With the sun shining and temperatures rising, there are plenty of exciting hobbies that can help you stay fit while having fun. From exploring nature to getting creative in the kitchen, getting your heart rate up without suffering through a sweaty workout is easier than ever. So read on for five accessible and affordable heart-healthy hobbies to try this summer.
Cycling
If you’re looking for a great way to combine exercise with seeing the great outdoors, then cycling might be your option. As heart-healthy summer activities go, it doesn’t get much better than taking your bike out for a few hours, with cycling registering numerous well-documented heart benefits.
Not only does it support you in maintaining a healthy weight, but it also stimulates your heart muscles, lowers resting pulse and reduces blood fat levels, resulting in a significant decrease in the risk of cardiovascular disease. As well as this, cycling is known as a low-impact form of exercise. This means that there’s a minimal amount of shock or strain on the joints, making it an excellent choice for those with arthritis or other joint-related conditions.
Buying a good quality bicycle can be a substantial investment for a heart-healthy summer hobby but could result in long-term savings. A 2017 study by Cycle Scheme estimated that switching from a car to a bike on your daily commute could save over £3,000 each year. So, as a cost-saving outdoor hobby that’s also great for cardiovascular health, cycling is a shoo-in for our heart-healthy hobbies to try this summer.
Swimming
In many ways, swimming ticks the same boxes as cycling. Similarly to taking your bike out for a spin, heading down to your local pool for a swim can make your heart stronger and healthier, making it more efficient at pumping blood around your body. It’s also another low-impact form of exercise but, unlike cycling, doesn’t carry the upfront investment of purchasing a bike or the potential safety risks for cycling on busy roads. One of the most attractive prospects for swimming is that it’s a great social activity that’s as accessible for kids and adults of all ages, making it one of our favourite heart-healthy summer activities.
Cooking
If you’re after something that isn’t’ exercise-related, cooking might be an excellent choice for your heart-healthy summer hobby. It’s well known that cooking nutritious, fresh meals at home is a great way to benefit your heart health, but it’s true that the culinary arts can be intimidating for many prospective cooks. We think a great place to start is simple, quick and affordable dishes focused on heart health.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) put together a list of 10 heart-healthy meals that take less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Featuring a range of dishes from stir-fries to fajitas to seafood pasta, this list is a great place for the would-be chef to start this heart-healthy summer hobby. For the more experienced chefs or home cooks, a great start would be to swap out ingredients such as butter and red meat that are high in saturated fats, replacing them with more heart-healthy options like olive oil, poultry and fish.
Improving your cooking skills can represent significant financial savings, too. According to Cook For Good, “homemade meals are cheaper, healthier, tastier and better for the planet,” making this a win-win heart-healthy activity to try this summer.
Gardening
The biophilia hypothesis claims that humans have an innate tendency to seek out connections with nature and other life forms. In fact, Erich Fromm, who first coined the phrase, described it as “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive.” This might not seem relevant to heart health, but studies show that those suffering from mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress or even PTSD over a long period can experience a heightened heart rate and blood pressure. The link operates both ways, too, with instances of these conditions markedly more common in those who have suffered cardiac arrests and strokes.
There are significant physical benefits to gardening, too. Any experienced gardener will assure you that a day in the garden can be as physically exhausting as a gym session. The physical effort exerted from digging, planting, weeding and pruning can act as a moderate-intensity workout that engages numerous different muscle groups. So, as a holistic approach to cardiovascular wellbeing, gardening is one of our top five heart-healthy summer activities.
Learn a Musical Instrument
Learning a musical instrument is rounding off our list of five heart-healthy hobbies to try this summer. As with gardening, the mental health benefits of learning a musical instrument can counteract the impact of psychological conditions, thus benefiting heart health indirectly and holistically. As an emotionally fulfilling, technically rewarding and social hobby, the mental wellbeing advantages of musicianship are widely appreciated.
However, recent studies also show that playing a musical instrument can increase the blood flow in the middle cerebral artery, reducing the risk of strokes. Further to this, there is significant evidence that the act of playing a musical instrument can, in itself, raise the heart rate, supporting your heart to strengthen and improve its efficiency.
More Heart-Healthy Tips with WEL Medical
For many years, WEL Medical has been an established distributor of medical products and services focusing on cardiovascular wellbeing. From defibrillators to CPR Manikins, we’ve been supplying tools and information to support people to live heart-healthy lives.
To stay up-to-date with the most recent advice on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle, head over to our news page or find out more about our values and commitments here.
