Published February 19, 2022 01:05AM
How to Work Out for Heart Health (Without Boring Cardio)
This group of workouts will get your heart pumping.
(Photo: GettyImages)
Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming 25 percent of lives as of 2022. And while we often think of heart health as something to worry about when we’re older, heart disease doesn’t have favorite ages, genders or ethnicities.
The stats may seem inevitable, but they don’t have to be. The good news is your heart is a muscle. Like other muscles, you can train it every day, and the stronger it gets, the more resilient it is to becoming a statistic.
Unlike other muscles, the “how” part of strengthening the heart can be quite ambiguous. For example, you can do biceps curls to strengthen your biceps, yet there are no “heart curls” to strengthen your heart. General heart health guidelines say you should do moderate intensity cardio for 30 minutes, 5 days per week. While this can be accomplished with running, swimming, or biking, what if you don’t love traditional cardio?
If traditional cardio options appeal to you, don’t worry. We’re about to share a solution to building your heart health without stomping on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time: peripheral heart action (PHA) workouts.
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What is a PHA workout?
PHA workouts are a type of circuit training that focuses on shifting blood between the upper body, lower body and core to enhance cardiovascular health.
The workouts include a variety of functional movements like squats, lunges, step-ups, jumping jacks, pushups and planks. They can be done without any equipment, or you could add light resistance with dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, medicine balls or even household objects.
The Workout Structure
The sequence for the workout is: upper-body movement, lower-body movement then core movement. You repeat this sequence throughout the workout to get blood flowing to each of these muscle groups as you train.
The structure includes six exercises in a row followed by a 30- to 45-second rest.
If you like to keep it simple, you can repeat your six exercises for the entire duration of your 20- to 60-minute workout. If you prefer variety, you can use multiple lists of six exercises in any order for the entire duration of your workout.
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Mix and Match Exercises
Now here’s the fun part! You can use any of the following exercise lists to get started. When you want variety, start mixing and matching. Once inspiration strikes, try subbing in some of your favorite moves to create your own workouts.
The number of times you perform the circuit doesn’t matter — just pace yourself so you feel like you are working at a 4-6 intensity out of 10 throughout most of the workout, however long you aim to move.
Workout 1
| Muscle Group Worked | Exercise | Reps |
| Upper | Plank Shoulder Taps | 15-20 |
| Lower | Burpees | 15-20 |
| Core | Bike Crunches | 15-20 |
| Upper | Crab Position Tricep Dips | 15-20 |
| Lower | Side Lunges | 15-20 |
| Core | Side-plank Hip Dips | 15-20 |
Workout 2
| Muscle Group Worked | Exercise | Reps |
| Upper | Push-ups | 15-20 |
| Lower | Squats | 15-20 |
| Core | Plank Hip Twists | 15-20 |
| Upper | Big Arm Circles | 15-20 |
| Lower | Lunges | 15-20 |
| Core | Crunches | 15-20 |
Workout 3
| Muscle Group Worked | Exercise | Reps |
| Upper | Downward Dog Push-ups | 15-20 |
| Lower | Curtsy Lunges | 15-20 |
| Core | Side-Plank Leg Lifts | 15-20 |
| Upper | Crab Taps | 15-20 |
| Lower | Plie Squats | 15-20 |
| Core | Diagonal Crunches | 15-20 |
Workout 4: Dumbbells
| Muscle Group Worked | Exercise | Reps |
| Upper | Shoulder Press | 15-20 |
| Lower | Split Squats | 15-20 |
| Core | Russian Twist | 15-20 |
| Upper | Rows | 15-20 |
| Lower | Plie Squat | 15-20 |
| Core | Weighted Crunches | 15-20 |
Workout 5: Bands
| Muscle Group Worked | Exercise | Reps |
| Upper | Delt Raises | 15-20 |
| Lower | Monster walks | 15-20 |
| Core | Door-anchored Torso Rotations | 15-20 |
| Upper | Rows | 15-20 |
| Lower | Hip Bridges | 15-20 |
| Core | Banded Mountain Climber | 15-20 |
Workout 6: Kettlebells
| Muscle Group Worked | Exercise | Reps |
| Upper | Single-arm Shoulder Press | 15-20 |
| Lower | Goblet squat | 15-20 |
| Core | Turkish Get-up | 15-20 |
| Upper | High Row | 15-20 |
| Lower | Kettlebell Reverse Lunge | 15-20 |
| Core | Swings | 15-20 |
Next Steps
Let’s get up and get moving! Not ready to move right now? Save this article. These 36 mix ‘n’ match exercises can be remixed to create virtually unlimited workouts! Even better, help spread heart health awareness by sharing this article with friends and family.