually a pretty sedentary person, (meaning you don’t get a lot of physical activity), don’t feel pressure to dive right into 30 minutes a day, 3 to 5 times a week. Work up to it! Let’s say you start walking for 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week to ease in and then slowly increase until you meet your goals. Ramping up exercise allows your body to adjust to this increase in activity with a lower risk of injury. Also, if you don’t feel good when you exercise, such as you experience shortness of breath or pain, please seek medical care. Don’t just push on!

Congratulations on starting a walking program! I’m cheering you on!

This morning I dragged myself out of bed and went for a brisk 35 minute walk. It takes a lot for me to be motivated, but afterwards I feel good because I’ve taken steps in the right direction of a more heart healthy life. Thanks for joining me!

Do you walk for exercise? Would love to hear about your experience!

Views from my walk today

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