The heart is a muscle. As with your biceps, your heart grows stronger and bigger as you work it.
Muscles and tissues require more nutrients and oxygen during moderate- to high-intensity exercise, so your heart must beat harder and pump faster to meet these demands.
The more you exercise, the more efficient your heart becomes and the more blood it can push out with every beat.
As well as improving blood flow to the heart, exercise also improves your overall health. This is accomplished by increasing the capacity of your coronary blood vessels to dilate, which is how blood gets to your heart and over time, blood pressure will be lowered. Generally, lower blood pressure means better health.
Other benefits of regular moderate exercise include:
- When you rest, your muscles and tissues receive more oxygen from the blood.
- There is a decrease in sympathetic tone, a function of the nervous system that is especially active under times of stress.
- Reduced inflammation throughout the body.
- Lower risk of developing diabetes.
Furthermore, consistent exercise can assist you in losing weight, slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure just like a beta blocker, as well as aiding in the reduction of triglycerides and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
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